I love subbing. Its a wonderful opportunity to meet a lot of kids and teachers. God has redeemed so many days and conversations at these schools that it would be hard to imagine any other context for the hows and whys these conversations take place.
Some days are better than others. Some days you’re working with mature seniors… others, like yesterday, you’re working with 7th graders.
7th graders have a weird problem, and it’s actually shared with 6th graders: they are unable to stop talking. More importantly, they lack that special filter that stops them from saying what others would automatically register as inappropriate. They just talk. Here’s how a stellar conversation that occurred yesterday:
7th grader: “Did you get dressed in the dark this morning, Mr. Fuller?”
Me: “No. Why do you ask?”
7th grader: “Well, you don’t really match.”
Me: “Which parts of me specifically?”
7th grader: “Your pants. They don’t match.”
Me: “Really? What don’t they match specifically?”
7th grader: “All of the rest.”
Me: “All the rest? I don’t think it’s that bad. I think I’m kind of having a Jake Ryan day.”
7th grader: “Who’s that?’
Me: “Nevermind.”
Can you think of any other context for this conversation? Yeah, neither can I.
