Confessions of a Substitute Teacher

This month I've started subbing every now and then to earn a little extra cash (and if we ever want to stop renting, that is exactly what we need!). Jason has proven to be a fabulous publicist; his school seems to call at least once a week these days, while I haven't heard a peep from either of the elementary schools. But in a small town where qualified subs are hard to find, the shortage is to my advantage. This week I'm subbing for the entire week...in math. Stop that laughing all of you!
Anyways, while I'm always relieved-and exhausted- whenever I get home, generally I enjoy going out and sporadically putting my degree to work. However, one thing I've realized is that in the school social totem pole, we subs are the pariahs. As much as teachers love finding an excuse to take a day off, most of them dislike leaving their classroom to someone else. The students will try to undermine you, seeking every and any means to turn the class into chaos. If you don't keep your wits about you, you're easy prey my friend!
Having trained in elementary education, working in secondary is interesting, to say the least. Some days I'm left scratching my head wondering if I was that obnoxious at that age. At times I am unsure what my role is: glorified babysitter, zoo keeper, mentor, or drill sargeant? In some classes I feel like the polar bear at the zoo; endlessly pacing the confines of my cage (er, classroom) ready to pounce upon anything out place.
All said, subbing has been a good experience thus far. The school staff are all really nice, and even some of the students are too. One thing I love is seeing Jason around. Most hallway encounters are as follows:
Me (nodding)-"Mr Thompson"
Jason-"Mrs Thompson"
(The fun is watching the students' reactions anytime this happens.)
If anything, subbing has given me a whole new insight in just why Jason is as tired as he is when he comes home each night!