Substitute Teaching

[no_hypocrisy]

It happened again.

My name was removed from the charter schools in Paterson, not because I did anything "incorrect", but because they thought it wasn't a "good fit".

Someone tell me what IS a good fit as far as being a substitute teacher?

I gave out the work left by the teachers and it was done. I gave a detailed presentation about Emmett Till to a group of 8th Grade African-Americans and inspired them to write (when before my dissertation, they wouldn't pick up their pencils). I was liked and respected by all the principals and fellow teachers. Even during my last assignment, a teacher asked rhetorically why wasn't I teaching at the school as a regular teacher.

And I fly under the radar. No politics. Neutral books. No real social interaction.

My head is spinning.

There are barely enough substitutes to fill the slots and they just took me off the list?

I don't get it.

[vi5]

1. Are you only looking to sub in Charter schools?

Most of the public schools I know (I'm in northern NJ) are absolutely clamoring for subs and are so glad to have us (that's what I'm doing while I finish up my certification).

I won't sub in charters so I'm not sure how they are or what they are looking for. But I know at the public schools they will show much love and appreciation to anyone willing to sub for them.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Fortunately, I am also in North Jersey.

I'm certified, so I teach anywhere.

I just find it disconcerting that this urban subset of public schools didn't find me a "good fit" when I'm overqualified to be there to begin with and I was doing a pretty good job.

Which districts are looking otherwise please?

[vi5]

3. I am student teaching in Teaneck right now...

....and they NEVER have enough subs. It's a huge issue.

I live further west in Morris County and am always getting calls for Kinnelon, Lincoln Park, Morris Plains, Livingston, Boonton, etc. all of which I'm on the list for. In fact once I'm back in the sub mix come January I'm going to have to get myself off the list for some of these places because I'll spend have of my morning getting calls and having to tell some of them I can't sub that day because I already accepted another call.

If you don't mind my asking are you just looking for the flexibility of subbing or having issue finding a permanent spot somewhere?

[no_hypocrisy]

4. Just as a substitute for the timebeing.

I'm "over qualified" to be a teacher. (Too many years, too many years of college)

[vi5]

6. I probably am too.....

I have 2 masters degrees and have 20+ years of fairly high up corporate experience. I got laid off after 20 years at my last job so figured if I was going to have to start on the ground floor anyway so I went back for my cert. It was originally my intention all those years ago but life got in the way. Now that my wife is very advanced in her career I can afford to take all the cuts (pay, benefits, etc.) that come with life in the public sector.

[LWolf]

19. Of course, it differs from state to state.

I don't find either of you "overqualified," though.

In my state, getting the first masters is done while getting the license; then, once hired, if you want to move over on the salary scale, it's 15 graduate credits per column, so by the time you get there you've got another masters+.

And, respectfully, corporate experience is no qualification for classroom experience.

Of course, the education "reform" movement, who wants to run education like a business, might disagree, but then, they aren't educators.

Still, as my current student teacher proves, advanced degrees and a strong foundation in writing detailed lesson plans doesn't transfer into actually teaching students. His university supervisor asked me last week, in despair, "Does he show any improvement at all?"

I had to tell her that yes, he does, but not enough.

[vi5]

22. I can't speak for the other poster...

...but mine was based on "overqualified" being in quotes, meaning not my opinion but the conventional wisdom of people outside of the field of education.

Believe me I'm in the middle of student teaching now and you are absolutely, positively, 100% correct. Nothing I did prepared me for this. I don't know how people do "alternate route" teaching, which in our state means you can just start teaching and get your certification in the process. I just don't see how someone doing that doesn't just get eaten alive in even the 'best' of classrooms.

And I'm someone who has actually made it this far. In my program alone there are 2-3 others who were even more 'successful' in the corporate world, had more degrees than I did and who could not even pass the praxis 2 needed in order to get to student teaching. They went through almost 2 years of the course work and fieldwork and then had to just stop because they couldn't student teach and they ran out of times they were allowed to take it.

Also, personally speaking there is no way I would have been able to do this when I was an undergrad 27 years ago. The only thing that has come close to preparing me for this is having my own kids and dealing with their teachers and the educational system from that perspective.

I'm finishing up in 4 weeks and I feel maybe, just barely ready to go it alone. It's going to be lots of trial and error.

[LWolf]

23. You hit on something key,

at least for me. Part of what helps me is wearing multiple hats; I'm a parent and a grandparent, and I remember what it was like as the student, the parent, and now the teacher. Those multiple perspectives help me stay grounded and focused on what's really important, and I take "in loco parentis" as a sacred charge.

[raging moderate]

5. Wear this rejection as a badge of honor.

"Not a good fit" equals "Not flaming radical right enough." Probably your neutral books seemed dangerously logical, intellectual, and open-minded to them. You taught some students about Emmett Till, and with enough detail to inspire them to write about him. That alone would constitute a subversive act in the minds of the white-supremacy right-wing ideologues who are spearheading the charter school movement. I grew up in Chicago in the fifties, and my teachers were afraid to say much about Emmett Till. Big money interests are heavily weighted in favor of white supremacy myths, and their disciples are ever alert for "Communist" and "Radical" efforts to overthrow civilization. In the small, dark minds of these people, the peace of the world hangs on maintaining the myth of noble white people gradually civilizing dangerous Black savages. They think that classroom discussion of white-supremacy terrorist acts is so uncouth, so anti-white, so likely to incite a race war! You have performed acts of heroism, and done your part to make the world a better place. This is their loss, and some other school system will gain a wonderful teacher.

