Teacher Spinoff: Substitutes

[RedAngie]

Did you have “regular” substitute teachers in high school? I went to a large school and some of the same substitutes seemed to be there all four years. You can have the same substitute for English one day, then math next month, and history after that. Maybe a few were qualified in only one subject.

I guess the regular teacher provided a lesson plan for the day, but sometimes the sub just said silently read Chapter 10 of The Scarlet Letter.

Some subs took attendance from the roll book; others passed around a sheet of paper to sign your name. Of course jokesters wrote down names like Eileen Dover or Della Katessen.

Most of the long term subs acquired nicknames. There was a Mrs. Gupta “The Guppy,” “Piled-Up” who had her long hair in a messy rat’s nest on top of her head, “The Turkey Muscle Lady” who subbed in biology right before Thanksgiving and informed us of which avian muscles we’d be eating, “1986” who was 10 years ahead of her time, and Mrs. Zeidel, the “Funeral Parlor Lady” who looked like she was embalmed. By senior year we changed her name to “Xenon” for some reason.

Oh, some of the cafeteria ladies had nicknames too. Cinnamon and Harriet Hairnet are two I can recall.

 

[kdonnel]

The schools here usually have a full time sub on staff. There is generally one or more "stellar" subs who are full time employees that go where needed each day.

As for part time subs there is the concept of extended subs. 10 or more consecutive days in the same classroom comes with a bump in daily pay.

There is also a one-time $500 incentive payment for any substitute teacher who works 45 or more days between August 4th 2021 and December 17 2021.

Here are the current pandemic rates:

• Substitute Teacher – $130/Day
• Extended Teaching Substitute – $150/Day (10 or more consecutive days in the same classroom)
• Substitute Paraprofessional – $71/Day
• Extended Substitute Paraprofessional – $83/Day (10 or more consecutive days in the same classroom)
• Substitute Paraprofessional - $87/Day (Autism - Level I (Severe), Autism - Level II (Moderate), EBD, MOID, PID, OI)
• Extended Substitute Paraprofessional - $98/Day (10 or more consecutive days in the same classroom)

 

[NYCgrrl]

Don’t recall any subs in high school or jr hs, for that matter but had one in elementary school who was a regular. She gave out silver dimes to students during her tenure. No idea what her name was but she was a kindly soul.

 

[amcnj]

We had some recurring ones. I remember one in eighth grade telling us that our grade had a bad reputation among substitutes and many wouldn’t take the assignments. I think she meant to shock us into better behavior, but we instead felt a surge of pride in being recognized like that.

 

[Moliphino]

The favorite recurring sub was one of the athletic team coaches. He was a young guy just out of college.

 

[fab1976]

Our substitutes are fully qualified, certified teachers. There can be regular subs for schools, depends on if the school is one people like being at . I am a certified teacher who used to substitute before I had kids, I had no desire to have a classroom and all the political and administration stuff of a regular classroom teacher. I had 2 schools I would go to regularly and others randomly if I wanted to.

I am currently trying to get back on the list and it’s damn hard. I’ve been out for 12+ years now. I’ve gone through the interview, the written part and now waiting on references. They don’t like my references though because they aren’t from teaching days. Really hard to get those when the principals I worked with are retired! So we will see.

 

[PollyannaMom]

As a kid:
I remember one in elementary school who was very strict. When our teacher left in the middle of the year, we got her and were all nervous. She turned out to be super nice once she had us every day and wasn't nervous herself!

As an adult:
I was a sub for several years when my DS was in school. (I wanted a similar schedule.)

I didn't do a lot of high school, but was a regular for the preschool program. I did get to know the classes and the kids would remember me. I really enjoyed it!

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I don't remember regular subs from High School, but in elementary school we had one sub lady who taught class with a hand puppet. Even as a small child I thought this was weird.

 

[hhisc16]

At our public high school, substitute teachers do not have to be certified, so we get a mix of people.
We keep certain subs "on call" everyday and some are full time.
Subs in our district are contractors and are not employed by the district.

 

[TB'sWidow]

Did you have “regular” substitute teachers in high school? I went to a large school and some of the same substitutes seemed to be there all four years. You can have the same substitute for English one day, then math next month, and history after that. Maybe a few were qualified in only one subject.

I guess the regular teacher provided a lesson plan for the day, but sometimes the sub just said silently read Chapter 10 of The Scarlet Letter.

Some subs took attendance from the roll book; others passed around a sheet of paper to sign your name. Of course jokesters wrote down names like Eileen Dover or Della Katessen.

