Bullying

I work in several schools throughout the school year, but one theme is universal. Bullying. It takes many different forms. The most common form that I've seen is the formation of cliques. And if you aren't one of the select few, you are out. Maybe you don't have the right clothing brands, the right hairstyle, or your parents don't make enough money. Either way you are excluded and made fun of if you aren't in an "in" group.

We hear on the news stories of kids and teens who are severely depressed and even end up participating in self-destructive behavior to deal with their pain.

If I see this behavior in a class I'm subbing in I do my best to quiet the teasing, if only for a little while. Of course I can't control what happens after school and the next day.

What is our role as teachers in this issue? For years I think many teachers have ignored it or brushed it off. However, I don't think this is something we should ignore.

What it is like to be "just a sub"

There are a lot of people that think substitute teaching is an easy job.  Some even think that we aren't as important as "real" teachers.

Well, our job isn't easy that's for sure-- and without us, "real" teachers would have it pretty rough!

Sometimes we are fortunate to have subbing days scheduled a week or a few days ahead of time.  These are the best because we know ahead of time we are working that day.  Other times we get a call at 9pm the night before... or maybe get that wake up call at 6:30 from the automated sub calling system.  And there's also the frustration of having missed an automated call and therefore, missed out on a work day altogether.

When we do get that call, our day may start during a huge range of time in the morning.  Depending on how far the school is away, when we got the call, and when the school day starts at that particular school dictates when and how quickly we get up and get ready for the day.

We arrive at the school, check in the office, and try to find the classroom where we're working.  Then we spend a few minutes reading the note that's [hopefully] been left and going over the lesson plans and materials [that are hopefully laid out where we can find them]!

Then our day begins.  We spend the day trying to keep the students behaving and under control and teach the lessons as the teacher has planned them, while also trying to learn students' names and get to know them a little.  Every classroom is different, some days we are fortunate to work in a classroom that is well-behaved and mannerly, and our day goes quickly and pleasantly. Then there are also the days where we walk into a classroom that's chaotic and disorganized, the students are poorly behaved, and everything just seems to go wrong.  Thankfully, the good days usually far outnumber the bad days, but that's the thing about being a substitute- every day is different.

Being a substitute teacher is sometimes very challenging, but it can also be rewarding at the same time.  I hope to be a full time teacher someday soon.  But for now, I enjoy being a "real" substitute teacher.

What Teachers Make

My experience with long-term sub jobs

Over the course of my two-year substitute teaching career, I have had the opportunity to work in two long-term placements.  I thought I'd share with you my experiences in those two jobs. 


My first long term was given to me by the luck of the draw.  In September of 2009, I got a call from the automated sub system for a multi-categorical special education job (which I'm not certified) that was supposed to start about a week from that day and last a month.  It was at a local school which has an elementary connected to a middle school.  Half the day was on the elementary side, half on the middle school side.  I eagerly accepted the job.  I wasn't entirely sure what I was getting myself into but I didn't want to pass up that opportunity!  I found out that the teacher in that position was out on an extended maternity leave due to her infant son having some medical issues.  They had had a sub from the beginning of the year but SHE had to leave to have her baby!  (No, there wasn't anything in the water).  So I started in mid-September relatively clueless.  I had no real plans or anything to go off of, just a few notes from the last sub about what the kids had been working on.  So with a lot of work, and lots of help from other special ed teachers & administrators, I finally got my bearings.  I learned to write IEPs, do Medicaid billing, have IEP meetings, do special ed. testing, etc, all within a few weeks.  The job then ended up getting extended several times until I ended up working clear through until Christmas!  I learned so much during that job, and was really sad to go!  I didn't think I'd like working in Special Ed, OR Middle School for that matter, and turns out I enjoyed them both!

My second long-term job came about this past school year.  It, too, was in special education, only this time it was in gifted education (opposite end of the spectrum!).  I got a call from the gifted center principal one evening in February, and she had talked to the principal at the school I did my long term in the previous year and he recommended me!  There was nobody in the county at the time certified in gifted so she went with that principal's recommendation and asked if I'd be up for the job for the rest of the school year!  This job was actually part-time.  I ended up working full days Monday and Tuesday, and then a half day Wednesday.  I took over first grade gifted classes at two schools and two second graders  and a fourth grader at two other schools.  Basically, I took on those students because the current teachers were over their caseload.  This second time around was a lot easier for me, not only because things like gifted IEPs are easier to write (which, they are) but because I already knew how to do those things.  I really enjoyed being in that position.


Though I'm grateful for those jobs, there are some pros and cons to long-term substitute jobs.

In my opinion, these are the pros: 

• First and most obviously, is it's guaranteed work.  That is probably the worst part about substitute teaching is never knowing when you are going to get a call to work.  During a long-term you KNOW that you will have a job and that you will have those paychecks coming (with about the same amount too!)
• Teaching Experience.  Long terms give you the opportunity to gain work days towards teaching experience used in the hiring process for contracted teachers.
• Experience.  During a long term you get the same experience you would as a classroom teacher, and you get some of the freedoms that come with it.  Depending on the situation, you are almost always able to decorate your room the way you want, arrange the kids the way you want, etc.  You also can implement your own classroom management system.  It truly becomes "your" classroom when you are there, and for those subs like me who are holding out for a full-time teaching job, it's nice to have your own classroom.
• Building Relationships.  You get the opportunity to work with the same group of kids each day, which is nice to have that real student-teacher relationship and to share in their accomplishments.  Also, you are working with the same faculty everyday, which can help you to build more professional contacts and can help you out as a sub later to get more work days.

Though there are many pros, there are a few cons to long-term sub jobs.

• Just because you're there and doing the job already, doesn't mean you will get the job permanently.  My gifted job was fulfilling a vacancy, and when I applied for the job at the end of the school year, I got an interview, did well with the interview, but didn't get the job.  I got trumped by someone with more experience.  This is extremely frustrating because I KNOW that I can do that job and do it well.
• Missing out on other jobs/schools.  When you are in a long-term you obviously aren't working anywhere else.  It's easy for you to drop off the radar for other schools while you are working at just one.  Sometimes it's like starting over again getting your name and business cards out again after a long term.
• No Benefits.  Even though you are essentially the "real" teacher, as a long-term sub, you aren't able to have the benefits of a contracted teacher.  Like, paid sick leave, snow days, and vacation days.  The jobs that I have had, the principals have been great about working around some days off I needed that I had previously made plans for, but of course, it's unpaid.  And in both jobs I have gone to work sick when I should've been at home, because it's just a hassle to call off at the last minute, not to mention, that's a day of pay lost.  Same goes for snow days.  Health benefits are available for the duration of the long-term job but it's difficult to take advantage of that, when at the very most you'd only have a few months of health coverage.

Even with the cons,  I'm glad I've had the opportunity to work in a couple long-term jobs, and I'll definitely take another if given the chance!