Sub Vision: Graduation 2020

 

It had been a rough year of pandemic and political turmoil... a year that I would have liked to be in a classroom, serving as the educator I wanted to be…

Through the first semester of the 2019-20 school year, before the pandemic had started, I knew that soon I will have to choose my approach to work. It was good to have preferred schools, and be their preferred substitute, yet I wished to be able to select only assignments that I desire and not compromise with schools’ terms.

I realized that while deciding on a new path, retirement seem a reasonable option; quitting and waiting out the cooling period of six months, and then returning to jobs that I prefer to do. But the routine kept me going…

It all came to a halt when we were hit by the pandemic, and with almost no warning schools have closed their doors. As we thought it was temporary and will be over soon, we waited for few weeks, then few months, but as graduation came closer we realized that this is the way 2019-20 school year will be manifested.

It was exciting, yet heart breaking, to see graduation turn into a parade of cars, and diplomas handed through a window. I can imagine seniors’ disappointment staying home instead of becoming kings and queens of the campus, enjoying special activities, festivities, recognition. Exceptional and memorable graduation as it was, never has been like that, never (hopefully) will be, it was an agonizing letdown.  

As summer was drawing to an end and virtual learning seemed to be the only way, I decided the time is right to quit and wait for a better time to be a teacher, or a sub.

I still love teaching math, and still wish one day to be able to show the light to those confused math learners, who say they’ll never understand the subject.

During the long months of staying home I developed a plan for teaching algebra in a logical, commonsense method, with the expectation of using it one day through the right channel, private of established.

I do hope to get back to a school, even only as a volunteer, to do just that …

  

Sub Vision: Dear Teacher...

I know, I am just a substitute and what do I know about your unique style, your great students, and your special relationship with them. You do want a good substitute to guard your precious learners and protect that distinct dynamic. I do understand that, and would love to follow your heart, however it is not that simple... I know the endless hours you invest in your profession; I used to do that too. I see both sides. However, I learned from experience that the special balance you have with your students exists only when you are there. As soon as a replacement is present, students become the rebellious kids, who want to play, not to learn…

No matter how much you trust those perfect students of yours, please leave them with some distinct work, to be completed by the end of the period; not tomorrow, not next week. It cannot be an ongoing project they are working on this week, or a paragraph to read, or studying for a test. They won’t do it! If the work you assign is not on a paper, collectible by me, the preferred way of accountability, if it is electronic, make sure that the deadline is by the end of the period. Make sure they know it, they know you are going to check, and please do so. If they don’t have to show a completed work by the end of the period, trust me, they would NOT do it.

Please leave with me a seating chart. There is nothing as magical for behavior control as seating charts. As long as they know I can find out their names, and they will be answerable for their behavior, they will behave. Don’t just leave me a note to report to you the misbehaving people. They know I don’t know their names and they trust their friends not to tell me.

Please leave me some space on your white, or black, board, where I can find room to put on the date and my name. I would also like, if possible, to write your instructions on the board, just in case someone will claim I never told them…

Whatever instructions you gave the students before I came, please give them to me too. I would like to be informed of what I am supervising, and what your expectations are. I want to be able to tell students to do their work, and to know they really do have work, otherwise I will have to trust their word that they have nothing to do…

And… when they tell you I was mean, it is OK to sympathize with them, if you need their affection, but please be assured in your heart that I was doing my job…

Sub Vision: Some Hope, Maybe?

I was called for a substitute assignment on the last day of the semester, just before the holidays’ vacation.

I don’t know how the full time teachers feel, but I feel the school year is flying bye fast; already half way gone...

Knowing who the teacher I am replacing is, and recognizing her style, I was sure no lesson plan or suggested activity would wait for me, so I came ready with ideas, hoping they will keep students involved, for at least part of the time…

I drew a table of Sudoku on the white board and explained the rules to the few who were interested, and sure enough several did show curiosity. With exception to my own usual rules, I did let them come to the white board and fill the blanks.

