Public school -vs- prison school

I subbed today and it was great. The teacher I subbed for teaches Spanish, French and Math- and I can't speak any of these. (Yes, I include math as a foreign language, thank you very much). She has great classes and it reminded me of things I miss about teaching in a public high school:

• I don't have to worry if I lay a ball point pen down that it will be stolen so a student can use it for a homemade tattoo. Or I may let students use scissors and not have to count each pair because someone might decide to smuggle them out of the classroom to cut him/herself later.
• If I ask them to get quiet, the generally do and without swearing at me or calling a bit**
• 99% of them attempt to follow directions, and 100% of them do without throwing things at me
• Heard one student say to a few others: "I'm a black belt in yoga and I'm I'm not afraid to use it" and the other kids GOT THE JOKE and laughed with him, not at him
• I let a student to go her locker to get a book. She actually came back with the book, and in less than 10 seconds so she probably didn't do "bad stuff"
• kids actually studied in study hall
• no meetings were called during prep period to go over new policies about whether certain colors of girls' headbands are symbolic gang colors

Public school wasn't so bad... at least not today!

Mags