Substitute Teaching by Patty LaRoche

Friends cautioned me that “times are different.”  They were right.  In my first week of substitute teaching, an administrator was called to remove a student from the classroom. In the twenty years I had taught, I made such a call only one time.  And here I was, in my third day of subbing, and I could not control a student who chose to act up, non-stop.

I tried all the teacher tricks, silently questioning how the actual, full-time teacher handled this child, but when I finally had him stand outside the classroom door and he began licking the door’s window, I knew that, yes, times are very different.

Two periods later, I had him again, and he was great.  Perhaps he had a twin with the same name?  I could not believe the difference.  I praised him for being so well-behaved and told him how much I appreciated him acting so well.  When he showed up for a third class, I expected the same.  It did not happen.  He was wired.  Disruptive.  Rude.  Loud.  Very, very loud.  What had happened to the quiet, attentive boy from the previous class?

Once again, I asked him to leave the classroom and sit by the door.  He chose to walk down the hall… and told me there was nothing I could do about it.  Sadly, he was right.  Gone were the days when a teacher could grab a child’s arm, when students respected (perhaps feared?) authority, when a call home meant double-trouble for the child instead of a complaint to the principal about the teacher.

Today’s educators are saints.

I always knew that subbing was a challenge (which is why I told my students that if they misbehaved for a sub, I would double their detention.)  Rarely, if ever, did I have a problem.  Clearly, the times…they are a changin’. Who/what’s to blame?  Is it social media?  Parents who refuse to hear the teacher’s side?  Who want to be their child’s friend?

Don’t get me wrong.  Many students were on task and well-behaved.  Two said “thank you” when I handed out an assignment. One even tried to quiet my disruptive student by saying, “Stop it.  She’s a good sub.”  (I wanted to hug him.)

Most teachers work hard to help raise up our children, to challenge and encourage them to learn.  And while the rest of us have an end to our work day, teachers don’t have that luxury.  Papers need to be graded and the next day needs to be organized.  As for administrators, they have their hands full, dealing with unruly students and their parents, encouraging teachers and keeping up with government standards for school management.

When I reflected on my sub experience, I had to wonder how God does it.  God, who deals with nothing but unruly children, who has no “one size fits all” form of discipline. God, who knows His children and what moves them to behave.  Do they need a friend to come alongside and challenge them?  He sends that person.  (Think of the servants who told Naaman, the leper, to get rid of his pride and wash in dirty water as Elisha instructed him.)

Do they need a kick in the kazoo?  (Think of Paul who, on his way to persecute Christians, was blinded.)  Do they need a gentle touch?  (Think of the disciples who were calmly admonished when they could not stay awake and support Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.)  Do they need encouragement?  (Think of those same men being told not to fear persecution and death.)  Do they just need a “Hang in there, Child” message? (Think of you and me, waiting on unanswered prayer.)

God amazes me.  Still, I have to wonder if He ever had to deal with someone who licked the window.  I’m thinking he might have laughed.

Maybe I should have tried that.