I subbed a whopping three times this week. I know you are shocked for a couple of reasons. First, after I was laid off from my teaching job I swore up and down I wouldn't sub because I couldn’t stand it. I boldly proclaimed I would get a job in the private sector. But the economy is tough, I need some money, and private sector jobs aren’t happening. It seems I can’t even get a customer service job these days. One company said it had been too long since I worked in that capacity. Are you kidding? I have 16 years of experience as a customer service rep and trainer, plus a college degree and life experience coming out the wazoo but somehow I’m not good enough to answer your phone for a lousy $12.00 an hour? (Deep breath.)
I hate the unpredictable nature of sub jobs. You never know what kind of atmosphere you’ll walk into on any given morning. Specifically, I very rarely sub the upper grades because fourth and fifth grade students can be very nasty to each other and substitute teachers. They back talk, they don’t listen, and they know all the clever tricks to bug each other and generally waste time without getting caught.
Thursday was a breath of fresh air. I subbed fifth grade for a half day at Los Penesquitos Academy. My time there actually restored my faith in the upper grades and in the power of good teaching. If you are not familiar with the Academy it is like a charter school within a school. These students are held to a higher standard of performance and accountability behavior-wise. The expectation is every one of these kids will go to college. Many kids from San Diego Unified transfer to the Academy. Plus, the teachers have completely invested themselves in the craft of teaching and hold themselves to a higher standard as well.
My first reaction upon meeting the class was relief. The students were polite and self motivated. Next, I noticed the pride these students had. I asked the class how the Academy was different and one student actually sat up very tall, puffed out her chest, looked me right in the eye and said “We come to school an hour before they do.” You go girl. I couldn’t help but wonder why every class can’t be like this. Don’t all students deserve an education like this?
The following day I subbed a third grade which reminded me of everything I hated about teaching. I picked up the class on the playground at the start of the day. We hadn’t even made it into the hall before one girl started yelling about how some other girl did something to her. We managed to make it to the classroom door. As the rest of the class settled in, I spent five minutes explaining to both of them that when one person yells in the face of the other person it makes the first person feel bad, but it is not appropriate to yell back. We then brainstormed ways they both could have handled the situation differently so each person was respected. The whole time this RSP kid was standing there trying to get in my face to say something. My entire day was spent dealing with little squabbles like this. Plus, we had a lock down drill. That was the first time as a substitute I had to take a Tylenol before lunch. Luckily, it was a half day.
Third, I hate getting calls from Sub Finder at 5:30 a.m. Sub Finder is the automated system which calls available people with jobs. My husband calls it The Hunt for Red October – get it? Sub Finder? Imagine being jolted awake by the phone ringing and an annoying automated voice “This is the Sub Finder system for Poway Unified School District. Please enter your PIN then press pound.” Huh? I can barely find the phone in the dark let alone press the keypad.
And last, substitute teachers generally are not treated very well by site teachers. We are at the bottom of the teaching food-chain. I can’t tell you how many times I have eaten lunch in the teacher's lounge and after answering the question “who are you subbing for?” have been completely ignored by the site teachers. Sometimes I think site teachers view subs with an air of suspicion. I understand they may have had a bad experience with a sub not following their plans or letting chaos reign. But many of us (this year any way) are experienced former teachers who were laid off. We know what we are doing. It is frustrating to find sub plans with very little teaching built in. So many days I simply babysit.
The bottom line is there may be a lot about subbing I don’t like but I am grateful for the job and I realize my attitude toward the job needs to change if I am going to be successful. In fact, I will probably continue subbing as I pursue my dream of going back to journalism. And when I become station manager at Fox News, I will remember what it felt like to be at the bottom. I will treat my interns and temps with respect. You never know but one of them might say “Mrs. McMichael. Hmm. Didn’t you sub in my class one year?”
