A reflection on substitute teaching thus far

Now that I've been at it for a few months, and things are picking way up, I thought it was time to do another reflection about substitute teaching. For me, subbing is going surprisingly well. Since I tend to be a very relationship-based teacher, I still feel most successful when I am in situations that involve some continuity (a multiple day assignment, a school whose routines I know really well)--it's so much easier when I know who everyone is.

My only complaints (besides the hours--getting up at 5am is not half as fun as it sounds) are that sometimes I wish I could do more actual teaching. Most of the time I get called in on those days where there's not much academic stuff happening (a test day, or a day when there's an assembly, or some major non-academic time). I can't blame teachers for taking those days off. I guess the other thing is that teachers like to leave subs with stuff that's "safe"--things that don't call for much instructional talent. I don't mind doing some actual teaching if it's relatively within my realm of knowledge.

Other than that, subbing is usually just fine. I get to test drive different kinds of jobs and job titles, find out what certain positions really entail--the kinds of things you can't learn from a generic job description on EdZapp. I get to see what the difference is between different kinds of schools (K-8, traditional 6-8/9-12 configurations, and charter schools). I get to see the difference between 6th graders and 10th graders, 8th graders and 9th graders, and so on. I get to do a lot of improv "acting" every day, so to speak, since I'm basically pretending to be someone else every time I enter the building. Substitute teaching is a lot like improv in the sense that you never know what role you may find yourself in...the job title on the callout can be incredibly vague.

The best part about subbing though is that I get to hang out with kids and get paid for it, which is almost always fun for me. Most days of subbing are at least 75% fun, and maybe only 25% not that fun. Some days are even 100% fun if I get lucky. Substitute teaching is way more geared towards the classroom management end of the spectrum and less towards promoting academic learning, but sometimes you get a group of kids that can pretty much do it themselves. The ones that can't give me endless opportunities to learn more about the fine art of classroom management, the spectrum of challenging behaviors, and new and exciting strategies for group management and traffic control. Occasionally I'll end up with a tough crowd, or a few really challenging students, but frankly as long as nobody gets hurt, I'm fine if people decide they need to act goofy. I just ignore it. There's always one or two kids in every classroom that decide they want to try to push my buttons, but once they discover that I'm not gonna put on an entertaining "angry sub" show for them, it usually dissipates. Besides, I know that usually the kids that behave the worst are usually just about as bad for their real teachers, so I know not to take it personally when they need to show me their best moves. Usually though, the majority of kids get along just fine with me, get over the novelty factor, and are able to have a productive and pleasant day with me.

I could be at this substitute teaching thing for awhile. I'm living in a teacher oversupply state (unlike the states around me which are absolutely desperate for warm bodies to fill their overcrowded and underfunded classrooms). Most people here who go through teacher training have to sub for a year or two before they can get a real job. On the plus side, building principals in the schools I am interested in working at will get used to seeing me in the building so when I show up for interviews, I won't be some random person off the street to them. Also, the other teachers know who I am, and a lot of times, they're on the interview panel as well.

So yeah, substitute teaching is not all that bad. You have to be kind of choosy about where you go and what you do if you want an optimal experience (know where your comfort zones are), but for me, it's also a time for pushing my boundaries a little bit and dabbling in new/challenging areas with minimal risk. (For me that's EBD/Behavior Classes). Subbing is a great way to develop some skills in the kinds of things you decidedly AREN'T taught about during teacher training (organization, strategies, and interventions). A little bit of out-of-field work is great way to broaden one's understanding of how education works (or doesn't) as a whole. Maybe by the time I get to have my own classroom I'll be a real pro at working with totally unmotivated, very high-risk, or very needy adolescents. That's the plan, anyhow. For now, it's a chance to get to know a whole lot of people (adults and children), get really good at figuring out what makes teens tick, and taking advantage of endless opportunities to indulge in some on-the-spot problem solving.

It's not always totally intense though. Sometimes substitute teaching is about laughing at really corny jokes, learning something unexpected from a kid, goofing around while you're on recess duty, and just kicking it with a bunch of teens during some downtime. When I'm not redirecting misspent energy, I'm usually laughing (or trying really hard not to), and having a great time. I don't bother with a tough-guy persona, I get to be "real" most of the time, and the kids usually respond well to that.