The Substitute

On September 24, of 2014, Ms. Helferstay was substituting for Ms. Hellige’s 8th Grade Science class, when a group of young 8th graders walked in. She greeted us, and we greeted her back. Some kids didn’t even greet her at all or greeted her in a snobby way. But when we took a seat, and got situated, Ms. Helferstay started to talk, then realizing that there were others who wanted to join in on the conversation. She then gave the 3, 2, 1 signal with her fingers, and asked everyone to be silent. But still, no one was paying attention, and the class became louder, and louder. She then walked over to Ms. H’s desk and started threatening kids with detentions. Then, the whole class was quiet… until she passed out the Transfer Tasks. That’s when all the kids started to moan and complain, and talk. The entire class, all you heard was chit-chat. It was getting kind of annoying until we realized that we were the one’s saying, “shut up,” “stop talking,” and “be quiet,” when really, we should have been the one’s to shut up, stop talking, and be quiet. We all looked around the room at each other, and that’s when the class got quiet. A few seconds later, the bell rang. That’s when everyone got out of their seats, and headed out the door to their next class, afraid of what would happen when Ms. H returned.