OT- Anyone done any substitute teaching-I'm a little nervous

[Harvest02]

Both my kids are full time this year(one in 4th grade, the other in 1st grade). I decided that I want to try some substitute teaching this year. Our school district has 5 elementary schools now, and I accepted 3 assignments this week already! I am looking very forward to the extra money and being with kids(none of my assignments this week are at their elementary). I have a college education, and a high school degree is the only thing required here. I guess I am just wondering if there are any other SAHM that have subbed recently? I guess I am most worried about doing a good job and the teacher I am subbing for recommending me for other sub jobs at their school or another one. In our district, if you are good, a teacher can request you for their days off. I have been on the PTO, and know many of the teachers already since I volunteered a lot at the school in the past few years. Is it really that hard? I just want some reassurance, I guess, that I will survive!!!

 

[sammielynn]

You will survive! But don't smile until after lunch. I have never substituted but in years past I had many subs. You will be get instruction on what to do and sometimes just a movie to show. Go, enjoy and think of the extra money.

 

[tinkwannabe2]

Both my DH and I substitute taught while we were in college. Honestly the teachers usually just have you show a video or give the kids a project that they work on without much help from you. At least that how my experiences went!

On a side note, my husband got "fired" the day after he taught the kids how to get a pencil to stick in the ceiling... so don't do that!

 

[jstbcuz]

I sub about 120-140 days a year at ONE school. The teachers get to know you and if you are good they will recommend you to others. However, sometimes being good has consequences too. If someone knows I am the sub, they will not alter their plans because they know I will do it and it will get done. (Math Trailblazers is the worst) Where as if they have another sub, and dont think they can handle it, they rearrange their plans so a movie is shown or soemthing. I grade papers, write a note about our day, etc.

I had serious reservations about it in the beginning too. But I just said to myself "they are just kids" (of course I only do K-4) I fell in love with it so much I looked into going back to get my teaching degree. Then I had a long term sub job, and discovered it was so political.........I decided against it. I didnt want to go to BLT meetings, or IEP meetings or inservices on the brain. I just wanted to be with the kids. So I am still just a sub. BUT I LOVE IT! Best part time job in the world.

Good luck and you'll be fine.

 

[justkeepswimmin]

I did it for a few years before my youngest was born and really enjoyed it for the most part. You will find there are some grades/ ages you will like better than others. For me I found Kindergarten and 1st grade the most challenging but really enjoyed 3rd and 4th graders the most. In our district, teachers have to leave very detailed sub plans (so detailed many don't even like to take a day off!) so it is a good idea to arrive early and read over the lesson plan. Here are some other things I have used with success:

1. I agree with the no smiling till after lunch thing a pp mentioned . I have found the first 1/2 hour of my day can really make or break me and it is important to get their respect early. I make sure I know the discipline rules & consequences already in place for the classroom and then I also give "my rules" (3 very simple things I expect ) so that I establish my own authority.

2.I tell the students that I will select 3 of them for "Caught in the Act" mention on my sub note. I do not announce these names till the end of the day but the kids seem to like the recognition and it is of course up to their regular teacher if they choose to follow through with any additional recognition.

3. I bring extra worksheets, books, stickers etc for filling in extra time or offering a reward.

4. I write a detailed sub note explaining what went on during the day boh academically and also behavior wise. I have spoken to teachers who really like having this information and it a good way to be requested or asked back.

Good luck and have fun! It is a great way to earn extra money and also a great way to get to know the schools and teachers for your district.

Nicole

 

[vhoffman]

I've done some subbing in the past. It seems like I always go against the grain, but here's my opinion--

I found it easier to sub for high school. Junior High is the toughest, since that's the age when the kids give you the hardest time. Many prefer elementary, but I didn't, because you have the same group of kids for much of the day, except , of course, planning time and specials. I found HS to be easier, because you have a group of kids for about a 50 minute block, then they're gone! Also, they're easier to "maintain". Usually I just give them an assignment (whatever the teacher has left in their lesson plans), then sit back and monitor them. I found subbing for math classses the easiest to manage, I just tell them to do exercise so and so, page 10, 1-20, whatever. Usually if they have questions I try not to answer them, even if I can, because each teacher has her own way of teaching and can get upset if they come back and find their kids "retrained".

