Wow! I've been working quite a bit, but everyone leaves me busywork! Today I taught a lesson twice and then supervised a work period for a history project- all in 6th grade. I've been seeing these kids fairly regularly, so they are starting to get my style and have more respect for me. And actually teaching a lesson was so nice! I remember why I'm a teacher! I'm tired from actually doing things instead of tired from sitting around all day! How refreshing!
I never sit down while subbing. That is when hilarity ensues. Best to keep walking around the room if only to keep students on task.
The best times I had subbing were when the teacher simply left me with the material and had faith in my ability to convey it. Brava!
Some subs view "independent" work as busywork, and I don't think that's fair. I always give work that I think my students can do on their own because I don't expect the sub to know my content. But just because my students are working on their own doesn't mean that the work is not meaningful or standards-based. I just wanted to add that because I see a lot of complaints here about "busywork" and I never know if the sub means actual busywork or if they mean independent work. In any case, I'm glad that you had a chance to teach. A good teaching experience can trump almost anything else.
I'm glad you had such a nice subbing experience. Usually the teachers I sub for just have the students working independently on various projects. I love it when I'm allowed to actually teach a lesson.
I recognize that independent work might not be busy work. But the school I work at is very small and often the high school classes have only 2 or 3 students. I don't need to walk around and supervise all the time. I do if necessary, of course, but when you have good kids who do their work and don't need help... "Easy days" are nice, but I do find it enjoyable to actually teach: getting to know the kids and monitoring and adjusting as necessary makes me feel useful.
