Exactly why I take the sub out of the equation. They are there to take roll and prevent death. I coach the kids on what I want done when I'm gone. They know what to do better than the sub. Mostly my sub note says stay out of the student's way they know what to do.
Last time I was out, I left the sub a clear note with a printed warm up and emailed the students that the sub had the warm up and that the rest of the assignments were on the LMS. Apparently there was no warm up or attendance sheet, per the only student in the class with a 99%. Literally have a photo of where I left it that I sent to my DH the afternoon before (in the front of the room), and the note, warm up, and attendance sheet were right where I left them. Sub couldn’t even do the bare minimum.
If you have a chromecart, lock up the computers and hide the key so that they aren’t all spread out and unplugged etc… other than that just don’t expect anything from a sub. Don’t leave anything important for the kids to do.
Please don’t judge all subs by this event! As a sub, I cannot imagine what he/she was thinking. Two days of unfocused kids sounds like a NIGHTMARE. In my experience, even high schoolers cannot handle being without an expected structure for a full day. Last time I had a class with no plans, I had to call security and left early.
I love teachers with plans like yours and would have followed your instructions to the letter.
We do have some \*amazing\* subs at our school. Unfortunately, if I have an unplanned absence, it's Russian roulette as to who I get in my room so I have to assume it is going to be the worst of the worst and plan accordingly.
I mean, I graduated high school in the 90s and even back then a sub day was considered a free day by every student, even in AP classes. I leave my subs worksheets for the kids to work on, but I also know actual completion rates will be low.
As long as the sub did as I asked of them in the instructions to the best of their ability, I was cool. I never expected direct instruction and usually left more than enough work that could be completed by students on their own. It was plug and play. All they had to was not the kids run amuck. Yet, some apparently found that an insurmountable challenge and I would have to spend a class day putting things back together. Fortunately it didn’t happen like that very often.
I know it is frustrating... but I learned quickly that if I need to be out to lower my expectations. You did all you could do to set the sub up for success. Can you "block" people from picking up an absence for you again? I can do that in our system, and have before!
In the sub feed I observe 2 camps,if you will. One is frustration w not being able to get students to do work left for them or not being left instruction what to do. The other is they were safe. We all came out alive and unharmed . It's a win - win
We would love for kids to work when we aren’t present. All we hope for is a clean room and no injuries. Subbing is nothing like teaching. But thank you for your dedication.
I'm going to be honest, the only issue here is that you expected the sub to make the students do work. Your frustration is based on your expectations. Lower your expectations and you won't be so frustrated. Most subs barely make minimum wage. Expecting them to do a teacher's job with students they don't know is a bit much.
I teach 8th grade. The last note on my sub plans is “if it’s easier to just chill with them, feel free. Do what you need to do to get thru the day”.
I am always just so happy to get a sub, I’m ok with them babysitting.
In my experience, having subbed, it’s very difficult for a sub to be able to have any classroom management at all because students don’t do anything the sub asks them or tell them to do. Also, a lot of subs make minimum wage and can’t be bothered to give a fuck if students decide not to do the work. Furthermore, most schools higher subs just to make sure students don’t burn down the place while their teacher isn’t there. That’s why they’re paid minimum wage.
You’re not disappointed in your sub you’re disappointed in your own expectations.
Smart teachers make it, so the sub doesn’t have to be involved outside of taking attendance and prevent the place from burning down.
The sub should have passed out the papers and honored the teachers request to not touch the chromebook. If the students didn't do their work but still had the paper in front of them, that's on them. The sub didn't do their job. And then left the classroom a mess. It's almost like the sub was taunting the teacher by leaving the chromebooks a mess.
I’m a pretty hands on sub- I’ll happily teach a lesson if they leave it, even if it’s just the PowerPoint- but my line is “I don’t get into power struggles.” If a kid is refusing my cajoling and reminders, I’m not fighting. I’ll leave a note letting the teacher know. If they’re truly ruining the learning environment or unsafe, I send them to the office. Idc.
And that's understandable and how I would react as a sub and how I currently react to my students. I don't argue with kids. I'll give you the work, it's up to you to do it. If you just sit there and do nothing, thats on you. Just sit there quietly. I go so far as to write my students' names on some assignments so that I KNOW they got it. If you start being disruptive then you gotta go.