[no_hypocrisy]

7. Here's the thing: it was 99% African-American make-up of students.

I should have been given a medal for being a knowledgeable white woman who knew more about Jim Crow, Civil Rights, and the corrupt Southern criminal "justice" system.

I don't get it.

[raging moderate]

9. Yes, it's not only the South that has this problem.

The North is also infected by the white supremacy myth. You younger people have your work cut out for you. I wish you good fortune in your efforts. Perhaps the world will be a better place at the end of your life, and you will know that you have played some part in making that happen.

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. "Wasn't a good fit" sounds like code for

"a parent complained and it's either you or them."

Although what complaints might have been received after what sounds like a great day is questionable. But then, you never know what kids might say when they get home.

I am very sorry that happened to you!!

[no_hypocrisy]

10. Thank you. I find your response most credible.

However, the decision was made while I was still in the classroom that day. I don't think a kid could have called a parent and a decision on my continuing could have been made within 3 hours, at least without asking me to explain what happened (if anything happened at all).

[GreenPartyVoter]

11. I have seen kids text their parents in class. But if not a parent, maybe

a staff member?

It is truly mind boggling that such a decision could be made so quickly!!

[no_hypocrisy]

12. Staff member

I was let go on the day that a teacher there asked rhetorically "Why aren't you teaching here?"

[GreenPartyVoter]

13. There it is, then. Wonder what on Earth (s)he objected to??

[no_hypocrisy]

14. I felt it was a compliment. Correction: she asked "Why *aren't* you teaching here?"

Then again, it was a charter school. Who knows what job security means even for contracted teachers . . . . .

[GreenPartyVoter]

15. Sorry, missed the "aren't!" Hard to say, but admins have

their own way of seeing things. Definitely a head scratcher, though!

Our local schools have very thin sub lists. I know of one that once took in a parent for the day, just to have a warm body in the room. (Although I am no longer subbing, as I took an Ed tech job this year. But all it takes is a slight change in the school roster, and I could find myself superfluous and back on the sub list. It's a tenuous job, at best, but I don't miss those early morning sub calls!)

[no_hypocrisy]

16. Just got off the phone with the Supervisor.

The Charter School has been shedding substitutes right and left this year. No fault of the subs. The schools have a rough bunch of students and if they can't be handled to their needs (i.e., they can't be taught), they let go of the subs. The schools did this last year too. And I didn't disappoint all the schools, just one and if one dismisses you, you lose all the schools.

My feelings of dread, frustration, . . . . and incompetence have lessened.

I still lost the job, but at least I don't feel that I "earned" it.

[elleng]

17. Very glad you don't feel you 'earned' it,

so can get back on track, emotion-wise.

My daughter's an occupational therapist, and works in south Jersey, mostly schools I think. From what I can tell, the schools' needs/recognizing their needs/addressing their needs is a back and forth thing, so she and they have to endure constant uncertainty.

I'm visiting now, she's working/worked 1/2 day, may be home soon to finish grocery shopping!

THANKS for your work.

[no_hypocrisy]

18. No, thank YOU and everyone on this board for your support.

I don't feel unsettled often, but today was unavoidable.

Thanks for returning Thanksgiving and my confidence to me.

[LWolf]

20. Charter schools often

don't have the same agenda. If you can avoid it, don't work for them.

Frankly, I've taught for decades, and I am not a good fit for traditional classrooms, either. Fortunately, I'm good enough at what I do that my families and principals have valued my work, but I know what it's like to be "not a good fit."

Are you trying to get a regular license and job, or do you want to remain in the sub pool? Frankly, we can never get enough good subs, and when we do, they move on to permanent positions all too soon.

At my current school, we tend to try to build relationships with subs, and use the same people repeatedly; my go-to sub is in the building almost every day; she knows the students, the schedules, the routines, the expectations, and we can hand off to her without missing a beat. That might be something to try.

[no_hypocrisy]

21. I'm subbing until the Next-Big-Thing, the way actors are waiters/servers.

I'm good. 30+ years of experience, all levels, all subjects. Can make the stuff easy to understand and remember. And make it relevant and interesting.

I try to keep communication open with all schools and the teachers. For example, two days ago, I had a 5th grade. The assignment was to write about what makes you unique. I saw a boy who wasn't doing the work. Instead of coming down on him, I struck up a conversation, asking him if he would prefer to make a list of all the wonderful things about himself. He looked straight ahead. I then asked to tell me just one really good thing about himself, at which point, he began to weep. For a fifth grade boy to be so upset as to cry was noteworthy. I excused him from the assignment and got him onto something else to do. I shared this with his regular teacher who was in the school. She explained that this boy had issues from feeling inadequate and self-loathing. She and the social service people were already on this.

My point: What if this wasn't already known and he was flying under the radar? A substitute can notice things that may not be noticed by the regular teacher (or can confirm what's already known). You aren't a placeholder. You don't do drive-by teaching. You make a difference, if only for one day.

I've had good days and bad days, but I still return.