Teacher Spinoff: Substitutes

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I remember when I was in school we had the same subs over and over.... except for the one we made so mad she quit entirely but that's a whole other issue.

After teaching for 20 years myself, we seemed to have the same pool of subs and believe me, they were MUCH appreciated.

 

[tcufrog]

My cousin is earning extra money during grad school substitute teaching. She's in high demand because she can keep control of the classes and teach math and science. She likes the fact that she can work her work schedule around her studies.

 

[mrs. magoo]

We have a building sub at the high school level. But we are so short on subs that often us teachers are taking classes for extra pay. My daughter is subbing and is called every single day. She is making $105 a day and I feel that she is underpaid but it is good money while she finishes her master's degree. We live in Western NY and NY requires teachers to have their master's degrees so she was offered a grad assistanceship so she is getting it taken care of.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

The district where I work has a shortage of teacher and aide subs. They used to give us subs for training days. Now they schedule training on non-work days and pay us extra come in and do it. Sub teachers get $180
a day. Sub aides start at $20 an hour. Regular aide salaries top out at $27 an hour. The cost of living is very high here, so the district has to pay well to attract and retain employees.

My DH got his sub credential but never really used it before this year. He was laid off from his government job so he started subbing while looking for a permanent job. One particular charter school really liked him and kept asking him back. They offered him a long-term job in their middle school. After a few weeks of that, they offered him a permanent job as a sub. He’ll start by covering an 8th grade class for several months. After that, they’ll put him wherever he’s needed each day. I’ve never heard of a school with a permanent sub, but I have now!

 

[brockash]

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.

Wow...just curious where do you live that it's hard to be on a substitute list? Many many areas of the country can't get anywhere near enough subs.

 

[kirstenb1]

I've been a sub off and on for 18 yrs. They asked me when our older dd was in Kindergarten. Our younger dd has many special needs, so I took years off to run her to her therapies, and work with her myself. I prefer long term assignments, but will do single days here and there. Got offered a fulltime teaching job with provisional status, but I just can't see going back to school, so I never pursued it. I have a Bachelor's in History. I have the utmost respect for fulltime teachers. I have no idea how they find a home/work balance.

 

[fab1976]

Wow...just curious where do you live that it's hard to be on a substitute list? Many many areas of the country can't get anywhere near enough subs.

Ontario, Canada. And they are desperately short on subs. They put out a call for teachers who had stopped teaching to get back into it. But my school board wants teaching references from principals or vice principals. I haven’t taught in over 12 years, any principal who has seen me teach is retired and I can’t contact them. I have references, I did well on the interview, but they want teaching references. Meanwhile classes go without a sub for the day because they aren’t hiring enough or fast enough….

 

[MomOfDisneyPrincess]

I have a HS sophomore at home. She says the subs are always new each time. She hates subs and complains loudly, every time and it happens all the time! I am astonished at how often she had subs in grade school and in middle school. I don't recall many subs at all in my whole school career, it was very rare. I don't think a single week goes by that she doesn't have a sub. Even excluding the long term sub for a pregnancy, the paternity leave, the teacher having cancer treatments and the one caring for a sick family member, there are still subs all the time. It must be a lot easier to take time off from school now than it was in the dark ages when I went to school.

 

[brockash]

I have a HS sophomore at home. She says the subs are always new each time. She hates subs and complains loudly, every time and it happens all the time! I am astonished at how often she had subs in grade school and in middle school. I don't recall many subs at all in my whole school career, it was very rare. I don't think a single week goes by that she doesn't have a sub. Even excluding the long term sub for a pregnancy, the paternity leave, the teacher having cancer treatments and the one caring for a sick family member, there are still subs all the time. It must be a lot easier to take time off from school now than it was in the dark ages when I went to school.

They also have subs a lot for trainings, meetings etc., so they may be at work, possibly still un the building, but not in the classroom.

 

[MomOfDisneyPrincess]

They also have subs a lot for trainings, meetings etc., so they may be at work, possibly still un the building, but not in the classroom.

That could be. Her HS has a late start Thursday to allow for teacher meetings. It drives me nuts because it messes up my work schedule, I still have to get the trash out by 7 am and DD uses it as an excuse to stay up late and sleep in, so she's hard to get out of bed in the morning to boot. Uh oh, I'm off on a tangent

 

[Kittyblue]

My most memorable sub was a guy we'd see every so often in junior high. He was a news cameraman and subbed on the side. We never did any classwork when he was there. He spent the whole period talking about his job and the things he'd seen, and talking crap about the local newscasters

 

[mrs. magoo]

My kids former school district had to cancel school today because too many teachers are out today and they could not get enough subs and did not have enough people to cover the classes. The district decided to cancel today rather than stretch their staff to the breaking point. I applaud their decision. Like I said in my school I have days when I teach 8 periods a day. We were already short staffed in the beginning of the year so I have been teaching a 6th class since the first day but some days I have to pick up additional classes when we are short subs. I get paid for them but it makes for an exhausting day. We have 4 days of school next week and then a decent break. I can not wait. I hope my daughter will still get paid as she was slotted to sub today for our old district that canceled today.

 

[msjprincess]

I don't remember subs from when I was in school. My kids schools have both permanent subs and per diem subs.

 

[design_mom]

I don't remember any recurring subs in high school. However, my kids have/had one.

Their elementary school music teacher was *very* enthusiastic. (She reminded me very much of Prairie Dawn from Sesame Street.) She retired when my youngest was in 5th grade, but her "retirement job" is substitute teaching. She goes all over the district, which includes the middle and high school my kids attended. She is a super nice lady, and she still remembers all of "her kids." (My kids can't decide whether they like or not! It's nice to be remembered, but don't like to have a lot of attention called to themselves.)