My students would never, ever, ever think of misbehaving for a sub. They are still finding the body parts of the last class that did so. But the catching up is a bitch.
There was once a snafu and I didn’t get a sub. It was afternoon before anyone noticed–my kids came in, saw there was no one there, and sat around and chit-chatted until the bell (or left, I imagine.). It would have been better if they’d done the assignment I left, but I was pleased they at least didn’t have a party.
That said, I can’t IMAGINE being out for the little kids. That must be hell, Ruffian. I can string 45 minutes of BS together.
During the more intense time of year, I have a ritual: I lay in bed and go through all the things I have to do that day and as soon as I get to one that I just have to do, I get up and go into work. If I get through all three preps + after school and don’t hit anything, I call in. Happens maybe two days a year!
That said, a month ago I got the most wonderful thing ever–a jury duty for PSAT day. Any other day, it’s a nightmare to miss school. But getting out of PSAT administration is a gift.
To all the teachers in the thread:
THANK YOU.
I was a third grade teacher for less than a year, and there’s no way to describe how difficult a job it is.
Since **substitute teachers **were brought up in the thread, I do have another side question. Okay, a couple.
Is it possible to get a teaching certificate and then go directly into substitute teaching? Like, without having been a regular full-time teacher first?
Those of you who are going :eek::eek::eek: feel free to tell me how insanely stupid that idea might be and how all substitute teachers hate their jobs or are all like Peggy Hill or that - barring being mentored by someone like **Silenus **- all children will eat subs alive.
But I know myself pretty well, and I genuinely know that I can handle {{drop all plans and come in at the last minute, then wing it}} better than I can handle {{crack of dawn and a long day every day}}.
Also, if my nutshell description of the difference between the two styles of jobs is totally off base, please tell me that, too.
Is there a high demand for sub teachers in your school district, teachers?
Do subs specialize in teaching certain subjects, or would I be just as likely to get called in to teach math as English? (I got a liberal arts degree and have always been more of a jack-of-all-trades than a specialist, by temperament, so this would not be a minus in my book.)
There is always a high demand for subs. I subbed for 6 months between getting my credential starting at the school I am still with. It was…interesting. I got the most calls from a neighboring city that is a hell-hole. I learned very quickly what to do, what not to do, and how to maintain order without tempting the little(6’3") bastards to pull a knife on you. It’s definitely an experience. But the pay sucks, the working conditions are the pits, you get zero respect, from anybody, and you aren’t really working your way up the learning curve to becoming a better teacher because you aren’t ever teaching anything. You are a place-holder.
You would be called to sub absolutely anything. I ran the gamut from 7th grade Remedial English to 12th grade math to PE to Bio.
Would you like to share your hard-earned wisdom about maintaining order in that kind of environment?
When I tutored chemistry, it was at a high school that was … okay, it was ghetto and gritty and urban BUT it was what passed for ghetto, gritty and urban in Austin, TX. (Those of you from Detroit, Philadelphia, New Jersey etc. can go ahead and laugh. It’s okay.)
Sub pay is true crap–it’s not a living wage. In many places, it’s under $100/day if you are a certified teacher, and when I subbed a decade ago with just my bachelors, I think I got $50/day. You don’t get paid when you don’t work. You get no benefits. You can probably work every day, but you’ll never know for sure when and where you are working. If you get suddenly sick and need to back out of a day you’ve accepted, it’s the end of the world. It’s the most lonely job imaginable: you don’t form relationships with your coworkers or the kids. Subbing is all the worst parts of teaching and none of the best. If you want to work in a school but not be a teacher, be a teacher’s aide or a data controller or registrar or something.
I wanted to be a teacher until I tried homeschooling some commune kids over a summer.
I realized that I do not have the ability to teach those who are not at least my direct peers.
I subbed for a few months between getting my license and the end of the school year (was hired as a classroom teacher over the summer). And I mostly enjoyed it.
Pros: when you go home at the end of the day, you’re done. This is HUGE: as a classroom teacher, I wake up thinking about students, shower thinking about lesson plans, eat dinner replaying the difficult scenes from the day, dream about worst-case scenarios. As a sub, when you go home, you’re done. Also, there’s very little paperwork. Also, you can get some respect from teachers, if you’re lucky and you’re prepared. I mostly got it from teachers at the school where I student-taught: they asked for me specifically as a sub, and I really enjoyed that part of the experience.
Cons: the pay. The chance you’ll go into a hellhole classroom. The lack of benefits. The unreliable work.
An alternative, if you’re interested in K-6 teaching, would be to get a job as an assistant teacher. I think that’d be tremendous training for becoming a full-time teacher, and it’s got many of the same benefits that being a sub has.
Absolutely yes. In fact, if you have a bright shiny new teaching credential and no job, subbing makes more money than sitting at home, and it puts something on your resume.
It all depends on where you’re subbing and what else you’re doing. Several urban teachers on this board have mentioned actually having full-time armed police officers on their campuses :eek:. I can’t imagine wanting to teach in an environment where I felt actual physical danger from the students.
If you have a work-at-home flex-hour job (e.g., freelance writing), subbing is a great add-on. You can always say “no” if they call and you’re working on a tight deadline, but if you say “yes,” it’s a little extra cash in your pocket and it gets you out of the house for a day.
Yes, yes, yes. My credential expired years ago, and they’re still throwing paperwork at me because there just aren’t enough subs around here.
This probably varies by district. Around here (highly rural area), you could get called in to sub absolutely anything on a moment’s notice.