BTW ,many community colleges have courses on substitute teaching. I took one, and it gave many good suggestions. It helps to put on a job application, too. Good luck!

 

[PolyHereWeCome]

OP and others: Hope this doesn't sound too personal, but how's the pay? I assume it's an hourly rate -- is it in the $9-$11/hr range or somewhere else? Do you get paid for lunchtime?

 

[justkeepswimmin]

Pay varies by district and grade level. Generally it is a per day rate. Here it is $75 for elem, $85 for Middle & HS. An average Elementary job has a 7:30 start time w/ student dismissal at 2:30 so it works out to $75 for a little over 7 hrs (with a paid 1/2 hr or so lunch as well as usually 40 min downtime for "specials"). The pay is not great but it is also not bad for part time work requiring no standard availability and a work when you want to environment.

 

[Alice28]

I did it many years ago, but for the most part I enjoyed it!

I agree- don't smile til after lunch. Get right down to business...I get there a bit early so I can really look over the lesson plans so I know what the heck I am doing. I agree with bringing worksheets, maybe some stickers or a small candy stash, and know some group games to play if there is some downtime before lunch, etc.

I think more than anything classroom management skills are the KEY. You gotta know how to control a group of kids without yelling or blowing a whistle all the time. I was big on speaking firmly, but being fair. And then kind by the end of the day.

I did one class for a 3 week stint while the teacher was in China...that was interesting. I missed those kids after I was done!

And yes, if you do a good job, you will get a reputation quickly. After two months I didn't even have to call in to get assignments; teachers had me booked in advance.

11 years ago in the Bay Area, it was $90 a day for subs in the district I worked for....keep in mind the cost of living there; I know it's not that high everywhere. It was great money for what I considered mostly an easy job. (Except for than 1 6th grade class............... ).

 

[Harvest02]

OP and others: Hope this doesn't sound too personal, but how's the pay? I assume it's an hourly rate -- is it in the $9-$11/hr range or somewhere else? Do you get paid for lunchtime?

Ours is a nice pay structure: it is $60 a day to start, then after 20 days it is $70 a day, then after 40 days it is $80 a day. If you work over 4 hours, you still get paid for the entire day. Also, if you work during a lunch period, you get a free lunch voucher. The elementary school subs start at 8:15 am, and are done about 3:15 pm. about a 7 hour day.

 

[Brooknwdw]

Just starting my second year of subbing! Our district has several schools as yours does, but I chose to ONLY sub at my kids school. I love being there so we can all leave together.

Yes, I was nervous at first as well. (It is k-5) but you get broken in real quick! Reputation is alot, once they find out you can handle it & are reliable, they call you alot. In fact sometimes I was working too much for my taste...I would prefer 2-3 days a week max.


The pay is not too great but I love that it is not a "real" job..I still consider myself a SAHM, I can say no when I want. It is extra money that we save for Disney.


You will lose your nervousness quickly, don't worry.

I find that it is easy to get attached to the kids, I have & its neat how they call you in the hall by name.

Oh, I have found that our teachers DON'T just leave a tape or something...they leave me all the regular work & I'm expected to intruct as best I can. Plus they leave plenty of extra work, too.

HTH!

 

[jmurphy625]

Suprisingly, I enjoyed the older elementary grades and First grade was the worst!!!..and I'm a preschool teacher! (They told me "That's not how Mrs. X does it" all day long)--The center I worked for closed so I decided to do some subbing. By that January I had a great part-time job in the public school. (Didn't miss that 6:30 am wake up call). The schedule was difficult for us that year -my younger kids were in K & 3rd grade. I was required to be at school about an extra hour on each end and needed to find a lot of help.

After just a couple of days of subbing I was getting called directly by the principals.

