School is Out and I'm Still Sane!

A full semester teaching Sports Medicine/Athletic Training

This past school year was my third year of substituting for our High School. I love subbing/teaching high school students. Yes, they’re Generation Z, which means the way they think, plan, study, read, and date is completely different from when Chuck and I were in High School.

Yet, I was able to establish rapport with almost all the students I interacted with. They often asked me questions that made me smile, since the answers reached all the way back to our high school days.

Some questions startled me, and some topics I wasn’t allowed to comment on, such as politics and religion. Yes, they wanted specific answers. I did my best to give them answers they could accept.

I loved some questions.

How much money did your parents give you each week?

“My boyfriend got an allowance from his parents. With that money, he paid for lunch every day at school, then paid for us to go to movies Friday and Saturday nights. At the movies, he bought drinks and fries for both of us. He always had some money left over which he saved, so we could go out to eat once a month.”

“Wow! How much did they give him each week?

“Five dollars.”

True story. They couldn’t wrap their minds around paying for all that with only five dollars a week.

My parents didn’t give me an allowance. They preferred to be asked for what I’d like to buy and decide whether or not to give me the money. They usually did. They gave me money for lunches, though.

Since hamburgers were 25 cents, cheeseburgers 35 cents, fries 20 cents, and drinks 20 cents (25 cents for large drinks), three dollars covered it nicely.

When we went out to eat once a month, we usually ordered chicken fried steak with gravy, fries, a vegetable (green beans), a hot roll, and dessert. The total for this wonderful meal? About five dollars for both of us.

Did we feel deprived? Not at all!

When I shared with the GenZers, they shook their heads. Couldn’t believe it.

How much money did they get from their parents? “We have to work after school to earn our money,” was the usual answer. Boys, and girls.

I taught 48 students during the spring semester, in two classes. At first, I worried they’d never like me. Most of them hadn’t been in classes I’d subbed for. But within 2-3 weeks I’d made a positive impression on them. How?

My personal rules when I sub. I never yell. I don’t get angry. Anger is a waste of time. And, I treat them with respect. If I can’t answer a question, I explain why. And when I saw them in the hall, I obeyed their rules.

Students weren’t allowed to acknowledge teachers in the halls. I was allowed to waggle my fingers a bit and smile when I passed students I knew. But starting a conversation? Nope.

There were a lot of students, mostly boys, who eventually saw me walking toward them and waved, and said, Mrs. George! Are you having a good day?” My response? “Wonderful! How about you?”

I’m happy to say that I became the “favorite sub” for a lot of them, boys and girls.

Yes, I’m still sane. And happy to have been accepted a bit into Generation Z!

I’m back to Substack. I’ll be on Notes, too. I really appreciate my subscribers who stuck with me, and those who subscribed even though I hadn’t written anything in months! My goal is once a week.

Have a wonderful summer! I’ll be spending a couple of weeks in the New Mexico mountains after the monsoons begin—probably mid-July. I’ll have my computer so I can write a new novel and write to all of you once a week. Feel free to share these letters with friends!

Hugs!

Linda