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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Being a Substitute
I am now set up to substitute secretary and teach in a local school district. Any advice, guidance? TIA!
Re: Being a Substitute
For being a sub teacher: have LOW expectations. Be firm from the begining of the day. The kids will try to walk all over you. Take the lesson plans SLOWWWWW. I'd find that teachers never left enough work to fill the day. Take things slow, and throw in a few games or breaks in there (ie. educational word games, etc.). Keep tabs on which schools you like and start accepting jobs from them vs. the schools you know are more difficult.
Not sure how large your district is, or how your system works, but I was able to call into the system early in the day to hear what jobs were open (before the automated calls went out). By doing this I could pick which job I wanted instead of waiting for a random call from the system for who knows what.
Not sure how your district works, but where I live in FL, DO NOT EXPECT a permanant job out of this. Some classes are going to be great, and others will suck. It depends on the teacher. I subbed for a teacher who hadn't left the classroom that day to go on a conference. She literally threw lessons plans (not detailed) at me and basically told me the class talked over her all day and that there was a group of about 6 that were horrible. They were, and I never took a job there again.
Don't get phased, kids know when a sub is there, the day will be easier and "when the boss is away" attitude sets in (especially if it's one day).
If you know of a teacher at a school you sub at who may be out for a while, that's more ideal if the class is good and the teacher already has control.
Good luck, and like PP said don;t expect much. Just gain experience and learn what schools are good and which ones you want to avoid!
It really scares me when people talk this way about students. I've subbed at few schools majority early education and if I followed this advice I would have never been invited back. Yes you need to set the tone in the classroom that you are in charge but you can be nice to the students and still receive the respect from them. I've actually been requested to sub for certain classes because the students like me and Im not on them all the time.
My advice is to gve them incentives to behave and do their work. I either use what the teacher has set up or come up with something on my own. Don't forget to make nice with fellow teachers and talk to people this can help to get requested in a classroom.
I can only speak from the elementary perspective, but I treat it exactly the same way I treat my own classroom. I give them my expectations right away (usually very simple- they need to listen when it's my turn to talk). I also let them know that I will probably do things differently than their teacher, but that it's okay--we'll still get everything done! I also enlist their help whenever possible, even if I already know things. I find these couple of things really cuts down on behavior issues.
Also, leave detailed notes for the teacher. I always hated coming back and not knowing what got done, if there were any issues, etc.
Have fun!! I really enjoy subbing. Of course, it's not the same as having your own classroom, but there's so much that you can gain from it. GL!
This. Act like you are more than a Sub or they will walk all over you.
Good luck!
I wouldn't have the same philosophy for early education. The poster stated she would be subbing for high school, so my advice was specifically geared towards high school. The good students will be rewarded with mutual respect. The bad students shouldn't be allowed to ruin the class for those who want to learn. Obviously yelling and screaming is not a good plan, but trying to be a nice sub just so they ask you back really will backfire. A good sub will be firm and control the classroom through consistency, laying down the law, and then following through.
I noticed you said you were from FL, so I had a quick question. Do you have to have a teaching degree or anything specific there to be a sub? I know here the city schools require you to be in your junior year of college (something school related), but county schools accept anyone who passes their testing. Just curious
do you teach high school? i really hope you don't. this is incredibly rude. high school kids deserve respect just like any other group of human beings do. i've taught high school for eleven years, and i've found that if you treat kids like human beings, they will do the same in return. again, i seriously hope you're not a teacher.
When I come back and my students tell me a sub was mean, I am glad. This doesn't mean the sub yelled at them or mistreated them, I think in a student's mind it just means the sub didn't let them do whatever they wanted. So don't let the students walk all over you. If they ask something and use the excuse "But my teacher always lets me" or "we always do it that way", stick by what the teacher wrote down. They may not be trying to get away with something but you have to prevent them if they are. Follow the lessons the teacher left, don't decide the kids don't have to do the work. Leave the teacher good notes on how far you got with everything (because some teachers leave more work than the students could possibly accomplish in one day so the sub isn't left high and dry). If you sub again in the same building, stop in and ask the teacher you subbed for if you did all right or (if it is soon after) if he/she has any questions for you or leave contact information so if he/she needs to ask you a question she can.
This x 10! Kids will always say a teqacher/sub is "mean" when they don't get their way and the teacher has boundaries.
I taught for a few years (middle/high school) before going into social work, and when substituting, the single most important piece of advice I can give you is to answer "YES" when the kids ask you if the work their teacher left for them is being graded.
Without fail, every time I handed out an assignment the children's regular teacher had left for them, they would say, "is this being graded???" -- the answer, whether you know or not, is always YES, whether you know the answer or not. If they believe it is being graded, they do the work, and focus throughout the class.
I really did not experience kids being all that bad when I was a sub, but I took a zero tolerance policy towards BS. I would say, "your teacher wants me to let him/her know if anyone misbehaves today, and I hate having to do that. I hope we can work together today and get all our work done, so I can leave him/her a note that we had a great day with no problems. How does that sound?" -- if I had a student that was misbehaving, I might say to them, "I really don't want to have to leave a bad report about you, but you're not really giving me a choice. I need you to focus on your work and stop disturbing the class".
One thing I remember, subbing was boring. Bring a book - I remember being given a lot of free periods and things like hall duty. Good luck to you!
GL to you! I've been subbing since the beginning of the school year. I try to do the sub plan as much as possible. I also go on other sites like www dot proteacher dot com to their sub board for advice. There's another site, but I don't remember what it is.. a2z? or something like that. Fair, firm, consistent... try to keep to the schedule as much as possible.
I also have one assistant for the day (if you're doing elementary). That person is my helper-who answers my questions on what the class does/doesn't do for xyz. Everyone does it differently. I also ask for a map of the school-very helpful-and introduce myself to the other teachers nearby.
I don't know if the pp did upper grades, but I NEVER had any time to read a book. I was non-stop, making sure I was on target with what the students were to do. I also make a sandwich vs. something microwaveable as I don't always have time to go to the lunchroom (but would if possible) and it's easier to eat a sandwich and walk around getting the classroom ready for the next project/lesson. And a water bottle!
Other items: a whistle, sneakers (you never know if you'll get asked to do gym or need a whistle for recess duty), a timer, a really fun book (silly picture book or one that you enjoy)... there are other things, but this is a start. GL!
All of this.
Also, generally speaking, if they ask to do anything, the answer is "no". Kids that want to go to the bathroom when there is a sub don't generally come back. So, if it seems like an emergency, by all means write them a pass, but never let more than one kid out of the room at the same time (and don't let anyone out without a pass, no matter what they say). "Can I use my phone?" no. "Can I listen to music?" no. "Can I work with a partner?" no (unless the teacher's notes say this is how it should be done). "Can I eat in class?" no.
Be polite, respectful, consistent and firm.
Ask for the school handbook and check out the rule before you get into class.
Have an idea for an extra assignment they could do if they finish early (could be something from the textbook, a creative writing/reflection/essay, have them read or study for another class).