Did I do the right thing?

[Krisandra]

Hi, I am new to the boards but have been reading for about a month now. I just started subbing at the end of September. I average about 2-3 days a week. So far things are going pretty well...good days and bad! I have a few schools that have called me to come back so that makes me feel like I am doing a good job.

Today I had Gym class for 1/2 day and all went fairly well until the last period. They were wild and crazy and wouldn't listen. I have done Phys Ed at another school about 4 other times and loved it. At the end of the day I was getting them lined up and a group of boys were running around when they were supposed to be sitting. Right when I started to tell them to stop one of them ran into a child sitting and he fell back and hit his head and started crying. The teacher was slightly over due to pick up the kids at that time. It was 3:25 and they dismiss right at 3:30. So I'm waiting with them and waiting and now it's 3:30. I kept thinking any minute she was going to be there! I hear the dismissal on the announcements and start to panic but finally the teacher came.

She told me that she had a meeting and that *I* could have walked them back to the classroom. If I would have known she had a meeting I would have definately walked them back...not a problem...but she didn't ask me to. I haven't had this happen yet with subbing. The teachers ALWAYS come on time to get the kids. Her tone sounded like she was mad at ME for not taking them back and now they were going to be late getting on the bus.

So as she is running the kids back to the classroom I ran over and told her about the boy that hit his head. She told me that I should have sent him to the nurse. I told her that it just happened as we were lining up and I was thinking she was going to be there at any minute.

Did I do anything wrong? Maybe I am just being grumpy today but I felt really bad that she tried to make everything seem like it was my fault.

 

[Rachelle]

Gosh sounds like you had a Mess on your hands. I don't think you did anything wrong. The Teacher should have contacted you in Some way to tell you that she was in a meeting. Via the intercom or whatever. I don't know what your school has in their Gym class. Ours has Walkie talkies to communicate. Yes if the boy had hit his head earlier you should have sent him to the nurse and i'm sure you would have But since it was That late in the day And she was due (Past due) to get the kids I don't see a problem. Heck if you'd sent him to the Nurse she would have gotten upset since you sent him at dismissel time! *rolling eyes!*
I'm sorry you're day was so rough. Hope it's a Lot better next time.
And Welcome to the board!!

 

[yesteach]

From a teacher's point of view...

I don't know that you did anything "wrong;" however, I always think it's best that if a child gets hurt, he is sent to the nurse by the person who was in charge at the time, so that the proper information gets to the nurse. I'm not faulting you by any means... because our PE teacher does this and it aggravates the h*** out of me! Kids would hit their heads, twist ankles, etc.. and he'd just send them back to class for me to deal with... they got hurt in his care, he should have reported it to the nurse.. I have no idea what happened, I wasn't there!! He doesn't seem to understand this!

So, for that reason alone, yes, I think you should have sent him on to the nurse even if the teacher was due there in a few mins so that the person in charge (you) could have reported the incident as to exactly what happened, and not rely on the second hand report of another teacher (who may or may not bother to get it right...and from the description of her snippy attitude, I'd guess she'd not really care to get it right.. )

As for walking her kids to class... she should have had someone from the office call down and ask you to this if she was in a meeting or told you ahead of time she had a meeting and could be late, and if so, would you bring them to class... not just expect it.

 

[googiebump]

I betcha that this teacher is used to people in the gym wanting to get rid of the kids as quick as possible so they walk them back if the teachers don't show up. At the school where I work, the gym coach walks the kids back to their room. They usually leave the gym a couple minutes early, wait in the hallway by the rooms for the bell and then let the kids go.

The only days that this is different is early out days. There's no time between classes for the gym, music, etc. So teachers are supposed to bring and pick up their kids. I was working in the library Friday which was early out for us and the kindergarden teacher didn't come pick her kids up. It hadn't occurred to me that she was supposed to anyway. I brought the kids back at the right time....which considering how long it takes to get kindergardeners down the hallway, I was probably a few minutes late actually. She was still hanging out in the teacher's room nextdoor and came out when she saw her kids. She said "Oh I'm sorry, I'm supposed to come get them today." Emphasizing the "I'm" like I was wrong to walk them down to the room or in a hurry to get them out of the library. This is just how she is....when you start learning the school and the personalities of some teachers, this stuff gets to you less.

Another thing that used to get on my nerves is when teachers would say "Is it so much to ask?" when complaining about other subs to me. Well no it's not so much to ask....but DID you ask? Or did you just assume that things would be handled a certain way? I've gotten to where I say "Well maybe the sub misunderstood your directions." knowing full well that teacher didn't leave directions...the sub was lucky to have work for the kids to do. Don't let it get to you.

