Anybody else here a substitute teacher in a public school?
The high school I sub at has four 90 minute blocks. Until last week, when the teacher I was in for had a free block, I did not have to be at the school. So basically I could come in 90 minutes late or leave 90 minutes early, or take 2 hours for lunch and go home.
But now, the administration says that since there might be an emergency during the school day, all subs must be at the school for the entire day. Which means that I have an hour and half or 2 hours every day with nothing to do, and nowhere to do it. Basically I have to wander the halls or sit in the library.
So how does it work where you work? Can you leave if there isn’t a class, or do you have to hang around? What do you do if you can leave? What do you do if you have to hang out? Which do you prefer?
I’ve always had to be there for the entire day, regardless of free periods. Occasionally, I’ve been called in at the last minute and told that I can come in a little later, but that’s usually because the teacher I’m subbing for has left suddenly. At the high school, subs are expected to cover various other duties (in-school suspension, lunch duty, etc.) during their off period. In middle school, it’s usually entirely free, although I’ve had to cover classes because of a sub shortfall.
Once, at the high school, I had the final block off and they didn’t have any duties for me to cover, and they told me I could go home. It’s really rare, though.
In our building the substitutes have to be there for the whole day, or, if only subbing for a half-day, the whole half-day. Emergencies do happen, other teachers get sick, and they’re being paid to be there.
I subbed for many years in a high school. If I had a free first period, I usually was allowed to come in a little late. If my last period was free, I went home early. If my free period and lunch were consecutive giving me 1 hr 45 min free, I sometimes left to go home ( < 3 miles away.) If I chose to or had to stick around, I usually hung out in the classroom if no class was in there or the teacher’s lounge or smoking area (I was a smoker in those days, but not anymore!) However, If classes were canceled for a pep rally or a special assembly or some such, I stayed so as to be another adult presence to help maintain order. Technically we were supposed to be there for the entire school day, but it was overlooked if you were reliably in your classroom when students were in there.
One of the rules of subbing in my district is that you are not supposed to leave the campus during the school day. But they aren’t really keeping track of the subs, and I’ve gone out for lunch and I’ve seen other subs do the same. There have been times when I’ve had the last period free - I’ve found if I go to the office and see if they need anything, they’ll usually tell me I can just go home.
At my local district, subs are expected to remain in the classroom and do paperwork or whatever else needs to be done to prepare the regular teacher for her return. The idea is that the regular teacher shouldn’t have to play catchup; that all graded assignments are graded and recorded (subs have access to the online gradebook system), all referrals for behavior are taken care of, and that the regular teacher has some idea of what was covered in class so she can pick up where the sub left off.
I gotta say, I’m totally with the school system here. If they’re paying you for a day, it makes sense for them to keep you there for the day. A teacher might go home, there might need to be extra coverage in a room where there’s a problem, or heck, maybe Mr. Smith down in chemistry could use an extra pair of hands that day. Why not keep the sub occupied?
(As I type that, though, I realize that maybe I’m not totally with the school. Were I administration, I might create a signup sheet somewhere called the Free Sub Signup sheet. If you need an extra pair of hands at some point during the school day, you put your name down for that block, and the school secretary checks to see if there’s a sub with a free block during that time and sends the sub down to your room. If you’re paying for the subs, it’s not enough just to keep them around: you really should try to keep them busy.
I subbed once at a middle school, and I spent a huge chunk of my time sitting around waiting for something to happen–I began and nearly finished the YA novel Ember while I was waiting for something to do. I would much rather have been working.
At the local districts substitute teachers are not to leave campus during the day and if they do they are removed from the substitute list. Our substitutes are paid by the hour, not by the day or half day, and only for the hours worked. Substitutes who offer to help other teachers or secretaries after the classroom duties are done are the ones who get called more often. A substitute who sat and read a book wouldn’t be called back.
The most private and hallowed ground in my school.
9th Grade I had a class working in the school office. Ran copies on the mimeograph, delivered & setup the film projectors in the classrooms etc. One hour a day and I got graded. They had different students for every hour of the school day.
We were solemnly warned to never, ever step foot in the teachers lounge. If a teacher in there needed a message we had to ask another teacher to go in and deliver it.
