A Miss Nelson Moment

During my first year teaching, I kept track of funny quotes and situations from the classroom as a way to stay optimistic.  It was easy to get lost in the difficulties of first-year teaching, and neglect the lighter moments with my kiddos, so I learned to pick out at least 1 positive moment each day.  I'm grateful that I no longer need quotes to keep me afloat, but there are still some hilarious moments that I don't want to forget.

Fortunately, I now have this blog to help me keep track of them!  One of these moments came last week...

I had intended to be out of the classroom on Thursday to observe in other teachers' classrooms for the morning.  I had prepped my kiddos the day before and didn't plan on seeing them in until the afternoon.  However, about 20 minutes into my first observation, I learned that another teacher had called out sick, so the substitute scheduled to cover my class was going to pulled for the rest of the day.

I happened to have worn my glasses that day and a new button down shirt (not my contacts and usual version of a knit top), so as I walked into the classroom, I got some sideways glances from the kiddos.  When the substitute left the room, one of the kiddos asked cautiously, "Are you our new substitute?" I had a flash of the classic book, Miss Nelson Is Missing, where the sweet teacher "disappears" for a few days and is replaced by the mean Viola Swamp who straightens out the unruly students and makes them realize how much they love Miss Nelson.  I decided to give it a try...

"Sure," I answered, "Show me what you are supposed to do." For the next 45-minutes, I watched as my kiddos lead Morning Meeting, dismissed themselves to their Literacy Stations, and then cleaned up from Literacy Stations and went to their reading spots for independent reading.  I gave a few cues and prompts, but resisted the urge to step in much more. Instead, as the kiddos worked, I took the opportunity to give a few one-on-one assessments.

Of course, I didn't really have most of the kiddos fooled, and unlike Viola Swamp, I didn't have to be a nastier, stricter teacher to get the class into shape.  In fact, it was impressive to see how capable they were of taking over many of the classroom routines.  It was actually a relief to take a break from the nagging and reminding that I've been doing way too much of over the past couple of weeks.  Lesson: I just might have to be "out of the classroom" again sometime soon...