By Kara Hallam
Staff Writer
Junior Jacob Harris is immediately overwhelmed as he walks into a loud classroom with 30 kids. He has just realized that the woman at the teacher’s desk is his mom, Jane Harris.
As she waves excitedly, his friends suddenly become very aware that the sub is his mom. Although he is more than happy to see her, Jacob does not want to risk his friends prying any embarrassing information out of his mom.
Mrs. Harris has subbed for Coppell since she arrived from California two years ago. She used to be a Special Education teacher, so every once in awhile she loves to get back in the classroom. To her, it is a great way to get involved with the community and the school her two sons Jacob and Aidan, a freshman, attend.
“Most of the time teachers never expect you to teach the kids a lesson so you give them the assignment and most of time they are quiet,” Mrs. Harris said.
Mrs. Harris’ favorite part about talking to students is seeing if they know her two sons. If they know her sons, she can learn some interesting information about them.
It is not always easy to be a substitute teacher from dealing with noisy classrooms and kids looking to get away with things when the actual teacher is not around. Some students wonder what is in it for the sub. However, Mrs. Harris has never had any problems subbing. She just enjoys teachings kids and getting involved with the Coppell community.
“The reason for mean subs is that they are just scared that they will not be in control of the situation. They come into the room trying to assert that they are in charge and come off overbearing. I do not think there is any need for that,” Mrs. Harris said.
Her approach to substitute teaching allows her to get to know kids at CHS and learn more about the area in which she has only lived in for two years.
“My most recent subbing job for CHS I got to meet some really awesome kids. One of them told me all about his experiences in his old hometown where there were lots of tornadoes. It made my day special and I learned a lot,” Mrs. Harris said.
Students seems to favor Mrs. Harris’ laid back subbing style in comparison to others. They have had their fair share of sub horror stories but the majority of the time they are calm laid back and let them work silently like she does.
“Mrs. Harris is so personable she really wants to get to know more about us,” junior Michael Sheffield said.
Subbing also acts as a test run for potential teachers just like in the case with Coppell resident Brian Bloss.
Bloss walks into a room only to encounter a shouting match between two kids. No worries though, this is typical of his day for he is the teacher aid for the debate class where students discuss politics and international issues. Before Bloss was a teacher aid, he was a sub for CHS.
“I was a student at CHS and I really wanted to give back to the school so I decided to sub here,” Bloss said.
Bloss’ days as a sub helped open his eyes that he wanted to pursue a career in teaching and was one of the main factors he signed on as a teacher aid for Glenda Ferguson, CHS’s debate coach. Bloss was once a member of the CHS debate team in 2005 and even made it to national competitions in individual events and got a four year debate scholarship to Western Kentucky University.
“Because I went to CHS I know what it is like to be a student here. When it comes to teaching kids I treat them with the respect I would have wanted to be treated with,” Bloss said.
Not only did Bloss find a future career he was passionate about in substitute teaching but he also discovered one of the other values of being a sub: appreciation.
“The best thing you can hear after a long day is a student saying thank you to you for subbing,” Bloss said. “It is fulfilling to know they appreciate the time I put in for them.”