Tammy

 

[SuperSub1919]

this is precisely why...

I dont' like subbing for gym. The kids get ultra excited for Gym class, then they see a sub and go BALLISTIC! I would have sent the kid who hit his head to the nurse even if it was the end of the day and sent the other couple of kids who were fooling around to the office. Write their names down and have the teacher deal with their bad behavior for you!!

...the kids got home right?? Not your fault if the teacher was late and didn't tell you to get back to the room before dismissal.

Oh well...its all in the past! Hakuna Matata:-) No worries! Tis the life of a sub!

 

[Krisandra]

Yes...the kids got home. The way they dismiss is car riders first and then busses so the parents may have had to wait a few extra minutes to get their kids. I did speak to the Gym teacher this morning when dropping off my daughter (she goes to this school) and he was very nice and already knew what happened because I told the story to my dd's teacher yesterday who is in charge of arranging subs. He said not to worry and that he felt bad the teacher acted that way and it was "uncalled for". So now I feel better after worrying last night about it. I guess I should have sent the boy to the nurse right away but my thinking was that the teacher was going to be there any second and she walks right by the nurses office on her way back to the classroom. Thanks for your opinions!!

 

[AD]

It's not your fault that this teacher was late to pick her students up. I wouldn't worry too much about it. I used to sub, and I wasn't a "mind reader"! It sounds like she was taking her foul mood out on you.

Definitely send the student to the nurses office if he/she gets hurt in your care. If a student is really crying, hits their head, etc... and you send them to the nurse, then you are "covering yourself" in case it ends up being something worse. You don't want Little Johnny to go home and tell his parents that he hit his head in gym and say "no" when they ask if he went to the nurses office.

 

[New Sub]

sending to nurse?

I think the teacher was a complete jerk to you and probably nothing you did would have pleased her. Even if you had walked those kids down to her room she probably would have been angry that you were in her room without her supervision (you know messing up her feng shui). She also could have flipped out if you walked them to her room but she got out of the meeting early only to find an empty gym. There are some people you can please and some that are complete dip sticks. Just always be polite and let it roll off your back with this teacher. She doesn't deserve your time. Plus, how dare she assume that you are there to cater for her and do her job? Yes you are filling in for another teacher and are supposed to do that person's job, but this teacher's responsibility is to get her kids! I think it's scary that a teacher would trust that her kids were magically shipped back to her room. What if you were an incompetent sub (not saying you are though!!!) and lost a kid between the gym and her room? This teacher really should have more concern for her kids.

As far as the nurse, it's a tough call. On the one had you could have sent the kid to the nurse and maybe it would have been a good decision. Then again there could have been nothing seriously wrong with the kid and the nurse would get pissed that you sent the kid in the first place. Also, what if you had to send two other kids with the injured one (you know the buddy system) and the nurse kept them all after school to help the injured one. The parents would be inflamed that their kids did not show up in time or the kid might have missed the bus. I would really only send children above the age of 9 to the nurse if they are bleeding, need to take medication, or have an actual bump or bruise. Most of the time kids above the age of 9 are just more shocked than hurt and some of them will learn that crying wolf gets them out of work. With the little ones I would send them to the nurse because their parents are more involved with their lives at that point and will be SUPER pissed that their little angel fell over and you did nothing.

But don't stress too much about it. It's hard to think on your toes and you are going to have to learn from a lot of mistakes in this profession. Even if you are seasoned it's hard! My mother is a teacher and she still makes lots and lots of mistakes! This job is kinda like being a police officer. You can make good judgment calls on the dot, but the public is going to massacre you if they think you did something wrong even if you didn't.

 

[Krisandra]

I just wanted to follow up. I did 1/2 a day for Phys Ed again today for my dd's school and it went much better. I was told that this particular Teacher that I had a hard time with was very nasty and not to worry about her comments. I was with another Teacher today so the day was pretty easy - I was just helping her and then I had my own class the last period. Yesterday I subbed for K - with 22 kids and I was exhausted and in bed by 7pm last night so this was a piece of cake!

 

[Audi]

SubLady

I'm sorry to tell you, but if the teacher is having a bad day, she'll give you a hard time. You should have politely discussed with her that maybe next time you two can work together on time schedules when she has other commitments. For every attitude I've dealt with, I can honestly say for the most part the people are helpful and caring.