Always Be Prepared

When I first started teaching I was a day to day substitute teacher.  Luckily, or unluckily, the school I started in always had teachers absent and few wanted to sub there so I always had work. (I taught in one of the highest crime areas in New York City.  In fact we were the homicide capital of NYC for many years averaging 120 murders in a 5 square mile area). Nothing prepared me (not even my Army Basic Training) for the rigors I had to endure as a sub in that neighborhood.  I never knew what to expect.  The sub jobs were for any subject area class.  It did not help that 99% of the teachers I subbed for did not leave lesson plans.  I learned to carry with me all kinds of supplies to cover most eventualities (pencils, pens, tape, scissors, work in most subject areas, band aids etc.)  I looked forward to long term sub jobs so I knew what I would be doing and could prepare better.

Even later in my career when I had my own classes I would volunteer to cover the classes of absent teachers.  In the schools I taught in we had many teacher absences every school day. I knew I had to be ready to teach any subject and grade level in our school. Since we could not get subs to work in these schools the regular teachers would cover classes and were paid (blood money) for those coverages.  One year I replaced the windows in my home thanks to the coverage money!

At the end of the school year (the bitter end of June) we were given our teaching assignment for the next year.  I used to spend the summer preparing for these classes only to show up many times in September and be given a completely different program and subject areas to teach.  I sure stockpiled a lot of lessons that many I never used.

As a classroom teacher you have to be prepared for any eventuality.  Once I was really into a lesson and I didn’t realize the building had been evacuated because of a fire.  We had no intercom or loudspeaker or fire alarms and they forgot about the wing of the school I was teaching in.   When I smelled smoke I knew something was up and I was able to safely evacuate my class and another class nearby.  We had so many fires, set by students, in our school that the joke was that the firefighters also had time cards to punch in. (Yes, we had time cards back in those days).


Another year on the Friday of the first week of school the assistant principal came to my classroom and said he was taking over my class as the principal wanted to see me.  I was then told I had been excessed because of low seniority to another school. I had to quickly pack up all my belongings and head over to my new school.  I later found out that a school board’s son-in-law did not like the school he was in so they decided to move him into my school.  Luckily, I did not fight it because even though it was a tougher school to work in I loved it.

During the all important reading test one year the principal and district office staff were patrolling the floors when they came to a classroom where all the students were lying under their desks.  The principal  started reprimanding the teacher when he heard the sound of gunfire across the street from the school.  The students hearing gunfire were conditioned to take cover!

As a teacher you never know what to expect each day.  You should be prepared for any contingency.  Even when teaching a lesson if it is not going well you have to be ready to change it on the fly until you get it right.  I can remember stopping a lesson to adjudicate a conflict between students and having a class trial on the spot.  When discussing a hot issue I would stop and break up the class into pro and con and have a debate. There are so many possible disruptions to your routine (fire drills, public address announcements, knocks at your classroom door, children getting sick, etc.) and you have to still try to get through your lesson unscathed.

My sub days are not over now as I am called on, sometimes at the last minute, to moderate #edchat.  I enjoy this job but it is not easy facilitating a rapid fire chat with so many participants.  I really admire the regular moderators.  On several occasions I also get the double header when both moderators cannot make it.   I know I have to be ready for the chosen topic.  Always be prepared!

“Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

5 thoughts on “Always Be Prepared

  1. Jerry…I appreciated the honest post. I sometimes think that my best lessons have come from not being prepared. I thought I was prepared…but the students dictated the outcome.

    • Yes, you definitely have to ad lib and they can become great lessons. Teach on the fly as I used to call it.

  2. Great post Jerry. Yes, being prepared to change things at a moment’s notice, change tack, meet fleeting opportunities is a great skill and makes life interesting. Thank you for all you do for #edchat we know we can count on you and it all adds to the richness of our lives when we can connect and face what is sent our way!

    • Thank you. I enjoy helping with the #edchats although it can be quite challenging to keep up with the heavy flow.

    • You sure keep me on my toes. Drives my wife crazy though. Great working with you and the rest of the great #edchat team. Cheers!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *