Be Nice to the Sub

I got the chance to sub for a grade 1 class this week - my first experience with both this grade and this school- and I learned a lot. The most important lesson, though, was that it's important to treat your substitute teachers right!

I was left with the most intense list of things to do, which I'm proud to say I got accomplished by the end of the day. But amongst all those instructions - even down to where I was suppose to supervise at recess - I did not have all the information I needed. For about thirty minutes just before lunch I was suppose to be in the kindergarten classroom. No problem there except I had no idea what was suppose to happen with my grade ones in the meantime! After searching for a weekly schedule I finally discover they have music during that time. Perfect! I spotted the music teacher earlier and he came to get the kids from the other class so he should be coming to get mine too right? Wrong!

Five minutes past the time I should be in the kindergarten class and with no idea where the music room is, the music teacher finally shows up and tells me my kids have music now and didn't I know that. All he could say was that I was suppose to bring the kids to him. Well I didn't have time for that - I needed to rush my butt over to the Kindergarten class!

In the hall I've got the secretary coming for me and didn't I know I was late to be in the other classroom, only to get to the Kindergarten class and to be faced with the most annoyed expression plastered on the face of a woman shorter than I am. I was spared the briefest minute to be told once again, "You're late you know" and given the rushed instructions of let them finish practicing their number 2 then color or read.

Let me say here that the attitude I got from these teachers was nothing compared to what I got from the kids in that short thirty minutes. I've got three girls taking about "lady parts" and not holding back on the V word - things I didn't even have to deal with in a fifth or sixth grade class, but I'm now getting from 5 and 6 year olds! Out of my element the best I could do was tell the girls to stop and that we'd be talking to their teacher (since I hoped she'd be back to take them to lunch).

Wrong again! The bell goes and I'm getting them to put away books which they left scattered on the floor and to please cap the markers, when that angry little vixen spit fires back in. "You're suppose to take them to lunch!" Fine but did anyone spot and think that I have no idea where the lunch room is!

Through every field experience I've had my supervisors have constantly told me to be nice to the secretaries and janitors. You show that you respect them and they'll help you, but the same goes for everyone in the school. If you treat people with courtesy they'll appreciate it and be more willing to return the favor.

Keep in mind that as a substitute I'm not tied down to any school so if I feel the environment is not right I can make the  choice not to go back. I can say I won't replace for that grade or this teacher. Because it's not just about the pay. I had to work twice as hard as any teacher because everything I taught was improvised on the spot, I had to control a class of rambunctious kids without a management strategy set up and practiced since school began. So cut your subs some slack and if you see one in the hall be nice!