Variety is the spice of life.
Guest teacher Kelte Larocque went from the relative calm of teaching a Grade 6 class to the controlled calamity of Grade 1 students getting their jackets on and cleaning up the classroom just before the end-of-the-day bell on March 14 at Westmount School.
It’s all part of the fun of being a guest teacher.
“This is my fourth-year and I love it,” Larocque said. “I enjoy the flexibility that guest teaching gives me. I have young children and maybe I want to go on a field trip with them. Plus, not every day is the same with the same students, every day is different.”
It was Guest Teachers’ Appreciation Week in Alberta March 12-16.
Larocque was guest teaching at Westmount School last week, but has worked at all the Okotoks Foothills School Division schools.
“I don’t shy away from anything – maybe not shop at the high school level where they are using electric stuff,” Larocque said. “But, I have taught band, foods, sewing, math – I have lots of variety.”
She gets work by being booked ahead by full-time teachers or she might get a call at 6 a.m. to tell her she is needed due to a sudden teacher’s illness. Just like the boy scouts, the key is being prepared.
“They (the teachers) all have sub-plans done for you,” Larocque said. “We are expected to be at the school early to look at the plans – the teacher has it set up that way. The goal is to complete what the teacher has set out for you, but that isn’t always reality. Sometimes living in the moment is the best way to go and if that happens, I leave a note saying where we left off. But for the most part, you stick with what is planned.”
She said if she is a last-minute replacement, she is not expected to delve into the deeper complexities of a subject.
“To actually teach a lesson, that is not generally expected, but I have and I will, I’m open to that as long as I know,” she said.
She added because she is well-known to teachers in the Okotoks area, it allows for much better communication between the full-time teacher and herself to prepare for the day.
Of course, having a guest teacher can be like the curtain suddenly going up for the class clowns – an opportunity to goof off and perform for their peers.
“Oh, absolutely they do,” she said with a laugh. “I am fortunate because I have gotten to know the kids. You know which kids might need more attention.”
“When I first started out it was just kind of trial and error. I take it in stride. In junior high you always have those types of kids – it makes for an interesting day… If they get lippy with me, sometimes if I know them, maybe I will give it back a little bit.
“If it is really bad, and it hasn’t happened yet, I would have a conversation with the student outside the classroom. But, I have been in Okotoks so many times, the kids know my expectations.”
She admits no one goes into education to become a substitute teacher, but for now, she is happy because it fits her busy schedule with a young family.
Larocque added she may become a full-time teacher when her children are older adding often the public doesn’t realize how many hours permanent teachers put in on a day, having to deal with prep work, grading and extra-curricular activities.
“It just has to come at the right time for my family but right now this is what works,” she said. “Right now, I get the opportunity to teach, be in the classroom with kids in a variety of different styles and different subjects.”
Larocque was replacing Grade 6 teacher Shauna Laubman-Ruff on March 14.
“A guest teacher has to be flexible, knowledgeable and good classroom management,” Laubman-Ruff said. “And still be able to relate to the students.”
She rests easier knowing Larocque is there in her stead.
“Absolutely,” Laubman-Ruff said. “I have faith in her abilities to carry out whatever I need to happen in a day.”