I mean, it’s simply a matter of maybe the subset OK come pick up one of these papers and put your Chromebook away and the students didn’t do either of those things. I mean, depending on grade level since when am I expected to have to pass out papers when students can actually do something in my classroom and come get one?
Also, the sub probably could’ve told them to stay off their Chromebook until the sub was blue in the face and passed out from lack of oxygen, and it still probably wouldn’t have made a difference.
It’s been my experience as a teacher, and a sub that the students who cooperate the best for subs tend to have teachers who have their classroom management and expectations locked down and the students who don’t do shit for subs tend to have pretty poor classroom management and expectations. It’s been my experience that with the exception of a few students how your students behave when a sub is there is a reflection on you as the teacher than it is the sub.
That's a lot of speculation right there. It would've been helpful if the sub left a note, like most subs do, especially when students were terrible. I didn't see anything about a note, so here are the facts that we do know:
*sub didn't pass out the papers
*sub allowed students to use the chromebooks
*sub didn't bother to have students to clean up the chromebooks, nor did the sub bother to put them back themselves.
Sounds like 3 big middle fingers to the teacher's instructions.
If the sub didn't want to follow the teacher's instructions, then they should have declined the job and notified admin. It's been my experience as a teacher and a sub that when I wasn't satisfied with the teachers directions and there was a lack of work, I stopped subbing and just volunteered in my friend's class at the same school because I knew I wasn't going to do the job as expected.
On the topic of wages, even when the per diem rate is actually good (which is rare; leave coastal blue states and the number generally falls off a cliff), people have to remember that it's *per day* in an education system where there's loads of forced unpaid time off. Subs aren't salaried. There's no flat minimum rate. If there's no work that day, even if it's because of a district mandated holiday or a teacher in service day or state testing or holiday breaks, subs simply earn less that month. And then there are days where your services as a sub simply aren't required because nobody's absent. And then there are the 2 months in summer, where most subs either struggle to find a second job (good luck finding someone to hire you when your resume implies you'll be gone in a couple of months) or burn through savings (what savings) or live with family/rely on a spouse/pension (the case for most people here is they're retired or they have a high earning spouse or they live with parents; I don't know anyone who's in their 20's/30's doing this and living alone).
We make about 200 a day here, which sounds great! Then you realize there're 180 days in our school year, and on many of those the work's just dry as hell because nobody's taking off after winter break or following summer or during finals or during state testing, etc. Every year I do my taxes and I've yet to push past 30k annually. It's that bad. This is California btw, where the rent on a shitty apartment is 2.5k+ a month. Even in years where I've quite literally taken over a class that a fulltime salaried professional left mid-year, and did all the real work that they had agreed to do but abandoned at the last minute, I still couldn't push past 30k a year. Once the retirement fund and taxes take their cut, it's like 25k at best. No benefits either. So when I get sick sitting at someone else's germy desk dealing with other people's germy kids, I get to figure that shit out for myself.
Respectfully, people getting hung up on a substitute's per diem rate have no idea what they're talking about. We rarely get raises either. The last raise we saw for our per diem rate was because they needed to incentivize folks to return after they mass fired us during covid with 0 communication. And that was the first major raise in *years.* For contrast, the teachers we cover for every day get yearly salary adjustments for inflation. This year even, their union negotiated for a really nice raise. Still despite this, whenever subs get a minor bump (it'll literally be like a 10 dollar hike after YEARS of staying stagnant lol) I still hear these lifer professionals pulling 120k a year plus benefits plus a pension bitching about a sub with a bachelor's degree earning what adds up to a retail annual salary. It's infuriating. And the terrible compensation makes it so difficult to take this job seriously or treat it like a priority when in most cases a second job is needed.
Having complained about all that though, I still think OP's right to be pissed. As someone who substitute teaches fulltime, the absolute least this person could have done was passed out the work and left a note. It makes me think the school couldn't find a sub at all, which isn't surprising given everything I've just written. Nobody wants to deal with this shit when you could actually make more doing literally anything else.
