Day in ISS

Tuesday night I was called back for an interview with Teach for America. I am thankful to be considered worthy of an interview. I will travel to Austin the weekend of March 25-26, and my interviews will be held all day Monday the 27th. The prospects are exciting, but also quite humbling considering the task.

I spent part of a day in an ISS (in-school-suspension) class today as a substitute teacher. I felt like I was trying to maintain order in a juvenile detention center, but with no arms and no recognized authority. It was like a madhouse, but none-the-less, an important learning experience for me. I had kids laugh at me, threaten me, smoke in the bathroom connected to our room, and more... There were only about 30 suspended students in my class.

I started taking students to the office to try to bring order, but I had to quit because the principals were not in their offices to deal with the students. One young lady even ran out of class without my permission. I ran after her and escorted her to the office.

When the coach who regularly babysits in ISS finally came to class, the students suddently returned to their seats and showed respect. I had been had. After a few minutes, I asked to be excused, and I left to recover the lunch that I had missed to babysit the discipline class. I have been reflecting on that experience all afternoon.