Then I drew some brain puzzles, those frames with few words and/or  numbers that symbolize a word or an expression…(e.g., ‘GO IT IT IT IT’ is ‘Go for It’; ‘CAST CAST CAST CAST’ is ‘Forecast’; “Right = Right’ is “Equal rights’)

After showing them few examples students did display some excitement, and soon became real good at that. They were able to figure out every expression I threw their way (a lot faster than I was when I first tried it).

Of course, not everyone participated, only about a third of the class. Later I offered cookies as rewards and that helped too… but each student who did participate escaped for few minutes the tyranny of the digital world, and enjoyed the freedom of creative thinking and solving a puzzle, using their intellect.

So, does it mean that there is hope for disconnecting the young brains from their addiction to the screen if we just challenge them, energize their imagination and encourage their competitive instinct?

Would we be able to apply it to other areas in education, like math and beyond?

Some hopeful thoughts for the holidays’ season…

Sub Vision: The Price of the Freedom to Choose

It is the dream of every full time employee to be able to choose, spontaneously, days to be absent from work. Working full time at a software company, and later as a full time teacher, I didn’t have that luxury. For a teacher, taking a day off, for any good reason, is often more of a headache than going to works…

As a substitute teacher, I do have this privilege. I can plan ahead my vacation days, and even decide not to accept a job the evening before, or the morning of. I don’t usually take advantage of that when I am committed to an assignment, but when I am on daily calls it is just too tempting to say ‘No’ to a job…

However, there is a price for that. A day not worked is a day not paid. It is hard to plan a schedule, as there is no guarantee to getting a job on the next day. So, I am left to gamble on my financial situation.

Many of our trips are coordinated by friends overseas, and according to their holidays and days off. It helps the expense of the trips since these are not necessarily at top US travel season, but then it costs workdays. A trip in September caused me to miss work at the start of the school year, and a second trip, carefully crafted not to miss quality time with my family here, and keep flight prices low, left me with only few working days both in November and in December.

I chose to travel at the end of November, thus working half of the month, enjoying Thanksgivings with my family, and then taking off, planning to return early enough in December to work for at least ten days.

It almost worked. I had a job planned for right after I arrived, and were hoping to work more on the following week, before the holidays’ vacation starts. However, I arrived at the midst of a bad fire season and school was cancelled, and the following week was finals week and my services were not needed...

It would have not been as alarming had it not been for the fact that I needed at least one working day a month to keep my health insurance, and I was worried I won’t get even that one day. Luckily, a friend had asked me to cover her class on the Monday of the last week of the semester. During the following days of finals, the phone was completely silent...

By Friday of that week, I realized I am now in a long stretch of school vacation that started on the week of Thanksgiving and would end after the first week of January… seven weeks of vacation, with only one day of work… (almost) by my choice…

Sub Vision: Long Term Assignment – Part II

Following my ‘success’ at the science and physics classes, and due to another, not unforeseen, situation at school, I was asked to fill an English vacancy. It is quite funny, Not only because English is not my first language and every other substitute would better serve the school, but also because as far as I know, there is no lack of English teachers (unlike physics). Never the less I agreed to try the new adventure.

Even though I am not really qualified to teach English, and absolutely not the 12th grades I was assigned, I know few things about teaching, and about putting some order into unruly, and unmotivated, students. The problem was that those exact skills turned the whole 12th grades community against me…

Starting with my basic tool of creating seating charts for better control and learning names, I had to fight students to sit at a seat and stay there, not to switch and not to wonder around. This first battle cost me a wide spread hostility, even from students who knew me from before and originally favored me.

The next rule of thumb, keeping them busy, was met with no less hostility. I was their 5th or 6th sub for the past two month, and they didn’t think, not unjustifiably, that they should take me / my assignments any more seriously than those of all the prior subs. I had to send several students to the dean before getting any students’ cooperation, which helped, but did further harm to my popularity with them…

It was a Friday when I started, and the prospect was to stay there for at least three weeks, so I thought I did what I needed to do to set the ground to an easier job. Over the weekend I created an orderly seating charts, typed all the 200 names of my new students to my computer, getting ready to record work assignment and any other project that will be useful in evaluating students in case I need to grade them (quite unsettling, considering the fact that the end of the semester was approaching)…

Monday seemed to be somewhat better. I had some handle on the read material, and students who reported back from the dean knew I was serious. At the end of the day I had two visitors, the heads of the English department. They didn’t seem to be too interested in what I was doing, and even less interested in how the students were doing (more than 160 seniors). I told them what my plan was, to have students write, and then exchange papers and critic each other, which they approved, but mostly to assure me that these were THEIR students, and are excellent and capable of doing that.