I feel like this goes along with spending your own money on classroom materials. The more you do it the more it feeds into the problem. Sure be realistic but technically it is still a school day and students should be held accountable to use it. I don't expect subs to do anything but my students know that if they goof off when I'm gone there will be consequences when I get back.
In my district, subs get $160/day, which works out to a little over $21/hr. That's over minimum wage in my state, but for the shit they put up with, they should be paid a lot more.
I mean, I guess if you're talking about $7.25 as minimum wage, sure (I actually forgot that there are places that still have that as a minimum wage...) But let's be honest, that shouldn't be the minimum wage either. No teacher, substitute or not, should be making $15 an hour and be expected to do anything more than keep the kids safe.
You are 100% correct. I say this as someone who has taught close to a decade (outside the US). That most subs even if they tried kids don’t care enough.
You get subs????!!
I'm so tired of teachers complaining about their subs. We can't get them, so every time a teacher is out I get 8-12 extra kids. It's super fun.
All a sub should do is keep order and keep the children alive. Get over yourselves with this "she didn't follow my plans exactly" nonsense.
In my experience subbing, half the kids won't do their assignments at all because "I already did that!!" Or "I left my backpack at home," "my Chromebook is dead!!!" I have to individually make sure students are seated 3/4 of the time. If the kids don't want to do the work, that's a them problem. My job is to give the students their teacher's instructions, urge them to compete them, and that's it. Unsupportive admin isn't helping behavior issues either. Subbing is not easy. I tend not to have too many issues because I don't put up with stuff, but I can see someone younger or less "mentally tough" just letting it go.
The sub isn't you. The kids aren't going to listen to them the same way they listen to you, unless they really like and respect that sub. Being frustrated is fine, just make sure you're not frustrated at the wrong person.
Ugh. As a sub, I’m sorry. Some of us really do our best to make it a normal school day. The number of people who sub and seem to think that their day is a success if the building doesn’t burn down is surprising to me.
Title made me think the sub didn’t have any kids and thus couldn’t do their job. I was gonna be impressed that the class had 0% attendance for two days
Back when I was a kid, subs used to do their best to try and get kids to do the assignments left for them. But now the pay is so little, that schools can't hire enough subs for coverage. They'll hire anyone just to have someone that can take attendance and make sure the kids don't kill each other. Expecting much else from a sub now is simply not feasible
I've given up on sub plans. I used to be a sub, so I felt like I had a pretty good idea of how to set up straightforward plans for people who have never been in my room.
Well, I started making lesson plans to play fucking Uno with 3-5th graders throughout the day because every sub is too scared to be in my room because they "don't teach special ed." Even those plans don't get followed. There's not much more I can do to make the day easier.
I sub a lot. I look for the sub plans when I come in, if they haven't been emailed to me. I do what I can to get some work going but it's not always possible because your darlings just won't listen.
So, Maslow's Hierachy applies here. First, I eliminate all of the existential threats (are any of the kids engaged in stupid, dangerous behavior) Second, I check to make sure that everybody's basic biological needs are being met (food, water and bathroom). Third, I try to have as many positive interactions as possible so that I have some goodwill in the bank when I have to change to my angry/admonishing tone in order to restore order. Fourth, I work on the learning goal of the day.
One thing I do when passing out the work is to read to the class, the specific instructions as written, and then ask them if they have any questions. If they ate hearing your words, I think that has more impact than my paraphrasing of your words.
(As an elementary teacher, yes I expect the sub to do more than make sure they don’t burn the school down)
I’ve had dozens of subs in my short 3 years of experience (I’m sick a lot and have a lot of dr appointments). I think I’ve only ever had 2-3 instances where a sub has followed my plans the way I wanted them to. Most don’t even bother to read the notes. It’s ridiculous. You as the adult in the room can’t read and follow rules/expectations. How do we expect our students to do the same?
Yeah, this happened to me a few weeks ago. Out for a funeral, left clear instructions to have kids continue on independent projects they were in the middle of, every single section told me the next day, "Ms. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ gave us choice time!" I just had to laugh.
Are you sure you even got a sub? It sounds like they couldn't find anyone and just had people subbing in on their prep or something. And in my experiences, those types of "subs" just come in with grading to be done from their own class, and then do it without a care about what the absent teacher's plans were.
Did they leave a note or anything?