Most of the long term subs acquired nicknames. There was a Mrs. Gupta “The Guppy,” “Piled-Up” who had her long hair in a messy rat’s nest on top of her head, “The Turkey Muscle Lady” who subbed in biology right before Thanksgiving and informed us of which avian muscles we’d be eating, “1986” who was 10 years ahead of her time, and Mrs. Zeidel, the “Funeral Parlor Lady” who looked like she was embalmed. By senior year we changed her name to “Xenon” for some reason.

Oh, some of the cafeteria ladies had nicknames too. Cinnamon and Harriet Hairnet are two I can recall.

I’m a cafeteria lunch manager lord only knows what names the kids give me

 

[spiders]

One of the regular subs I remember got caught at a couple parties getting a little close to the girls. That did not end well for him. I remember the principal came and escorted him out during class. I don’t know if anything else happened to him other than the obvious. This was around 2000 when you still had to have a camera so I can only imagine how much faster it would be today.

I swear — the idiocy is something I will never quite understand. Even my high school self was wondering what would possibly make you think attending high school parties would end well for him?

 

[fla4fun]

My mom went back to teaching as a substitute when my younger sister started school. She would only work at a couple schools and would often take on long term sub jobs, like when a teacher had to go on bed rest while expecting and then had complications after the birth. I suppose she was probably a familiar face to students and staff alike.

I don’t personally recall any repeat substitutes at any school.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I couldn't tell you a single substitute I ever had. I'm not saying I didn't have subs, I'm saying I can't recall anything about any of them.

 

[tvguy]

I know we had substitutes in elementary school, don't recall if they were the same ones, but that was 55 years ago.
I do remember a very popular substitute in Junior High School who seemed to be the one called in when a teacher was sick.
I don't recall about High School.
Local paper had a huge article this week on the shortage of teachers and substitutes since the pandemic started. It's December and some regular classes don't have a permanent teacher yet, or a permanent substitute. I guess the remote learning program has been hit hard. The school districts were caught off guard by how many people decided to keep their kids home when in person instruction resumed in August.

 

[mrodgers]

Most of the long term subs acquired nicknames. There was a Mrs. Gupta “The Guppy,” “Piled-Up” who had her long hair in a messy rat’s nest on top of her head, “The Turkey Muscle Lady” who subbed in biology right before Thanksgiving and informed us of which avian muscles we’d be eating, “1986” who was 10 years ahead of her time, and Mrs. Zeidel, the “Funeral Parlor Lady” who looked like she was embalmed. By senior year we changed her name to “Xenon” for some reason.

Oh, some of the cafeteria ladies had nicknames too. Cinnamon and Harriet Hairnet are two I can recall.

We only had 1 substitute that we had a nickname for, Superman. He looked like Clark Kent.

 

[Micca]

I couldn't tell you a single substitute I ever had. I'm not saying I didn't have subs, I'm saying I can't recall anything about any of them.

Same here. School doesn't loom large in my backstory, there's a lot I don't remember. I hope subs get better treatment than they used to.

 

[Pink Partridge]

We had a sub all through elementary that was a teacher, but didn't work full time. She was more of a mom that came into substitute at least once a week somewhere in the school. She let us call her by her first name! Miss Margaret. We all loved her. She was kind, gentle, and incredibly fun.

We also had a very tough, but likeable sub in the high school that was extremely popular. You didn't mess around when she was in class. She ran a tight ship. But she would really help us with our assignments.

Looking back, a lot of our subs were local housewives that had dusty teaching degrees, just looking to get out and about. We never really pulled nonsense with them. They were all respected.

My kids had a mix of subs. Some PTO moms with degrees that just wanted to be in the school (good gig for them). Some new teachers looking to get their foot in the doors. Some retired teachers looking for some extra cash. And a very small handful of people that I am unsure how they were ever hired, according to my children's stories.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I went to a small school district, so there was a pool of subs and therefore we saw the same ones over and over.

I am a teacher now at an Elementary School and we have 1 sub that is on our staff and he comes every day. If there is no one out that day (which is rare) he just helps out with things around the building.

 

[AppleDumpling]

In my high school, yes there were 2 or 3 regular substitute teachers. One of them was the wife of a very popular Social Studies teacher. No one could understand how they were a couple because he was such a nice guy and she was very strict and not nice at all.

I don’t remember any subs from elementary school, but there was one particular lunch lady I recall, a sweet older woman who the kids called “Zira”, because someone decided she looked like the chimp character from the Planet of the Apes movies.

In DS’ elementary school there were a few regular subs too who mostly had long-term placements filling in for regular teachers on maternity leave. His 4th grade teacher, who was supposed to be there just for the first semester, ended up staying for the whole year and was one of his favorite teachers.

 

[superme80]

We had one really nasty substitute from 6-8th grade. She was horrible. I went to a private school, so the class size wasn't too bad. We were not angels, but we were not too awful. The next day our teach would always have a report how awful we were to her. Thankfully I think enough kids complained about her that we never got her again.