Books to Read

One thing that this year of teaching has done for me is that it has really helped me with my classroom management skills. I was ok during student teaching, but I was nervous, insecure, afraid of alienating the students... the list goes on. As a sub, or guest teacher, you can't afford to have weak classroom management skills. It makes your day exhausting.

I am big on studying a problem to death when faced with one. Mine this past year was, ' How on Earth am I going to do this?'

I read a TON of books. The two I found my helpful were " Substitute teaching from A to Z' By Barbara Pressman and

Setting Limits in the Classroom: How to move beyond the Dance of Discipline in Today's Classroom by Robert Mackenzie

Advice one year out

Well I have finished my first year subbing. I admit, when school started, and I didn't have a job I was CRUSHED. I thought I was a failure. I was terrified of subbing. I have my own memories of subs, and have heard horror stories from my own kids. Could I do it?

My husband had been unemployed for about 6 months at that point, which in a way was good because it pushed me to sub as much as I could. It forced me to get over my fear in order to take care of my family.

Our state was experiencing severe budget cutbacks and few districts had even opened up their sub pools so it was tough to even get onto sub lists. I contacted the substitute coordinators at my 3 closest districts, and all districts I had either volunteered in, done an internship or student teaching in. All three told me I could get a principal to override it and recommend me for the sub pool and I was in.

I subbed 155 days our 180 last year. I didn't get entered into the sub pool for the first district I worked until 10 days into school. There were only 5 days that I wanted to work but couldn't find a job.

How did I work so much? How did I get my foot in the door? Networking. I printed up business cards, and flyers with my picture on it. I hate pictures of myself, so this was a huge step for me, but one I think helped. I started with teachers I know. Teachers I had volunteered in class for, teachers my kids had, teachers at where I student taught. I contacted everyone I know.

Next, I stalked the substitute online service. Some districts do have a phone call service, but you only get that call if a)someone has requested you b)someone has put you on their favorites list c) they have found no one else. The phone can be a very lonely companion for a sub starting out. When you stalk the sub site, hitting refresh every 20 seconds, you can catch a job between calls, if it a phone service district, or catch it as it pops first pops up. At first I would look, think, bite nails -- can I do this? and by the time I decided yes - poof -- it was gone. Snapped up by some other sub. I needed the jobs so desperately that I took anything at first.

I think that willingness to take anything is a key to success. You get your foot in the door.

Once in the school , make sure you are VERY nice to the school secretary. She can be your key to a year full of jobs. She can also put you on the black list. Make sure you introduce yourself to EVERYONE! The classes on either side, people in the breakroom, teachers at the copy machine, principal. Pass out your cards like you are entering a drawing for a free lunch. You are.

Flyers -- I have heard mixed feedback on the flyers. Some don't think they are professional. Mine has my picture on it. I feel like this helped put a name to a face. People could see it and think , "hmmmm... I have seen her around. She must be ok. I'll call her." I had several people mention the flyers when they contacted me. It just depends on your comfort level.

At the end of the day always leave the classroom better than it was when you got there. Do whatever you can to make the teachers life easier. Write a nice letter telling them what happened during the day. Try to stay positive. No one wants to come back to a list of complaints after a day off.

Lastly - when you next come to that school, seek out the people you have subbed for, say hi, introduce yourself. Ask them something about their students, their curriculum, compliment something you liked about their classroom. This is how you get added to their favorites list and get that first chance at the next job.

Good Luck!

Special Ed

Special Ed is another class where many fear to tread. Don't. It is a very educational and eye opening experience. I have subbed in behavior, life skills, adult transition, LAP, and many other special education classrooms. Remember that all special education classrooms have PARA's who know what is going on and can pretty much run the show. I always ask for their help, advice, guidance. They hate subs who come in and try to boss them around, because often - no always- they know more about these kids than we do.

Remember to be patient, calm, sympathetic, and keep a sense of humor. I have a HUGE amount of respect for special education teachers. I don't have the ability to do this on an everyday basis, but I can do it here and there and give those spec ed teachers a break.

PE

PE is not as intimidating to teach as many people think. You get to shed the fancy clothes for a day, where sneakers, and play all day. Big advice? Bring a whistle. The first time I subbed in a PE class I didn't have one, and it is hard to shout loud enough for everyone to hear you, you can't turn out the lights to get attention, and the regular tricks don't work. It is just too loud for anyone to hear you clap, sing, etc.

If you don't have PE plans for the day, and the equipment is locked up, which happened to me one day, here is a great idea for a game to play. Sharks, Minnows and Seaweed. Depending on the size of the class, you pick 1 -5 sharks. The day I had no plans and no equipment I was in a middle school with about 50 kids, so we had 5 sharks. Everyone but the sharks lines up on one side of the gym. When you blow the whistle, or shout" SWIM, MINNOWS, SWIM!" They run to the other side of they gym. Anyone who is tagged by the shark becomes seaweed. The seaweed is planted in place, but can reach out to tag and capture minnows who are swimming by. When all the untagged minnows get to the other side, you begin again, but this time they must avoid the sharks and the seaweed. Soon the "sea" is clogged with seaweed and it is very difficult to swim across. The last few players become the sharks for the next round.

This is a great activity. It is fun for Kindergarten through high school. The "out" players are still participating so you don't have any classroom management issues from them. It really gets their heart pumping.