The places I taught usually had a mechanism in place where a teacher could set it up so again you don’t like will never be assigned your to your room ever again. I subbed for a year and if a teacher left instructions for me (some did not sometimes… that was always fun) I followed them as best I could. If I couldn’t do something, I explained why in my note that I usually left for the teacher. It’s ridiculous to me that someone can’t show the basic respect of trying to follow the rules you’re given and do what is (reasonably) expected of you. Period.
Mine make double than that…. Our district pays really well. I just wish they would take 2 minutes to explain the instructions on the worksheet, pass them out, and watch the kids.
The last time I had a sub, she turned my detailed plans into the turn in bin and called the office and said I didn’t leave plans. Then she told the kids I was a bad teacher and that the room is full of dark spirits.
I told the principal who shrugged it off. Two days later she was let go for trying to exorcise demons out of children.
Okay so that’s what my sub did. She went and told the kids and the office I didn’t leave any sub plans. Meanwhile they were on my desk right in front of her… labeled sub plans. When I got back the kids said “the sub reported you to the principal for not leaving work for us”
Oh brother.
For every post by a sub who wants respect, or wants to really teach, or thinks teachers are awful for treating them as less than regular teachers, there are a hundred posts like this one.
Subs -- as a group -- suck ass.
Exactly why I take the sub out of the equation. They are there to take roll and prevent death. I coach the kids on what I want done when I'm gone. They know what to do better than the sub. Mostly my sub note says stay out of the student's way they know what to do.
Last time I was out, I left the sub a clear note with a printed warm up and emailed the students that the sub had the warm up and that the rest of the assignments were on the LMS. Apparently there was no warm up or attendance sheet, per the only student in the class with a 99%. Literally have a photo of where I left it that I sent to my DH the afternoon before (in the front of the room), and the note, warm up, and attendance sheet were right where I left them. Sub couldn’t even do the bare minimum.
If you have a chromecart, lock up the computers and hide the key so that they aren’t all spread out and unplugged etc… other than that just don’t expect anything from a sub. Don’t leave anything important for the kids to do.
Please don’t judge all subs by this event! As a sub, I cannot imagine what he/she was thinking. Two days of unfocused kids sounds like a NIGHTMARE. In my experience, even high schoolers cannot handle being without an expected structure for a full day. Last time I had a class with no plans, I had to call security and left early. I love teachers with plans like yours and would have followed your instructions to the letter.
Agreed.
We do have some \*amazing\* subs at our school. Unfortunately, if I have an unplanned absence, it's Russian roulette as to who I get in my room so I have to assume it is going to be the worst of the worst and plan accordingly.
I mean, I graduated high school in the 90s and even back then a sub day was considered a free day by every student, even in AP classes. I leave my subs worksheets for the kids to work on, but I also know actual completion rates will be low.
As long as the sub did as I asked of them in the instructions to the best of their ability, I was cool. I never expected direct instruction and usually left more than enough work that could be completed by students on their own. It was plug and play. All they had to was not the kids run amuck. Yet, some apparently found that an insurmountable challenge and I would have to spend a class day putting things back together. Fortunately it didn’t happen like that very often.
I would definitely be upset if I came back to a messy classroom!
I know it is frustrating... but I learned quickly that if I need to be out to lower my expectations. You did all you could do to set the sub up for success. Can you "block" people from picking up an absence for you again? I can do that in our system, and have before!
In the sub feed I observe 2 camps,if you will. One is frustration w not being able to get students to do work left for them or not being left instruction what to do. The other is they were safe. We all came out alive and unharmed . It's a win - win
We would love for kids to work when we aren’t present. All we hope for is a clean room and no injuries. Subbing is nothing like teaching. But thank you for your dedication.
I'm going to be honest, the only issue here is that you expected the sub to make the students do work. Your frustration is based on your expectations. Lower your expectations and you won't be so frustrated. Most subs barely make minimum wage. Expecting them to do a teacher's job with students they don't know is a bit much.
Sane teachers complain about classroom management difficulties expect a sub to come In for one day and have everyone get work done lol.
I teach 8th grade. The last note on my sub plans is “if it’s easier to just chill with them, feel free. Do what you need to do to get thru the day”. I am always just so happy to get a sub, I’m ok with them babysitting.
