OH, the life of a substitute. You roll through the door at 6:30 or 7:00 or whatever time you’re supposed to be there, and you get done at 3 or 3:30 (or 1:50 if I’m really lucky!) according to the hours on the substitute scheduling system. When you walk out those school doors, you don’t have grading or conferences or emails or parents to deal with. The joy! You don’t even have to see those kids again tomorrow or ever again in that configuration. It’s all up to you.
But what do you REALLY have to do? There’s a planning period, right? That’s my time. I can go places. I can do whatever I want. And what about that half-hour before and after school? Do I REALLY have to be there a half-hour after the kids go? After all, I don’t have anything to do.
There are two types of people in play here: Those who want to return to that school and those who do not. I will deal with the first group here. The second will be in a later post.
For those who wish to return to the school, I recommend making life as easy as possible for the time period you were there. The less work the teacher, administrators and secretaries (don’t underestimate these amazing people, by the way) have to do as the result of the absence, the more likely it is that you will be called back. Show up on time and leave on time – don’t do anything halfway. Your lunch should be yours, but be back within the designated time and don’t forget to check out through the office. If you have duty at lunch, I'm sorry.
Grading gets you bonus points, especially if you finish all the grading of a given assignment, so then it doesn’t matter what rubric you used, because it was consistent. If you didn’t finish it and didn’t leave the rubric you used, then you may as well not have done the grading at all. The teacher has to spend time figuring out your rubric, then grading or regrading all the work.
Leaving a note is a must, but be clear and specific. If the kid used offensive language, it’s fine to put it in the note, as long as it’s in quotation marks. It should be, in fact, because the teacher can deal with it directly, in whatever manner he or she chooses, with all the information at hand. “Offensive Language” doesn’t really help them much, as my standards may differ from yours.
Clean the room. Simple, but often overlooked. Does the room look like it did when you walked in? Restore it as much as possible and you’ll be well on your way to an invitation to return. Bonus points for removing pencil from desks and tidying the floor.
Subs who do things like this spend a little bit of time investing in their professional image, and it’s a great way to use the time at the end of the day. Leaving at the official end of your work day and doing the little stuff is a sure way to get invited back.
What do you do that makes you that much more appealing for a requested return?
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Welcome to the jungle!
First off, I know that you’re not finding this blog because you’re a crack substitute teacher who knows his or her stuff and is on the fast-track to a full-time position at the dream school with perfect parents and ideal administrative support. You might also be a teacher looking to use your subs better, leave better plans and generally get more out of your kids when you have subs. I can help with that, too.
No. If you’re a sub, you’re frustrated. You feel targeted. You’re a substitute teacher desperately seeking some advice and coping skills for a job that your teaching education (if you had any) didn’t prepare you for.
1. Subbing is 95% management. Especially at first. Almost nothing we could do in student teaching would prepare us for this daily struggle.
2. Knowing which battles to choose is impossible to do perfectly, every time. Just accept that there will be good days and bad days. In time, the good will outnumber the bad.
3. Some basic strategies CAN get you through. You will survive.
This blog is for substitute and classroom teachers who want to do more, be more and accomplish more out of their workday (or their subs). Subs have a target painted on your forehead from the moment they walk into a school office. It’s okay.
I’m here to help.
Who am I? I’ve been a substitute teacher in Washington State, on and off, since 2004. I graduated from a school of education with a history degree and teaching certificate. I did my student teaching in 8th grade, with the smartest kids in the school. I hold a provisional primary endorsement in 4-12 Grades Social Studies and History, and a lifetime P-12 Substitute Teaching Certificate.
When I started subbing in Spokane, I realized that jobs for non-coach history teachers were few and far between, only coming via lateral transfer in the vast majority of cases. I couldn’t do that, because I wasn’t qualified to start anywhere but history.
Then my family obligations intensified and substitute teaching became an ideal role for the flexibility I needed. If only the job came with benefits and a decent salary! Now I have what I can only describe as ADD of the career, happily embracing the day-to-day variety that comes with substitute teaching. It’s definitely a calling.
In the past eight years, I’ve worked for six different districts in the three major population centers of Washington. I spent 143 days in one school, then ran afoul of politics at the start of the following year when a new teacher joined the staff. I found a home in two other schools primarily, working with their gifted students and gradually increasing my referral base. I am a middle school teacher by vocation, and a high school teacher when necessary. Elementary school kids, while adorable, are just a touch scary. Tattling is just not something I handle well. Passive aggression and the silent treatment are right up my alley, though. Bring on the middle schoolers!
I hope you find a home here, with some solid advice and encouragement for this incredibly challenging job. Good luck, and feel free to comment. I'll do my best to respond.
No. If you’re a sub, you’re frustrated. You feel targeted. You’re a substitute teacher desperately seeking some advice and coping skills for a job that your teaching education (if you had any) didn’t prepare you for.
1. Subbing is 95% management. Especially at first. Almost nothing we could do in student teaching would prepare us for this daily struggle.
2. Knowing which battles to choose is impossible to do perfectly, every time. Just accept that there will be good days and bad days. In time, the good will outnumber the bad.
3. Some basic strategies CAN get you through. You will survive.
This blog is for substitute and classroom teachers who want to do more, be more and accomplish more out of their workday (or their subs). Subs have a target painted on your forehead from the moment they walk into a school office. It’s okay.
I’m here to help.
Who am I? I’ve been a substitute teacher in Washington State, on and off, since 2004. I graduated from a school of education with a history degree and teaching certificate. I did my student teaching in 8th grade, with the smartest kids in the school. I hold a provisional primary endorsement in 4-12 Grades Social Studies and History, and a lifetime P-12 Substitute Teaching Certificate.
When I started subbing in Spokane, I realized that jobs for non-coach history teachers were few and far between, only coming via lateral transfer in the vast majority of cases. I couldn’t do that, because I wasn’t qualified to start anywhere but history.
Then my family obligations intensified and substitute teaching became an ideal role for the flexibility I needed. If only the job came with benefits and a decent salary! Now I have what I can only describe as ADD of the career, happily embracing the day-to-day variety that comes with substitute teaching. It’s definitely a calling.
In the past eight years, I’ve worked for six different districts in the three major population centers of Washington. I spent 143 days in one school, then ran afoul of politics at the start of the following year when a new teacher joined the staff. I found a home in two other schools primarily, working with their gifted students and gradually increasing my referral base. I am a middle school teacher by vocation, and a high school teacher when necessary. Elementary school kids, while adorable, are just a touch scary. Tattling is just not something I handle well. Passive aggression and the silent treatment are right up my alley, though. Bring on the middle schoolers!
I hope you find a home here, with some solid advice and encouragement for this incredibly challenging job. Good luck, and feel free to comment. I'll do my best to respond.
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