To Take the Job, or to Not Take the Job. That is the Question

When I was first substitute teaching, fresh out of college, there were A LOT of substitutes! I was on the list in three school districts, said yes when they called, and still only subbed a handful of times each year! Now there aren't nearly as many people willing to substitute. I still say yes most of the time; I want the caller to keep dialing my number! If I say No too often, she may feel that she's wasting her time with me. I had three other part-time jobs before I was on the sub list, so I told the caller what days she could always count on me (the same days each week). She knows that on the other days of the week, I would need advanced notice before saying Yes, so I can rearrange my schedule.

I recently had company coming for just a couple of days. One of those days was when the caller can count on me. When I spoke to her the week before, I let her know that I would not be available that upcoming day. She appreciated the advanced warning so that she didn't call early in the morning when I knew I would say No. Common courtesy is needed in all areas of our society (and it is lacking so much!). Letting the caller know about my plans makes her job easier, I will still get called for future jobs, and I don't get awakened early.

A substitute teacher can also be called for any teaching position. I asked to be only in the elementary buildings for this first year. I just wanted to see how often I would get called, and how this addition to my schedule would work for me and my family. Even in this limited number of grades/classes, there are many kinds of teachers. I was called once for the emotional support teacher. After that day, I went to the district office to talk to the person who calls the subs and asked her to not call me for that position again. She was fine with this and very understanding. As long as she knows who to call and who not to call, then she can do her job more efficiently.

I have been in all the elementary buildings. In one building I have been in all the classrooms also! This has been a busy year of substituting for me. I think I will still stick with just the elementary buildings for the next school year. Substituting has been an interesting experience for me so far, and yes, I will continue subbing next school year too.

All Those Names!

I grew up in the same area that I am now living and working. Growing up, going to school and church, names were not that difficult. Probably the most unique names I can remember are the "old ladies" who had old fashioned names. Today, many parents are being more creative when they name their children. The area is also becoming more diverse. This presents a challenge to all the people that these children encounter. One of the first things that a substitute teacher has to do with the students is take attendance and the lunch count. In many classrooms, this is done by the teacher calling out the students' names. Of course, I want to pronounce everyone's names correctly just as I want my name pronounced correctly. Most of the time, I can do this without a problem. Just this week, though, there were two names that I struggled with in a class. One of the names I just couldn't get to stick in my head correctly all day! The student was patient with me though!

Many classes are between 15 and 25 students. They usually have name tags on their desks, which helps quite a lot! I use those to call on students to answer questions, or to get their attention if they are being disruptive or daydreaming. I try to learn their names as well. This way, if we are not in the classroom, I can still get their attention.  Also, if I see them in the hall when I am teaching another class, I can say hello. Many students have committed my name to memory, especially the ones that see me in their building with some frequency, so I should be able to reciprocate. Names can be a tricky thing, but it pays to get it right.

Smile!

A couple of weeks ago, I was noticing how serious people seem to be with students in school. Yes, we need to be firm in our expectations; the students need to know that we mean what we say. At the same time, I think that students should see a smiling teacher. As a substitute, walking into a classroom is like walking into your first day at work - every day! It can be hard to have control of a classroom without being too mean or yelling all the time. I have been trying this out lately. I smile as the students are arriving in the morning. I show that I am serious when everyone has arrived and we need to get down to business. I expect them to quiet down and be respectful of whoever's turn it is to talk. It doesn't always happen as easily as that. In some classrooms I do have to remind students often to be quiet. When working through a lesson, I try to smile (when appropriate). This is especially easy to do during lessons that involve reading passages. I can smile as I call on a student to read aloud. I can smile as a student answers a comprehension question. I can smile at a story a student is telling as they relate their life with the reading passage. I have found that students smile more too, and I am happier when I get to the end of my day. It is not always easy to do this. Sometimes I'm just not in the mood to smile (especially first thing in the morning!), but I do anyway. Hopefully I can continue this idea of mine.

Flexibility in the Classroom

A substitute teacher never knows how the day will go when that 6:30 a.m. call comes in! Even if it is a class in which you have subbed before, you never know how it will go. Recently, I subbed in a 2nd grade classroom. The teacher was very well organized with her detailed note to me, and the books/papers all stacked up on the desk. Things were easy to find in the room. Students had their jobs to do that helped to keep the classroom running smoothly. Nevertheless, I had to make adjustments in the schedule.

The morning meeting went over the time by 5 minutes, and I still had not read their chapter book aloud. In an effort to still read to the students, I told them that if they were well behaved, I would read to them during the afternoon snack time. I put the book on the chalkboard as a reminder of this challenge. They were indeed fairly well behaved, and I read to them later in the day. The students were accustomed to just talking quietly at snack time, but they remained attentive instead during the reading.

During the first math period, the students were to work on their math journals. Many were not finished when the time came to leave for their special class. I told them they could finish the journals after library, during the second math period. Following the math lesson, the students were to complete a packet for their math test. Most of the class did not finish before the next period was to begin, so I told them to leave the test in their "offices", and there would be time to complete this later. This can snowball into pushing more and more things ahead, but that day, this worked. The students had indoor recess an hour later. Some chose to finish their test during this time, although they did not have to do this. The rest of the students completed it during the period following recess. In this period, the students were to do a handwriting page. Plenty of time was allotted for this, so I could see that this is where the students who needed to finish could take the 5-10 minutes needed and still complete their handwriting page.

The students worked very well with these changes. In many areas of our lives, we need to be flexible in our schedules. These students are off to a good start in learning to handle flexibility.