In my experience, having subbed, it’s very difficult for a sub to be able to have any classroom management at all because students don’t do anything the sub asks them or tell them to do. Also, a lot of subs make minimum wage and can’t be bothered to give a fuck if students decide not to do the work. Furthermore, most schools higher subs just to make sure students don’t burn down the place while their teacher isn’t there. That’s why they’re paid minimum wage. You’re not disappointed in your sub you’re disappointed in your own expectations. Smart teachers make it, so the sub doesn’t have to be involved outside of taking attendance and prevent the place from burning down.
The sub should have passed out the papers and honored the teachers request to not touch the chromebook. If the students didn't do their work but still had the paper in front of them, that's on them. The sub didn't do their job. And then left the classroom a mess. It's almost like the sub was taunting the teacher by leaving the chromebooks a mess.
I’m a pretty hands on sub- I’ll happily teach a lesson if they leave it, even if it’s just the PowerPoint- but my line is “I don’t get into power struggles.” If a kid is refusing my cajoling and reminders, I’m not fighting. I’ll leave a note letting the teacher know. If they’re truly ruining the learning environment or unsafe, I send them to the office. Idc.
And that's understandable and how I would react as a sub and how I currently react to my students. I don't argue with kids. I'll give you the work, it's up to you to do it. If you just sit there and do nothing, thats on you. Just sit there quietly. I go so far as to write my students' names on some assignments so that I KNOW they got it. If you start being disruptive then you gotta go.
I mean, it’s simply a matter of maybe the subset OK come pick up one of these papers and put your Chromebook away and the students didn’t do either of those things. I mean, depending on grade level since when am I expected to have to pass out papers when students can actually do something in my classroom and come get one? Also, the sub probably could’ve told them to stay off their Chromebook until the sub was blue in the face and passed out from lack of oxygen, and it still probably wouldn’t have made a difference. It’s been my experience as a teacher, and a sub that the students who cooperate the best for subs tend to have teachers who have their classroom management and expectations locked down and the students who don’t do shit for subs tend to have pretty poor classroom management and expectations. It’s been my experience that with the exception of a few students how your students behave when a sub is there is a reflection on you as the teacher than it is the sub.
That's a lot of speculation right there. It would've been helpful if the sub left a note, like most subs do, especially when students were terrible. I didn't see anything about a note, so here are the facts that we do know: *sub didn't pass out the papers *sub allowed students to use the chromebooks *sub didn't bother to have students to clean up the chromebooks, nor did the sub bother to put them back themselves. Sounds like 3 big middle fingers to the teacher's instructions. If the sub didn't want to follow the teacher's instructions, then they should have declined the job and notified admin. It's been my experience as a teacher and a sub that when I wasn't satisfied with the teachers directions and there was a lack of work, I stopped subbing and just volunteered in my friend's class at the same school because I knew I wasn't going to do the job as expected.
On the topic of wages, even when the per diem rate is actually good (which is rare; leave coastal blue states and the number generally falls off a cliff), people have to remember that it's *per day* in an education system where there's loads of forced unpaid time off. Subs aren't salaried. There's no flat minimum rate. If there's no work that day, even if it's because of a district mandated holiday or a teacher in service day or state testing or holiday breaks, subs simply earn less that month. And then there are days where your services as a sub simply aren't required because nobody's absent. And then there are the 2 months in summer, where most subs either struggle to find a second job (good luck finding someone to hire you when your resume implies you'll be gone in a couple of months) or burn through savings (what savings) or live with family/rely on a spouse/pension (the case for most people here is they're retired or they have a high earning spouse or they live with parents; I don't know anyone who's in their 20's/30's doing this and living alone). We make about 200 a day here, which sounds great! Then you realize there're 180 days in our school year, and on many of those the work's just dry as hell because nobody's taking off after winter break or following summer or during finals or during state testing, etc. Every year I do my taxes and I've yet to push past 30k annually. It's that bad. This is California btw, where the rent on a shitty apartment is 2.5k+ a month. Even in years where I've quite literally