Substituting for the first time this year

Today I had the opportunity to substitute for another math teacher at work today. This was good for two reasons: 1) it got me out of the twice weekly collaboration meeting and 2) I'm getting paid for it. I subbed for an Algebra II class and all they did was take a quiz. I simply had to proctor it.

The students were really great. They were really respectful; probably because I told them I teach there. I followed the plan the teacher left and gave them about 10 minutes to study. I even helped a couple of students with some examples. Then I gave them the instructions and passed out the quiz. They were absolutely quiet during the quiz. Even when they were finished, they were respectful of the students still working on the quiz and stayed quiet.

I was astonished because I remember the time where I gave a quiz in 3rd period and they were as good. They are a lot of factors that may explain the difference, including the fact that my students are freshmen and this class had 10th and 11th graders. I want to believe it has mostly to do with me and my classroom management.

I'm pretty sure the teacher has her procedures in place. The students all seemed to know what to do because they were all consistent. They all stayed quiet after the quiz (surprisingly, because for 4th period, I forgot to mention that they needed to stay quiet) and they raised their hand and asked to go to the bathroom when they needed to. I can tell they are also not used to leaving early because I didn't have a lot of students packing up until I told them so.

Anyways, big SIGH. It has become more apparent that I have some work to do with my students. Honestly, I think they need to learn HOW to take a test. Don't worry. I promise you: I will teach them.