Over the past two months, two of the four teachers on my team has been out for personal reasons, having been replaced by a collection of long- and short-term substitute teachers. Spending an entire academic quarter working with subs has given me a new perspective on the qualities that make them effective. I’ve given more thought than ever to the important role that they play in our classrooms and on our teams.
Like any educator who has needed to miss a day, or been on a team with one who has, I’ve worked with my fair share of substitute teachers. They come in a variety of personalities, teaching styles, experience levels and some may possess online education degrees. They have varying expectations about their responsibilities. And, in all fairness, we classroom teachers have equally varied expectations for them. Some want a stand-in who will simply maintain order for the duration of the absence, while others are looking for a sub who will teach class in virtually the same way that the primary teacher would. With such a wide spectrum of needs, it would be impossible to make every teacher happy.
For the purposes of the list below, therefore, I decided to consider my own expectations for substitute teachers and assume that I am a fairly average teacher. By way of a disclaimer, I might add that what I like in a sub might irritate or even anger other teachers. In addition, high school and elementary school teachers who work largely alone probably don’t care too much how well their sub works with their colleagues while they are out. For middle school teachers who team-teach, having to apologize afterwards for the incompetence of a bad sub can be painful. With all of this said, here is my wish list for a perfect substitute:
- Middle-aged. In my experience, older (retirement-age) subs are easily frustrated and easily insulted. I’ve even heard some comment that “children today need more discipline” and seem intent on providing it. Young substitutes suffer from a lack of life experience and a desire to befriend the students rather than earn their respect.
- Firm and fair. Students inevitably challenge a sub in the first few minutes of class. They want to affirm their dominance in the classroom, and a sub needs to reaffirm that they have control. Otherwise, things get rough and the primary teacher ends up picking up the pieces when they return. Oh, and teammates often have to step in during the day and bring order, on top of having to do their own jobs (sense any bitterness?).
- Willing to do more than she is paid to do. Let’s face it: Substitute teachers barely get paid enough to simply show up in the average classroom. They don’t get paid the exact same as the average teacher salary. Throw in a rough group of kids and a complicated lesson plan and the financial injustice becomes downright immoral. We’re not even talking about long-term subs who sometimes grade work and even write lessons. Nonetheless, my vision of a perfect sub is one who is willing to modify the lesson plan as necessary, and adjust to the needs of the students.
- Confident but willing to accept advice. Any teacher who exudes confidence is going to have an easier time handling any classroom, but some subs come into a new situation with the attitude that they can conquer all–without help from anyone. This is a particularly frustrating trait on a team of teachers who know the students and can offer sound suggestions for being successful with them.
It’s not a complete list, but these are the basics of a good sub according to this one teacher. I’d love to hear your ideas, good or bad, about the list and what you would add to it. Let the comments flow!
As a retired teacher who is now substituting, I guess I miss the boat with number one.:) Substituting has provided me with the unique opportunity to see things from the sub’s perspective. As a classroom teacher, I always had a sub folder with wonderful review activities that were easy to follow and guaranteed to keep my students engaged. I was never out for a long period of time, so this worked well for me. Seating charts were kept up to date, and discipline policies were clear and located with the seating charts. It was my plan that subs not teach the material but reinforce what I had already taught. It’s not logical to think that every substitute understands the teaching strategies and content of every subject. I preferred a sub who treated my students with respect and left notes for me about the day. Providing enough work and structure for the day helped a lot.
Great point, Betty. I realize that I may have overstated the importance of the ideal substitute. As you noted, much of the success of a sub lies in the plans left by the classroom teacher. Your perspective as a retired teacher is certainly helpful, too.
Those were very nice things you said about my mother.
Good list! I would add to it that we need a sub who is not going to go through your desk/cabinet and take candy, cough drops/ etc or give out tickets/prizes to the kids without your permission…
As a substitute on the younger side of things (I’m 26, and was 23 when I began substituting) I can understand where a teacher would want someone with more classroom management experience to teach and “roll with the punches and be innovative” so to speak. That said, I have learned quite a bit about classroom management through trial and error.
I did have a middleschool class from hell early on and I was that substitute that ended up having to ask for help from “team teachers.” Everything I tried failed. Even getting the principal in the classroom failed and probably made things worse. I learned from that experience and adapted my methods in dealing with that agegroup.