By Tuesday I already recorded most of the work students handed to me, starting to collect information as a base for a grade, even just to pass it to the next teacher. I worked diligently to put an order in the papers, in the messy classroom, installing procedures, trying to prove how serious I am. Never the less I had a feeling that my efforts are futile, and students, although taking their assignments more seriously, are hostile and not cooperating. I was pretty exhausted and discouraged when I stopped at the office at the end of day. There I discovered that my assignment is over and another teacher is replacing me the next day. I was asked, however, to stay there for another day, to direct him and help him settle down.

Two conflicting feelings overcame me all of at once, a huge relief that I don’t need to do it anymore, and a rage of anger and frustration. Why was I put through this nightmare just for three days, and why did I take it so seriously. Back at home I collapsed into my chair and ate everything in a reasonable radius…

The following day was just as frustrating. The expected teacher had arrived, a substitute (not a pool teacher as I was told), with English credentials (according to his account). I was not a bit impressed, but students were. He told them cute stories about himself (to which I listened five times) and they adored him! At the end of the day the two esteemed department chairs reappeared, threw a contemptuous hand wave at me as I approached, pointing to the new teacher, the one they wanted to talk to. Later I learned they knew each other from past years, but he has not been there for five years (I wonder why).

During that next day I kept up with recording papers and finalizing seating charts, and at the end of the day I showed him my procedures and recording. But then I learned that the department chairs had told him to disregard everything that was done earlier and start over. If that was not infuriating enough, I saw how friendly the coaches were to him and much students liked him. It did hurt…

so much for taking my assignment seriously and orderly… so much for putting students and school’s interest ahead of my own, and so much for doing the right thing and paying the price of students’ hostility, instead of the adoration we are all so yearning to earn…

Sub Vision:How to Survive a Long-Term Assignment

After a long summer vacation, the last thing a substitute teacher wants to do is obligating to a long-term assignment. Of course, it helps the summer money drought, but who wants to get back to a daily 6:00 AM wake-up commitment and an ongoing effort of restraining a bunch of unwilling teenagers...

My first inclination was to refuse, easing into the new school year with few daily assignments a week. A long-term assignment at the same classroom required more energy than I had to offer.However, more for the sake of keeping good standings with the school that I like than for the badly needed money, I consented, and promised myself to take it as easy as possible…

Yet, there is nothing easy about keeping a class of 30-40 students under control for more than few days without investment. The older students can be contained for a little longer, but with the younger ones, just fresh from the unruly middle school world, immediate time investment in planning is needed.

The first-aid for a teacher in a new class is mastering students’ names. Without a proof that one can be identified any mischief can happen, and if your memory is as slow as mine in digesting 180 names then you need a system. Seating charts is a good way to start. One way to do it is to draw a chart and fill in the names while taking a roll. I, usually, jot down the students’ roster number and fill the names later.

The next challenge is to keep students busy, and it should come with incentives and penalties, and a recording system. A sub briefly replacing a permanent teacher, is completely different from a case of a substitute starting the school year where students are aware of the temporary situation. This is when a plan is badly needed to convince students that their efforts do count toward a grade...

Out of the five classes to which I was assigned, two were Physics. I am no physics expert by any means, but with enough knowledge of math, mature students, and easy first two chapters still in my capability, I tried to study with my students, do homework together and learn from them. As I did not get much help from the department, I found an unexpected ally in an administrator, who secretly supplied me with teacher's edition book, to direct me to the right direction. I even had a quiz planned for them…

Academically, it was somewhat easier with the younger students at the general science class. There I could fake knowledge more easily. However, motivating them to work was harder. We read sections of the text book and I assigned class and homework from the book, added additional tasks for learning terms and locations, gave a map lab from another teacher, and assign a project with deadlines.

