I am not a teacher. I haven’t taken a single class on education, let alone made it through the testing and observation required to be a public school teacher. I am an underemployed BA-clutching young woman who paid the bills working as a substitute teacher in Pittsburgh when I couldn’t take another day at my call center job.
People who spend enough time with children can attest to our young’s ability to brighten a rainy day, to say something that makes you laugh out loud every time you remember it, to give you hope for the future. This isn’t about those moments.
Every day as a substitute teacher was an exercise in overcoming my aversion to things like crowds, loud noises, and disrespect. I can proudly say that I have not hidden in a bathroom between classes since my first day teaching in the city, but the way students as…