It goes a little better when the teacher knows they'll be out...They usually give you MORE than enough work (some will leave you bingo/movies/etc.). If they don't they should have a "general" sub folder for emergency. Never fails one child doesn't come back from lunch or recess or gym...so I learned to do a headcount quickly as they come back in. Love when teachers have the kids names on their desks. I usually have stickers, pen/paper, and some books for different ages in my bag. OP--wear comfortable shoes...you may not sit all day!

Good Luck..It will be fun.

 

[lovetoscrap]

I probably shouldn't be sharing this. . . but since I won't be subbing again for quite a few years I guess it will be okay!

When I first started subbing about 14 years ago I had some really cute Business Cards made up--on red cardstock so they stuck out. I used some cute teaching clip art and had my name and phone number and something like "short term and long term substitute" as my Title. In that district all subs were assigned by a computer system and the teachers had to have your Special computer ID number if they wanted to request you so I made sure that was on there.

At the end of each day I would attach my Business Card to the note to the teacher, and I would often hand them out to the other teachers that I interacted with.

I got tons of Call Backs, and ultimately got a long term that turned into over 12 weeks. I had lots of teachers say they really liked the cards, and when I went back to classrooms I had been in before I would often find it on a Bulletin Board or filing cabinet, or prominently on the desk somewhere.

Back when I made mine it was "the olden days"! I had to use a copier and clip art from a book and have them Professionaly made up at Kinkos. Now you should be able to do them at home on your computer and printer with no problem.

Oh, and there were also a few classrooms where I DIDN'T leave my card!!! Only leave it if you want to go back!

 

[D&D's Mom]

I will be starting my 7th year of subbing tomorrow and am so fortunate to sub at a wonderful middle school which both my sons attended. One is now in high school & the other in college. It is a great job which allows you to have much flexibility, earn extra $$ & keep a schedule which coincides with your kids. The teachers I sub for have almost always left excellent, detailed plans with some extra work should we finish early. Occasionally, I have run out of things & had to "wing it" for a bit, but can usually find something content related to do such as debate a topic, play '"around the world" with subject matter, review SOL questions, etc. If a teacher has not left me adequate plans, then I refuse any future assignments & tell the administrator why I declined. In my experience, I'd rather NOT show a movie. Not only do I not want to watch it 4 times in a day, but usually the kids are not attentive & it leads to behavior issues.

Some tips from my experience - granted, this is middle school - I subbed 2 years in elem & Hated IT! Do keep a firm resolve until respect is earned. Don't make threats you don't intend to keep. Allow the class to earn rewards - such as stopping 2 mins early, 5 mins break, etc. with good behavior during class. Remind students that is it your job to ensure that their teachers plans are followed. Be sure to leave detailed notes regarding your progress on completion of lesson plans & the names/specific behaviors of any behavior problems. Often students may have a behavior contract or other program & this info is useful.

It's always a little scary to walk into a classroom & see 20 something faces you don't recognize - even if they are less than 12 years old, but don't show your fear! The kids have some detection system & will use it to your disadvantage...LOL....There will be good days & bad days, but overall, I have found it very rewarding.

Best of luck to you!

 

[marcyinPA]

Subbing is one of the best, and most challenging, jobs I have done! I have my BS in El Ed/ Early Childhood Ed. I hadn't taught in about 14 years. I was a SAHM until my youngest went to first grade last year. In February of this year, our district placed an ad for subs. They were in dire need of them and were offering emergency certification to anyone with a 4 year college degree. Since I have my certification, I was able to bypass the emergency cert. thing and I was board approved at the next meeting. I began subbing in March and subbed often, especially come April and May, when everyone is trying to use up their personal days.

I mostly subbed in my kid's school. I have been an active parent and volunteer there since 2001, so they know me well. I am a preferred sub there and they generally call me first. I even subbed in my youngest DS's class last year for 3 days in a row. I don't recommend it (it was stressful on him and me....) but it went OK.

This year, I am teaching pre-school on Monday and Friday mornings at our church, and I'll be subbing for our district on Tues/Wed/Thursday.

