In Why Sub? I explained that I started subbing because
everyone said it would get my foot in the door for a teaching job, and in Just a Sub Part 3 I explained that being a
certified teacher-substitute buys you the privilege of being put into difficult
situations.
Sometimes I wonder if these difficult situations are
sabotaging my chances of getting a full-time job.
In each of these situations, I was given the responsibilities of a teacher. I was supposed to be the teacher in the students’ eyes, but I had none of the resources or knowledge of the school available to teachers. The kids know this and they take advantage of it to the fullest extent.
The first time, when I long-term subbed as a Health teacher
(yeah I don’t know how that happened), I started a new grading period with a
new group of kids who did not know the other teacher. I had a teacher’s laptop
with full grading and punishing capabilities, and I could’ve gone on with the
kids never knowing that Health wasn’t my area of expertise or that my job was
temporary.
Buuut.....thanks to No Child Left Behind, the school had to
send home a letter letting all the parents and their kids know that I was, in
fact, not a Health teacher. And did they give me a warning beforehand? Heck no,
I found out from the kids. To top it all off, the school was kind enough to buy
me a nametag with “Substitute” written across it.
The other long term subbing jobs just started out badly and
got worse.
But I digress. I get put into these difficult situations
that no one else wanted to tackle and try to hold it together as best I can with
what little I have (usually just copy paper, the white board and the call button).
Then, when the kids realize what little I have and start pushing my limits, I
have little support and things get out of hand.
So what does that brand me? A bad classroom manager? Okay. I
guess so. And who wants to hire somebody who can’t manage a classroom? It
should be so easy, right? I mean, every other teacher does it perfectly.
But hey, I’m a really good sub right? And why get rid of a
really good sub by giving her a full time job?
I have to wonder what I could do if I could actually be a teacher. Not a student teacher, not a substitute teacher. A teacher.
Maybe it would be no better. I don’t know, but I would like
to try.
Love and thanks,
Kelli
I could seriously comment on every one of these posts. I know EXACTLY how that feels... I had a long-term sub job with a group of kids who are motivated using fear ONLY. So what happens when a teacher steps in who is A) not scary, B) veryyyy young, and C) temporary? TOTAL CHAOS.
ReplyDeleteI did my best, but you can't rebuild a mindset from the ground up with students who have learned how to be so apathetic about everything around them (the world, history, school, their own behavior -- not a single crap is given, whatsoever.). so the result is that the principal sees me having trouble getting them to quiet down. I hear "they don't act like this for their regular teacher..." all the time. In the end, the principal marks me low for management and leadership potential in a RECOMMENDATION FORM. So it looks like with a rec like that I will NEVER be given a full-time job anywhere. I call that sabotage.
Thank you so much. I honestly think most administrators are clueless about what our jobs, as subs, actually are. I almost want to print this blog and leave copies on the desks of every administrator I've ever worked under.
ReplyDeleteI would tell them face-to-face if a )I could find them and b) I thought they'd actually know how to fix the problem.
~Kelli