Substitute teaching

[CJDave]

[img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] All the time I was out there in the business world scratching and clawing a living out of the entrepreneural landscape [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img] I had an idea in the back of my mind that once I retired I might go into teaching. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Well, now is the time! [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img] I have been taking night classes to get my certification to teach grades 7-12 as a sub. I have a college degree and am competent in many solid subjects, so I only have to learn "classroom mechanics" and how to teach in today's out-of-control litigious atmosphere. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img] In modern classrooms it is all about protecting yourself from the kids whose goal it is to accuse you of SOMETHING so they can get money in a lawsuit or wreck your teaching career. [img]/forums/images/icons/mad.gif[/img] I only have two more evening classes to take at sub skool, and have already begun the background and fingerprint check needed to be certified. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] Subbing is just about the best gig going out here in the sticks; they pay about a hundred per day. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

[Bird]

Dave, I think that's a fine idea. "Professional" school teachers are, of course, needed and many do a fine job. I have a lot of admiration for them, but I think it's a good idea to bring in teachers with "real world" business experience, too.

[RonNY]

Dave,My husband shared this site with me and I got interested in it. I also was a sub, then I got a full time teacher aide position, working with children that had learning difficulties. Each student had a unique way of picking up a subject and when I was able to get their personal way down pat the rest of the year was fun. This year I am challenged with teaching a student who cannot talk, learns by touching and eye contact. It was scarry at first, and now I am looking for new ways to communicate with him and I and everyone observing us are amazed at how much he has accomplished. By the way a sub in rural central NY gets $50.00 a day.
'Good Luck.

[CJDave]

[img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] I have taught several classes where some of the students had resource specialists right there in the room with them. Sometimes the students are pulled out for part of the class, and sometimes they stay the whole period. I am familiar with the "consulting role model" concept where the resource specialist identifies the learning style that works for the kid and then shows the teacher how to teach to it. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] I have also had classes where the professional "disrupters" are catered to by resource specialists who take them elsewhere to teach the lesson for that day. One of those brats came back after about half a period and I could see that he was cocked and ready to disrupt the class. I gave him a look that would melt cast iron and told him to sit in his seat and be quiet. That was the last I heard from him for the rest of the hour. [img]/forums/images/icons/mad.gif[/img] It's sometimes an advantage to be an "unknown quantity" to these kids so you aren't locked into the routines that they use on their regular teacher. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

[rozett]

I am in my third year of being a sub. I enjoy doing it and I'm often requested by the regular teachers. Last year I sub'd 150 days during the school year. Although I will go where ever the coordinator needs me, I am almost always in the high school or middle school. I'm only 5 miles from home and out at 2 pm. This leaves plenty of time to work the farm chores.

Here in Maine, you do not need to be certified to be a sub. We get $60/day with 2 years of college, $65/day with 4 year degree, and $70/day if Maine certified. We do need to be finger-printed and have the background check.

I have done several long-term sub jobs, including 9 weeks at 8th grade language arts and 10 weeks of algebra/geometry. But in those roles, the sub corrects all of the papers and develops the daily plans. But I prefer the daily assignments because I walk in execute the teachers plan and go home. No papers to grade nor plans to develop.

One thing that you should know is that these schools are not like when we were in school. [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]

[CJDave]

[img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] After spending just two periods in school observing the teacher's technique, it is clear that the teachers can no longer hope to make dilligent students out of kids whose parents have completely abdicated thier responsibility as policy makers and controllers of their kids and family. Two of the kids in first period were right out of the sack; hair sticking out all over and crud in their eyes. Those two kids slept most of the time. So the teachers can only do what they can do..... the rest is hopeless; and that's pretty much what we've been taught in sub skool. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

[rozett]

Dave, I completely agree. Although the schools are different today, it is the parents abdication that has caused the biggest change. When I was a youngster, my mother was a stay at home mom. When I got in trouble in school, the consequences at school were small compared to what would happen to me at home. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img] When I became a parent, I vowed that I would never utter the words "just wait till your father gets home". [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]

Kids today seem to have little consequence for their actions. Even in the school, if I send a kid to the office for a behavior problem, all that happens is that he/she sits out the period and then goes to their next class. I try very hard to be fair with the kids and I usually give two warning before I take action. I give them a little speech about acceptable behavior and the consequences. It is then their decision. I tell them that if they choose to do nothing during that period, they can do that (although I explain that I think it is a bad choice). But they will not prevent the rest of the class from participating in their education.

One of the nice things about being a sub is that I don't need to deal with the behavior.... just send them to the office. I tell them that this is not a democracy, it's a benevolant dictatorship and I am the dictator! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

In our school, the administration does not seem to have the principle parts to enforce the rules. And part of that goes back to the parents. If the school doesn't get the support from the parents (like they did from mine) then it is a losing battle. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img]

[Pat]

How depressing... I have no doubt that it is as told above in this thread but I still find it depressing. My aunt taught highschool biology for just under 40 years and had a nervous breakdown at the end of her tenure. She just threw in the towl and walked away with a reduced retirement.

The decline of the functionality of our schools has been increasing for decades. High school diplomas now are often just attendance certificates passed out after the requisite number of "social" promotions.

I have only taught adults. I taught boating safety and seamanship topics to adult learners for 10 years as a US Coast Gurard Aux volunteer. I also taught college classes for seniors in the computer science major.

In '93-'94 I went back to grad school (again) for yet another piece of paper "Instructional Technology" which teaches you to engineer training solutions including the producton of training materials, especially computer based but also paper based. I have little experience with pedagogy but thought when the pace of my activities died down a bit I might want to teach at a VOTECH or whatever (more mature students than high school.)

Although I thought I would really enjoy very much teaching physics, programing, or photography at a high school level I just had to give up the idea as I can't see anyway I could survive today's reality. A good friend retired from academia (taught both college and high school but took retirement ASAP due to deteriorating classroom conditions and did 7 years of real estate sales before full retirement. He is a far far better social survivor than I and if he bailed I would be ill advised to go there.

I have nothing but respect for those who can "git 'er done" in today's classroom situation. It just isn't for me. I have never taught people who didn't want to learn.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

<font color="red">How depressing... I have no doubt that it is as told above in this thread but I still find it depressing </font color>

Unfortunately Pat it is worse than depressing. Some of the things they are doing and calling it teaching is frightening. My kids are home schooled now and it was the best decision we ever made. All they do in the school system is keep throwing more and more money after a failed system. In our state we spend $14,800 on each student in school. Private schools they spend $3500. It's no wonder our kids can't learn math in school! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[CJDave]

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] rozett...... I'm taking your comments to my next class at sub skool so I can read them to the other students. There is some good info in there. I changed your name to an alias of course to maintain anonimity. I used the name Lem N. Squezins as the author of the commentary. And before you start to laugh, you should know that Lem's last name is correctly pronounced Squa-Zinz....he's French. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]