It somehow worked for almost three weeks, and then came a real deadline, grades for the report cards. But then I was called to the principal’s office and was informed that the whole plan is changing, although not all the details were clear yet. Two days later my classes were switched to a different teacher, who was not interested in my wonderful planning, and I received a new set of students, all physics.

At that point I gave up my physics efforts, as all my new classes were AP and honors classes. I just assigned them work and vaguely recorded their efforts for the next teacher. Fortunately, by that time I had grades ready for my general science students, which I submitted with the hope they will appear in the first quarter’s report card. At least I could prove I was not bluffing.

The message here is not about my, or my students’, achievements, but about how much work it takes to sustain a class that is yours only temporarily, for few days or weeks. How no compensation is paid for the extra hours of work, and no appreciation for the extra efforts to expand students’ knowledge. How little help you get from anyone, if at all, and how, never the less, you do your best, invest many unpaid extra hours, that no one will ever acknowledge, let alone appreciate…

Sub Vision: Special Education Made Right

At the beginning of my education career, I was lucky to land a job at a good school, close to my home. I started there as an observer, part of my teaching credentials program, stayed as a bi-lingual volunteer aide, then (minimally) paid aide. A year later, after passing the proficiency test, I was offered a math teaching position at the special education department. This was my first year teaching and I had a lot to learn about teaching math, special education and school organization in general. My aide was a great help with teaching, and fellow teachers with IEPs.

As my goal was to teach math in the general education, I left at the end of the year. The next ten years took me to charter and private institutes, adult education, and a variety of public schools. These experiences led me to the conclusion that a full time teaching job was just impossible, and thus I became a substitute teacher. I did hold several semester-long assignments, but was always careful not to commit to a contract employment. At times, regretting leaving special ed, I considered going back to school to add a credential, but when I learned of what it entails I gave it up.

During those ten years I learned that my special education students were not different from most other students, academically or behavior wise. With time, and repeated disappointments, I lowered my expectations and rigor of teaching, and became complicit to the lack of students’ progress. Long-term assignments kept me for a while at certain locations. Usually, however, I wandered between different schools, and being lower on the seniority ladder, was called to the lower-end ones.

Despite the realization that students in the special ed are very similar to those in the general ed, I was stunned to discover that most schools do not take the special education seriously. Unlike the earnestness with which we took our job at my first school, most special ed programs lacked integrity and real goal. When assigned to a special ed class, I was given no specific directions, students had no definite guidelines or work, and when asked about their daily routines, typical reply would be ‘none’. I would not believe it had there been anything to point to the contrary...

Ten years later, I returned to my first school as a substitute. I was delighted to see people I have not seen in years, most still there, teaching same subjects, and in the same classrooms. With renewed acquaintances and relationships, I received invitations to substitute, especially from my special education teachers, friends.

I then re-discover something amazing… special education teachers that do actually teach! During two weeks I spent at one classroom we read a book, discussed it and had a project. At another one-week assignment the teacher left specific instructions and orderly class work, with one high-quality movie to watch, following a guide-line and a worksheet. At my friend Maria’s class I enjoyed a very well-organized plan for both English and math, and I realized that her class’s math level is higher than many general ed’s. Similarly impressed I was with another math class where advanced work was completed and submitted. Even the last day of school was not idle; The Health teacher left several tasks, and – a qualified, difficult, final exam…

There is also a lot to say about the wonderful and dedicated assistants, many of whom had been there for years. They work closely with the teachers and are an integral part of the learning process. They don’t sit in the corner and exchange text messages. They are active, knowledgeable, authoritarian yet accommodating.

I wish I had known back then, what I know now, and not wasted ten years looking for the ideal job. This place is as close to ideal as I could find, with dedicated, great teachers, colleagues, friends, and with students whose life I could have affected...

Substitute Teaching: …And take attendance!

