The Day of The Substitute

Today was an odd day at the high school. There was a substitute with no lesson plans and who had never substituted at this high school before. The students were told to work on the computers individually on any school work they had not yet completed. Overall, the students behaved very well. Many finished their work for the week, and most others were working for most of the class period. I really was quite impressed. Towards the end of the class I went to talk with my three young ladies. Student C was sleeping for the last half of the class. Student S just continued to work. Student K, however, told me about her break up with her boyfriend. For the first time this semester, I feel like I got the chance to truly mentor a student. Although I help Student K with her school work every week, I rarely get the chance to talk to her about her personal life. I took the opportunity to tell her that she is incredibly smart and talented and should not except less than she deserves. I quoted Anna Karenina in the discussion of jealousy, and shared a personal story about being an independent young woman. Today I connected with Student K and it was an incredible experience.