I have also had experiences following lesson plans. Sometimes the teacher leaves plenty of work, but often times, the students breeze through the work and a sub is left hanging out in the cold twiddling their thumbs. In my school district, a sub is typically not expected to teach a class, but simply follow the lesson plan provided by the teacher. Usually that means telling the students what pages to read and which packets/questions to complete. I found its helpful if the teacher leaves a copy of their expectations for the class – Stay in assigned seat, no talking, no gum chewing… etc.
Two of the best subbing experiences I had was when I subbed for 3rd grade and 2nd grade. The 3rd grade class staged a revolt which took me less than 30 seconds to get under control and stopped. ( I used the in-class discipline system – then when the teacher returned from her workshop and saw the change, she inquired to me what happened… I told her exactly what happened.) The 2nd grade class’ teacher ended up going home sick and I filled in for 3 days while she recovered with nothing but the lesson plan typed on paper, no handouts xeroxed or anything available but what was in the classroom. The lesson plan was written in shorthand with limited instruction on how to complete what was expected. So I rolled with the punches. I taught science and other things on the lesson plan which I disciphered, I maintained order and discipline, I learned how to interact with wiggly 2nd graders and basically grew as a sub.
So, please don’t discount someone as a sub simply because they’re young.
Willing to do more than she is paid to do.
I guess I don’t genderally qualify …
Pingback: Teachers as Quarterbacks? « Scripted Spontaneity
I once read that the definition of an expert in any given field is one who has made every possible mistake in that field and learned not to repeat the mistakes too often. Also, when a person acts confidently do they have the experience to back it up or they just faking it and will prove their lack of experience when it counts?
I truly believe in experience. Experience creates confidence in a given situation and there are alot of situations in the classroom over any period of time. I’ve been subbing for over three years now and am forty-eight years old. I have alot of life experience, not all of it was good. I make mistakes in the classroom that I learn from each time I teach. Sure you have to use common sense, but you have to have experience in the everyday running of the classroom too. Among other things you have to know how to deal with multiple personality types and sometimes more than one at a time, know in general or specific what not to do or say to the kids, the parents, the other teachers, the administrators and other school personnel. You have to be an expert in dealing with people while knowing and enforcing the rules of the school, the parents, your own rules, the states’s rules and whoever else’s rules there are. The list of what you have to know and be good at goes on and on, but you learn these things over time through experience, education and the continuous re-educating of yourself.
As a sub I have to become a third grade teacher one day, a twelfth grade teacher the next day, and a sixth grade teacher the day after that. My mindset for who I am dealing with changes every day not to mention what I need to know to deal with the k-12 curriculum over a two or three week period. I top all that off with teaching at four or five different school districts all with their own school conduct codes, different set of teachers, parents, kids, administrators and other subs etc.
I like being a sub for now, but I don’t like that I’ll work every day at half to a third of the pay of the teacher I’m subbing for. I receive no benefits, no vacation pay, no medical, dental, optical etc. and no pay spread over summer vacation or other fringe benefits, unless I do it myself. However, I work over summer because I can’t afford to take it off yet. Also, I get to go to bed at night sometimes wondering if I’ll get a call to work in the morning if not already scheduled to work or wondering if the the class is going to be good, a pain or somewhere in between. I get no paid sick days or personal days that I can take either. But I will handle and be responsible for any problems that arise in the classroom, in the hall or on the playground if applicable that day. I will fill out the same paper work for discipline problems and will even write the lesson plans for the day if there are none. I’ll deal with the parents, the principal and other teachers and take their praise or their criticism. All of these things are experiences that I am glad for because it makes me prepared to do the job regardless that I am abused by the school’s compensation policies for the subs that they can’t do without each day. I also get to complete my Act 48 credits required by teachers in PA to complete every five years or you can’t work more than 90 days as a sub per year. The techers get discounted courses if not paid by the school and they get to take courses that only take a weekend. I have to find time and money to do mine through a college over a three to four month period.
Also, as a sub, as I have been finding out over the past couple of years, I may get called for an interview for a job opening, but won’t get the job. I’ve learned from other subs, teachers and administrators that most districts don’t hire their subs because they don’t want to lose their pool of subs available from year to year. To make it harder on subs, I’ve also heard of districts selling their jobs to the highest bidder, or hiring relatives or hiring friends for the open jobs. It’s not always a good situation to find a job within your own school district or one not far from home. I’m still looking.
On the plus side I get to work with kids that in general treat me well and enable me to enjoy my day while I help and teach them. I also get on the job training for what I hope to do full time in only one classroom and one grade level per year someday. To be good at something you usually have to go through alot of crap sprinkled with some goodness.