What Every Substitute Teacher Should Know

After I finished teaching my two-year-old classes, I went to tell the Director I was leaving for lunch. That morning, we had so many workers out sick and on vacation, I decided to double up on my teachings and teach all four of my two-year-old classes in the morning so my substitutes could just let them play in the centers in the afternoon. After corralling all 82 students for the last four hours, I was ready to go home for lunch.

When I arrived at my Director’s office, she was on the phone. She gave me the signal to hold on a minute. I knew what that meant! When she got off the phone she said, “That was the kindergarten teacher and she needed to pick up her granddaughter who was sick at school and take her to her sister’s house. Could you please stay until she gets in?” I reminded her of my class in the afternoon and she reassured me I would get a break. I knew this meant overtime, so I agreed to stay.

Shortly after I arrived at the kindergarten class and got my instructions from yet another substitute, who scooted out the door as quickly as I arrived, a little girl comes running up to me in a panic. “Where is Jimmy? I can’t find Jimmy!” she exclaimed. I responded calmly asking her, “Who is Jimmy?” She shouted, “He’s my friend! He does not know you! You scared him away! You are mean! I don’t like you!” She ran to the block center crying.

I asked the student next to the block center, “Who is Jimmy? He’s not on my list-where did he go?” The little boy responded sarcastically, “You don’t know Jimmy? I thought EVERYONE around here knew Jimmy!” He shook his head and walked off. Therefore, I addressed the class asking, “So, where IS Jimmy?” No one knew.

Panic started settling in, but I remained calm, cool, and collected. I checked, rechecked, counted heads, made everyone play “freeze frame” while I counted heads again-twice! Still, all 23 students were accounted for and still, NO JIMMY! By this time, the little girl was sobbing so hard she could not even talk. The only thing I could think to do was to line everyone up and go to the office to “find Jimmy”.