Search Results for: blog substitute teachers

Illinois Teachers Lose Retirement Insurance Benefits

Posted on by

It is now official. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has signed legislation that takes away the free health insurance benefits that were promised to retired government employees, including teachers. The purpose of this legislation is to help balance the budget for the state of Illinois. There was a point in time when I was living in Illinois, and working as a substitute teacher. Back then, my hope was to find full-time employment as an Art teacher in one of the public schools in Illinois. That plan didn’t work out. The state was in the process of cutting away Art positions, and … Continue reading →

Badges Help Teachers Identify Students With Special Needs

Teachers of “mainstream” classrooms may not be entirely aware when a student who has special needs is among the group. Unfortunately, this can cause the teacher to be unaware of how, or when, to provide appropriate help to that student. One school is using a specialized badge system to help teachers discretely identify students who have a special need. Historically, there are two concepts that special education swings back and forth between. One idea is that students who have special needs should remain in a classroom with other students who have special needs, and away from the general population. Proponents … Continue reading →

Opinions About Other Teachers

Posted on by

As human nature, we all form opinions and make judgments of others. While some of us are more vocal and more judgmental, we all have thoughts about how others look, act, and treat us. The same goes for teachers. Involuntarily teachers make judgments about other teachers. They form opinions about which teachers in the school are doing their part of the work and which teachers are less active in education. Opinions are formed about which teachers are “good” and which ones are “not so good”. In some cases these opinions are very similar across the faculty and in some cases … Continue reading →

Teachers Taking Off from work

In my county, teachers receive two personal days a year. These days may be taken for any reason that the teacher desires. Teachers also receive one sick day each month. Those days would give the teacher ten sick days each school year. If the days are not used within the school year, they roll over to the next year. If the personal days are not used, they turn into sick days and roll over to the next year. Teachers in my county also receive breaks throughout the school year. We have a break in the fall and a break in … Continue reading →

Finding a Substitute Teacher

There are many pros and cons to being a teacher. While many envy teachers because of the vacation breaks during the year, taking any other days off from work can be a headache. Getting sick, having sick children, or having an emergency in the morning before work can be a nightmare for teachers. While most professionals can call in sick to take the day off from work, teachers must find a replacement for the day. Teachers cannot simply call in and say “I will not be at work today”. Teachers must find and plan for a substitute. Finding a substitute … Continue reading →

Tips for Teachers: Keep All Notes Sent to You by Parents

Today I am adding another article to my Tips for Teachers section. I think that it is very important for teachers to learn from the mistakes of other teachers. My tip today is about paper work and noting keeping. It is very important to create a file for each child in your classroom. You can then add all of the notes from and to parents to the file. I keep all notes that are sent to me from parents no matter how simple or small they may seem. This I am thankful for doing. Last year I had a parent … Continue reading →

Substitute Teacher’s Corner: Medical Intervention

You know, one thing that teachers struggle with on a day to day basis are the individual needs of their students – as a sub, when you walk into a classroom where a student has specialized needs, it can really ramp up the pressure you feel. Recently, I was called in as a floater. In other words, I’d go where they needed me throughout the day. Sometimes, you get a class where you teach all day and sometimes you don’t. That day, I was assigned to a kinder class and that was fine. I like kindergarten, they’re young, they’re fresh … Continue reading →

Substitute Teacher’s Corner: On Your Feet

Good morning! There’s a saying in substitute teaching: “A sub on her feet is worth two in her seat.” When you go in to substitute teach for a class, it may be daunting to think about spending the next 8 hours on your feet, but trust me – you and your students will appreciate the day so much more. Sitting Down The only time you should be sitting is if you’ve gathered the kids in a circle and you’re sitting on the floor with them or if they are taking a test and it will be less distracting from them … Continue reading →

Substitute Teacher’s Corner: What To Bring With You

Welcome back to the substitute teacher’s corner! As we talked about before, when you get the call, you need to be ready to go. When I get the call to fill in and substitute, I keep a ready bag that I can just grab on my way out the door. So let’s talk about what’s in the ‘ready’ bag. The Ready Bag I like to keep a couple of picture books for the lower grades, usually something that fits the season. For example, if I’m going to be teaching a kindergarten class in October, I might have The Halloween Kittens … Continue reading →

Substitute Teacher’s Corner: You Get the Call

One of the hardest things to cope with when you’re a sub is that you need to be up and ready to go every day by 7 whether you get a phone call or not. Part of the reason you need to be ready to go is that sometimes the school doesn’t call until 7:15 and if classes start at 7:45, you won’t have a lot of time to shower, eat breakfast, get dressed and get out the door. I’m fortunate that I can balance this need to get ready with my daughter’s schedule because her classes start every morning … Continue reading →