My tips are: always carry a bag of tricks: worksheets/search-a-words/crosswords puzzles, things like skittles and lollipops, extra pencils/pens, etc., a picture book or two (my favorite is "Miss Nelson is Missing"....I read this to any new classes that I sub, in the morning. Then I tell the kids "I can be a Miss Nelson or I can be a Miss Swamp...you decide"....)

Gosh, I have tons of tips! PM me if you want me to share!

Good luck!! and be pleasant, but firm!
Edited to add: my district pays $90 a day for subbing.

Marcy

 

[newtowdw1]

I've been a sub, a summer school teacher and a HS biology teacher for, oh...16 years? My suggestions are:
to never back a kid into a corner (literally or figuratively). Esp. a HS kid. Always give them a choice. "Ok, you can either sit down and get to work at your regular seat OR you can sit over here and do your work."

Don't take anything personally. They are reacting to your authority. They don't know you.

Monitor the kids. Do not just read a book all day. DO what the teacher left. THEN he/she will call you back.

Walk around. Close proximity to the kids gives you more control.

Try to correct a behavior by addressing the individual, quietly and politely. Kids hate to be yelled at for something one person did. "YOU GUYS HAD BETTER SIT DOWN AND BE QUIET OR ELSE!!" is simply not effective. Walking over to Billy and telling HIM to sit down is better.

Leave a detailed note about what went on. Teachers are very interested in their classes. We want to know!

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

I love my job. I am a sub at my DD's school. That is the only place that I sub. I was volunteering in the school and the Principal asked me if I had a Bachelors Degree and I said yes, so she said if I sub, I can work only at their school and make pretty good money. I said ok. I love the kids at our school, they all know me, they know that I mean business, if they treat me with respect and get their work done, I respect them and we have a good time. I have only had to send 3 students to the office in 3 years as a sub. I started out doing it as a part time job, and I pretty much work full time. They really keep me busy. I just really love my job, enough to consider going back to school to get certified and teach full time, but right now I am having fun subbing so I'll just keep doing that. Good Luck and enjoy yourself, it can be a ton of fun!!!

 

[Harvest02]

Thanks for all of your positive responses and words of encouragement. I was at my kids school last night for Meet the Teacher night and know the principal at their school pretty well since I have been volunteering there and been on PTO last year. Anyway, my sons's 4th grade teacher told me to fill out one of those criminal background check forms if I was going to be volunteering in the classroom. I thought that seemed kind of off because I was sure I filled one out for my sub application anyway. So, on the way out, I went to the office and asked the principal if I needed to fill it out. She said if you are cleared for subbing, you don't need to fill out another one. She asked if our elementary had my sub number and I told her I didn't know. She asked me to forward it to the secretary and then the secretary would forward to EVERY teacher in our elementary so that they would know I had started subbing this year and then they could ask for me. Most of the teachers know me since I have spent lots of time there, so I was so excited when the principal told me to forward the info. YEA!!! Now maybe I will get more jobs for my kids school instead of the other ones in our district!!! I am looking forward to my first sub job tomorrow, and will try to use some of everyones advice that was given to me. Thanks again and if anyone else has any input, I would be glad to hear it!!! You DIS people are great!!!!

 

[rocky41102]

For those of you who have subbed before, how soon do you start getting calls at the beginning of the year? I am planning on subbing this year for the first time, but I will be putting my son into daycare. I'd hate to start him in and have to pay for daycare and not get called for subbing for several weeks! I know everywhere will be different but just curious as to how soon teachers start needing subs.

 

[Harvest02]

In our school district, since our school district is growing rapidly(5 elementary schools, 1 intermediate school, 1 middle school, and 1 high school) I am already getting assignments. We have a website to check for jobs called Subfinder. It is very easy to check on there several times a day and it tells you what school, what teacher, and what time the assignment is. We just started school on the 17th of August, and I have 3 assignments this week already. Guess it just depends on the district and how many teachers there are in total. Our school also has lots of workshop days, so they need extra subs on those days. I wouldn't even fathom to guess how many there are in our school district! So, in answer to your question, I am starting out fairly quickly!!!