Substitute Teacher's Corner: You Get the Call

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

04 Sep 2007 06:11 AM

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 at 7:45 promptly.

The Phone Rings

So you get the call and it's either an automated system that some districts employ or it's the school secretary alerting you to the fact that a teacher is out and they need you to come in and substitute. At this point, you have two choices: you can say yes and get ready and head out the door or say no. You can't say maybe or keep them waiting, they need this spot filled.

Now if you said yes, get moving and out the door and to the school. One thing that's vital to kids is continuity; you want to be in that classroom before they arrive. When you get there, hopefully you'll have a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the room, the layout and where things are. Some teachers keep a substitute's folder in their desk.

This folder can contain anything from assignments, to instructions to a schedule of what you have to do that day. Be sure you have all this information. At my daughter's school for example, the kids have 'specials' (art, music, library, physical education) once per day at a designated time per grade. You need to know what time and what special your class is going to so you can deliver them and pick them up. You need to know what time their lunch is.

Be Prepared

Be prepared for the teacher to not have had time to prepare for their absence. When a teacher plans an absence, they can leave you an entire outline for the day, but in the case of emergency or illness, they may not have been able to do that at all.

So prepare for the worst and be pleasantly surprised. Remember, when you get to the school and for every moment you are in that classroom, you are the teacher. You are not their friend or their buddy or a mom - you're the teacher and whether you're following the lesson plan or winging it - it's your job to teach. So check your life at the door, it will be there in 8 hours.

Tomorrow, we're going to talk about teaching on the fly without a lesson plan.

Related Articles:

Substitute Teacher's Corner: What's This All About?

Substitute Teaching: A Real Learning Experience

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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