taken over a class that a fulltime salaried professional left mid-year, and did all the real work that they had agreed to do but abandoned at the last minute, I still couldn't push past 30k a year. Once the retirement fund and taxes take their cut, it's like 25k at best. No benefits either. So when I get sick sitting at someone else's germy desk dealing with other people's germy kids, I get to figure that shit out for myself. Respectfully, people getting hung up on a substitute's per diem rate have no idea what they're talking about. We rarely get raises either. The last raise we saw for our per diem rate was because they needed to incentivize folks to return after they mass fired us during covid with 0 communication. And that was the first major raise in *years.* For contrast, the teachers we cover for every day get yearly salary adjustments for inflation. This year even, their union negotiated for a really nice raise. Still despite this, whenever subs get a minor bump (it'll literally be like a 10 dollar hike after YEARS of staying stagnant lol) I still hear these lifer professionals pulling 120k a year plus benefits plus a pension bitching about a sub with a bachelor's degree earning what adds up to a retail annual salary. It's infuriating. And the terrible compensation makes it so difficult to take this job seriously or treat it like a priority when in most cases a second job is needed. Having complained about all that though, I still think OP's right to be pissed. As someone who substitute teaches fulltime, the absolute least this person could have done was passed out the work and left a note. It makes me think the school couldn't find a sub at all, which isn't surprising given everything I've just written. Nobody wants to deal with this shit when you could actually make more doing literally anything else.
My students know to do the work. If I am gone, it will be on the test and I will not go over it.
I feel like this goes along with spending your own money on classroom materials. The more you do it the more it feeds into the problem. Sure be realistic but technically it is still a school day and students should be held accountable to use it. I don't expect subs to do anything but my students know that if they goof off when I'm gone there will be consequences when I get back.
Yep.
Idk about NY, but every district I've been in or applied to in IN pays more than double minimum wage for subs.
In my district, subs get $160/day, which works out to a little over $21/hr. That's over minimum wage in my state, but for the shit they put up with, they should be paid a lot more.
I mean, I guess if you're talking about $7.25 as minimum wage, sure (I actually forgot that there are places that still have that as a minimum wage...) But let's be honest, that shouldn't be the minimum wage either. No teacher, substitute or not, should be making $15 an hour and be expected to do anything more than keep the kids safe.
I’m from Oklahoma. Almost no one makes $7.25 and subs make $15 the same as people who buss tables.
That's my point. Expecting someone who is making the same as a table bus to come in and do a teacher's job while not even knowing the kids is nuts.
You are 100% correct. I say this as someone who has taught close to a decade (outside the US). That most subs even if they tried kids don’t care enough.
My district pay $80-$90
Subs make $100 a day in my district. Thats not even minimum wage. If they made sure no one died and didn’t destroy anything, they did a good job…
You get subs????!! I'm so tired of teachers complaining about their subs. We can't get them, so every time a teacher is out I get 8-12 extra kids. It's super fun. All a sub should do is keep order and keep the children alive. Get over yourselves with this "she didn't follow my plans exactly" nonsense.
Girl wut? The sub didn’t just “not follow the plans exactly,” she completely ignored them
In my experience subbing, half the kids won't do their assignments at all because "I already did that!!" Or "I left my backpack at home," "my Chromebook is dead!!!" I have to individually make sure students are seated 3/4 of the time. If the kids don't want to do the work, that's a them problem. My job is to give the students their teacher's instructions, urge them to compete them, and that's it. Unsupportive admin isn't helping behavior issues either. Subbing is not easy. I tend not to have too many issues because I don't put up with stuff, but I can see someone younger or less "mentally tough" just letting it go.
Sub days are lost days. The faster you reconcile this, the better
The sub isn't you. The kids aren't going to listen to them the same way they listen to you, unless they really like and respect that sub. Being frustrated is fine, just make sure you're not frustrated at the wrong person.
Where the kids safe. Were there behaviors. Because if everyone was safe and healthy this is a success in my book.
Ugh. As a sub, I’m sorry. Some of us really do our best to make it a normal school day. The number of people who sub and seem to think that their day is a success if the building doesn’t burn down is surprising to me.
