one life

I’m in the process of applying to be a substitute teacher and today went to orientation. I was a little nervous just because I didn’t know what to expect but was instantly put at ease when one of my supervisors from my student teaching was also there. She’s also applying to be a sub so it was comforting just to recognize a friendly face. We had to wait in the lobby for a few minutes (I think it was just a control thing) and, similar to the apprentice, the secretary told us we could go on up. We rode up to the 15th floor and then had to wait in the lobby area on that floor (again, a control thing). We were led down a long hallway, made a few turns and filed into a room. I had to stifle a laugh when the person leading the orientation was my former high school principal. It was funny to see him in a different environment. He then informed us that his job today was to tell us of the ugly side of being a substitute. He said 99% of the students will be good as gold but it’s the 1% we have to worry about. He shared things I wish I hadn’t heard but feel like it’s better prepared me for when I do walk into the classroom for the first time. One thing he said that stood out to me is that one of the schools he either taught at or was the principal at, the teachers were challenged to save one student that year; every teacher save just one student. Can you imagine if every teacher today shared that same dream? If every teacher took the time to reach just one student, what an impact that would make on this world. It just blows my mind to think about that fact. What if we all took that to heart, not just educators? What if we all made the point of reaching one person in our workplace or our class or in our family? Changing the world can be as close as the person sitting beside you.

Today’s side of laughter is another blonde joke. I ran across it today and just had to spread the humor.

Two blondes were walking through the woods when they came upon some tracks. The first blonde said, "They're deer tracks." The second blonde said, "No, I think they're bear tracks." Suddenly they were hit by the train.