Let me start by saying that I am not an authority on substitute teaching. In all, I ended up substitute teaching for 3 and a half days before being offered a job (not three and a half consecutive days, but spread out over two weeks). Still, I wanted to share a little bit of my experience.
Day 1: 7th Grade Math
I’m so glad I got to start with this experience! I covered for a teacher who was planning to be absent, and her students just took a test on their computers in every class. It was an easy way to transition into subbing. Honestly, it was pretty boring (I almost read an entire book while I was proctoring), but there are worse things than having a boring day. And it’s nice to be able to book a subbing gig the night before and know where you’re going in the morning!
Day 2: 7th and 8th Grade Science
This job was at the same school with another teacher who planned to be absent. Again, all five classes had the same lesson plan, and the students could complete it on their computer without my help. I had slightly more behavior problems with this group, but overall it was pretty straightforward. I enjoyed getting to go back to the same school where the secretary already knows me and I can find the staff bathroom without getting lost.
Day 3: K-5 Music
This was a job I took the morning of. It’s pretty stressful to wake up at 6:00 to see if you’re going to have a job that day, but thankfully all the schools in this district are between 20-25 minutes from my house so I didn’t have to worry too much about the commute. This teacher did not plan to be absent, so I did not have sub plans until about ten minutes before the students got there. The plans were pretty simple, but they were hands-on and I had a difficult group of students. I found myself counting down the minutes until class ended for every class. Still, I made it through, and I appreciated the boring days more after having a hard day.
Day 1/2: Middle School Intervention Specialist
I wasn’t planning to sub this day, but I checked the postings later in the morning and decided I would be up for covering a half day. I proctored tests during lunchtime and ran copies / filed papers for the rest of the afternoon. I was glad to be able to step in and take a few things off of other people’s plates. It can be annoying to do busy work as a teacher, but as a substitute teacher I don’t have anything better to do. It was weird to cover for the intervention specialist at this school because I had applied for this job over the summer and never got a call back, but by this point I had already been contacted about my new job and I didn’t have any hard feelings.
If I were to substitute teach again, my preferences would be:
- Middle School. It’s lifesaving to know that you can start over with a new group of students every so often. Also, I usually prefer teaching elementary students, but for a one-day substitute job it’s easier to work with students who can work independently.
- Teachers who are planning to be absent. Even if it’s not in an area I feel comfortable in, teachers who plan in advance do a good job of making sure the plans are easy to follow. It can be boring, but it’s very hard to mess up.
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