Schools are crazy when it comes to recording attendance. I have had frantic office clerks calling me every 10 minutes to check on attendance. No one cared that my trials in the unruly class were in vain. The only thing that mattered was entering attendance in a timely manner. Some schools would not release me at the end of the day unless I obtained a certificate from the attendance office that I achieved my main duty. Sometimes it means wondering through five different offices to find a willing staff member to issue the release form, after begging them for help.

At one middle school, a good school turned bad, I had an unruly 6^th period. Students didn’t bring books on purpose so that they can go to their lockers. They were continuously talking rather than working. All of a sudden, an administrator walked in. I was quite relieved to get the unexpected help, and told him about the misbehaving cases. The administrator listened to me politely but seemed to be completely unconcerned. He was not there to help me with misbehaving students. He came to reprimand me for not entering attendance yet!

It feels like nothing that you do in the classroom matters as long as you have taken care of the roll, and yes, entered it to the computerized system. You are measured only by this ability to enter attendance promptly! And maybe with good reason… Maybe it is an amazing accomplishment after all. Finding a functioning computer is a challenge, and figuring out how to operate it is even a greater challenge.

First, not all computers are created equal. The power bottom can be hidden below the desk, under the monitor, behind the screen. Some schools have laptops, some have apples, some very old computers covered with dust, and it is always an adventure. Once you figure out how to turn on the computer you have to be creative about how to log in. sometimes it follows a certain pattern, sometimes not.

Next, you have to find the site, and enter the code to the attendance system. It is made out of 8-10 characters, numbers, and upper and lower case letters. When you see ‘I’ it might be ‘1’, upper case letter ‘I’, or lower case ‘l’. ‘0’ can be a zero or upper case letter ’O’. After three attempts, the system locks you out for unspecified time period, before letting you renew your trials, hopefully with more success this time.

And then, unexpectedly, you are kicked out of the system and you have to start all over again…

No wonder then, that your main test as a sub is entering the attendance…

Teacher Shortage – What a surprise!

Greatest news for teachers and the teaching profession! Shortage of teachers! Are you kidding me?

I completed my Single Subject teaching credentials ten years ago; a second career after losing technical job in early 2000. Math teaching should be safe, I was told…

I, since, was one of many teaching applicants at the district that could not find a permanent job. A year after year I took the long, trying, drive to the headquarters, paying application fees and parking fees, carrying all the precious original papers (Nope! No copies), arguing to no avail that they already have all these docs in their system, as well as my health records, finger prints and picture, just to get ‘oh, we already have those in the system’ (dah!), and then never to hear from them again!

Then there were years of long-term sub assignments in the hope of turning to full-time jobs. At one school, doing some impossible assignments, administrators, at last, felt guilty enough to promise me a permanent job. They almost fulfilled it, but three weeks into the school year, after an early than usual norm-day, and before registration ended, I was let go. A year later, I helped train a new, young, teacher at that school, just to see her let go few weeks later. Poor girl! Her first teaching job!

During the four plus years of long-term assignments at that school, I have seen tens of teachers being riffed every single year. Some were re-instituted, but most not. They either retired or shoved to the sub pool. On the following years, I would meet them in every school I worked, some reassigned, but most working as substitute teachers, trying to hold to their tenure for several more years before retirement.

Many of the young energetic new teachers who came to the system full of hope and enthusiasm, left, disappointed and frustrated. Most are lost forever to the teaching profession. They learned, during their short experience, how frustrating, unfair and even abusive the system is, on top of grueling job with nominal reward. Many friends and siblings of those young people, who planned to be teachers, changed their mind too; watching their peers’ frustration decided not to bother.

And those ‘lucky’ teachers who were not riffed, not reassigned, not relocated, not reprimanded for something that they did not do… They had to deal with No Child Left Behind, Standardized Tests, California Standards, Core Standards, Budget cuts, shortage of discipline deans, shortage of counselors, shortage in janitorial services, Breakfast in Class, Technology ‘progress’ that works only sometimes … to name just a few... Add to that the ever-growing population of ‘entitled’ students and parents, fueled by media and politicians’ agenda…

Funny or sad? I can’t decide…