Finding My Niche

Substitute teaching is a job with many pros and cons. I love that I can take days off whenever I want, that the work day is short (8 hours-tops), and that when the day is over, whatever it was, "it's not my problem". It can, however, also be a stressful job. You never know exactly what type of situation you are walking into and classroom management is rarely easy. You have to be "on" every minute of the day. A lot of my assignments so far this year have been in special education classrooms, and I have discovered that these are my favorite assignments.

Yesterday I spent a delightful day in a Post High School classroom. This is where students attend when they've graduated for high school. It provides services until they reach age 26. The student were odd and quirky, at times a bit rude (burping was the name of the game), but eager to please hard working. We had a lot of laughter throughout our day. We worked on academics and life skills, went to job sites, and worked out at the Y. But more than anything, these "kids" had a warm and loving place to spend their day and work on skills and habits to help them be independent in life.

Sometimes I think we make life too complicated; we make God too complicated. The students I worked with yesterday, or in the Autism class last week, or the basic classroom the week before, don't usually contemplate great questions in life. They face struggles and challenges that we can't imagine. But you know what? Most of them also face life with a smile. I saw this so much in Argentina with Andres. No one in that school knew more pain, yet no one knew more joy, and I know that was not a coincidence. Andres loved God deeply and fully, in a way that I don't know if I am able to. He wasn't hindered by my doubts and distractions.

I hope I get more jobs working with the special students in the community around me (One of those teachers already has me reserved for a day in October and a day in November). Those students are so much more open to life, open to love. It's there that I have found my niche as a sub, giving them their space to be their quirky selves, supporting them through challenges, and guiding them through their day. They have so much to teach us, if we take the time to listen.