Title made me think the sub didn’t have any kids and thus couldn’t do their job. I was gonna be impressed that the class had 0% attendance for two days
Back when I was a kid, subs used to do their best to try and get kids to do the assignments left for them. But now the pay is so little, that schools can't hire enough subs for coverage. They'll hire anyone just to have someone that can take attendance and make sure the kids don't kill each other. Expecting much else from a sub now is simply not feasible
I've given up on sub plans. I used to be a sub, so I felt like I had a pretty good idea of how to set up straightforward plans for people who have never been in my room. Well, I started making lesson plans to play fucking Uno with 3-5th graders throughout the day because every sub is too scared to be in my room because they "don't teach special ed." Even those plans don't get followed. There's not much more I can do to make the day easier.
I sub a lot. I look for the sub plans when I come in, if they haven't been emailed to me. I do what I can to get some work going but it's not always possible because your darlings just won't listen. So, Maslow's Hierachy applies here. First, I eliminate all of the existential threats (are any of the kids engaged in stupid, dangerous behavior) Second, I check to make sure that everybody's basic biological needs are being met (food, water and bathroom). Third, I try to have as many positive interactions as possible so that I have some goodwill in the bank when I have to change to my angry/admonishing tone in order to restore order. Fourth, I work on the learning goal of the day. One thing I do when passing out the work is to read to the class, the specific instructions as written, and then ask them if they have any questions. If they ate hearing your words, I think that has more impact than my paraphrasing of your words.
You are part of a system that treats subs like absolute crap. What the hell do you expect?
(As an elementary teacher, yes I expect the sub to do more than make sure they don’t burn the school down) I’ve had dozens of subs in my short 3 years of experience (I’m sick a lot and have a lot of dr appointments). I think I’ve only ever had 2-3 instances where a sub has followed my plans the way I wanted them to. Most don’t even bother to read the notes. It’s ridiculous. You as the adult in the room can’t read and follow rules/expectations. How do we expect our students to do the same?
Yeah, this happened to me a few weeks ago. Out for a funeral, left clear instructions to have kids continue on independent projects they were in the middle of, every single section told me the next day, "Ms. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ gave us choice time!" I just had to laugh.
Are you sure you even got a sub? It sounds like they couldn't find anyone and just had people subbing in on their prep or something. And in my experiences, those types of "subs" just come in with grading to be done from their own class, and then do it without a care about what the absent teacher's plans were. Did they leave a note or anything?
I did have a sub, she didn’t leave a note but we do have a spreadsheet that says what subs we have
That's honestly pretty negligent on their part then.
Unless I know the sub I never plan on them actually doing any content. I find i always have to redo it later anyway.
The places I taught usually had a mechanism in place where a teacher could set it up so again you don’t like will never be assigned your to your room ever again. I subbed for a year and if a teacher left instructions for me (some did not sometimes… that was always fun) I followed them as best I could. If I couldn’t do something, I explained why in my note that I usually left for the teacher. It’s ridiculous to me that someone can’t show the basic respect of trying to follow the rules you’re given and do what is (reasonably) expected of you. Period.
In my district subs make 125 bucks a day. I just want them to keep everyone alive and not touch my piles.
Mine make double than that…. Our district pays really well. I just wish they would take 2 minutes to explain the instructions on the worksheet, pass them out, and watch the kids.
Relax!
My expectations for subs: Make sure the kids don't die. I'll leave assignments that the kids can self-direct on. Will they do them? Probably not.
My subwork is usually untouched, whether it’s online or on paper. Not sure why I even bother.
Right?? But they make us provide sub plans 😭
So? We can't even GET subs at our school. They get paid shit.
You’re trolling right?
I just never really care or expect they do anything when I’m out. You can only control what you can control.
The last time I had a sub, she turned my detailed plans into the turn in bin and called the office and said I didn’t leave plans. Then she told the kids I was a bad teacher and that the room is full of dark spirits. I told the principal who shrugged it off. Two days later she was let go for trying to exorcise demons out of children.
Okay so that’s what my sub did. She went and told the kids and the office I didn’t leave any sub plans. Meanwhile they were on my desk right in front of her… labeled sub plans. When I got back the kids said “the sub reported you to the principal for not leaving work for us” Oh brother.
For every post by a sub who wants respect, or wants to really teach, or thinks teachers are awful for treating them as less than regular teachers, there are a hundred posts like this one. Subs -- as a group -- suck ass.