Sub Vision: Dear Substitute Teacher

 It is the start of a new school year and whether you are excited to go back to work or wish you had a longer vacation, your summer vacation will probably last a little longer, as most teachers are still present in class. By the time calls start coming you will be mentally ready…

When that happens, be prepared with few items to help you in case you are sent to a class that is not ready for you. Think ahead of some activities that would occupy students in case they don’t have anything to do. Although many of them would not want to participate, some will, and it will make a difference.

I usually carry with me Sudoku to draw on the board and challenge students to solve it. If they are too lazy to copy it (occasionally I copy for them), some will be happy to do it on the board. You may also look for various brain puzzles. I recently found one with symbols representing expressions, and students really enjoy it...

Most classrooms are equipped with an electronic device that can run a movie. You may want to fetch few DVDs, as they are easy to carry. I usually bring a classic, not anything students would watch on their own, to introduce them to good old, yet entertaining, movies, like Charlie Chaplin’s or the Marx Brothers’.

For your own entertainment, bring something to read in case students are busy. Try not to use your cell phone, as it looks unprofessional. Reading a book or magazine will make you look professional, and will give students a good example. I usually carry with me the Time Magazine; it contains current news, fun facts and stories…

Take with you a snack and a bottle of water; you never know what the school cafeteria provides. Bring a hat in case you are to supervise an outside action, and a light sweater in case air-conditioning is too chilly.

Make sure you are cozy and mobile. Use a light handbag, comfortable shoes and be as self-sustained as possible; you may be at an unfamiliar school, or doing unplanned activity at the gym, out on the field, or in an office filing papers...

And my favorite… go to the cafeteria for nutrition and lunch (make sure you have few one dollar bills), and talk to someone; There is nothing as effective in relieving daily stress as talking to another adult who deals with similar situations...

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: Re-checking Full-time Teaching

For the past several months, I am looking for any new view or interesting occurrence while substituting. I had few long terms assignments, one to three weeks long, and many daily jobs, mainly at good high schools, mostly close to home, in many cases at schools that I know, and for teachers I identify, but nothing seems to change my mind of the likelihood of becoming an effective teacher.

I keep asking myself; would I be able to do things better next time around? 

Working at different classrooms I observe what other teachers do, how they handle discipline, how they make sure students are on task, and how they verify their knowledge, and I still can’t see an effective way to do a good job.

With an average of forty students in class, no assistants at the General-Ed track, lack of students’ motivation to succeed, absence of bar to meet, minimal parents involvement, or even care, and with budget cuts to all the support staff, there is just no way to succeed; no way to achieve real academic results, no way to motivate, or to compel, students to strive to a goal.

I am in good schools, with excellent staff, fine student body, and yet I don’t feel I could be successful as a teacher, and worse, that any of the other teachers meet my definition of success. Some of them are effective with some of the students, yet the majority of the student population is still untouched by the light …

Sub Vision: Strike Rationale

I would never cross a picket line, let alone interfere with teachers’ strike, even if I miss workdays for which I won’t be paid... and despite my somewhat differ views…

Teachers are hard working professionals, whose quality of work is judged, unlike other office and industry professionals, daily, by over 200 students, almost double that number of parents and guardians, peers, supervisors, administrators …

When it comes to earnings, do I want a six percent salary increase? Of course I do, but is it the most important part of the dispute? Teachers are arguing now for far more valuable claims, and to fulfilling them, they should stress resources over salary; funds to reduce class size, increase art and vocational education, counselors, deans.

I don’t know much about elementary school teachers’ job, but I can’t imagine their work load in preparation, and in grabbing so many young students’ attention…

I do know, however, what it means for middle and high school teachers to manage over 200 students a day, keep them focused, follow their progress, spot students who need aid and help them, and evaluate everyone’s achievements…

I do know about the need for extra curriculum classes where students can experience success even when their academic accomplishments are lagging…

I do know about the system’s demand on a teacher to be an educator, discipliner, psychologist, social-worker, special needs expert and parental like figure…

And I do see the damage that charter schools are doing to our community schools, draining their resources, reducing their able bodies, and all of that with very little to show as superiority in education; most of them are concealed pro-profit institutes, with false promises, deprived performance and poor results…

If I were a Union decision maker, I would stress the need to solve first all the other budgetary needs for good education. And to show good faith I would compromise on smaller raise in favor of larger funds, funds that would also include appropriate compensation for teachers working in inner city and lower performing schools…

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 Face of Diversity

The other day I worked at a school located at a relatively good neighborhood, with a diverse student body.

I was assigned to replace an English teacher, and one of her classes was training for the Academic Decathlon competition.

This class consisted of eleven students, seven girls and four boys. I would expect, maybe, more gender balanced group, but what really amazed me was the racial diversity of these top-notch competitors.

I am not a great judge of racial identity, but using my humble tools (looks, dressing items, last names...) I would think that almost every fragment of the population was represented. There were few black student, few white and Asian, about half of Hispanic origin, and there was one Muslim girl.

If that doesn’t warm your heart with gratitude to our diverse, equal opportunity, society and school system, I don’t know what would.

And if diversity is not your ‘thing’ then too bad! It is happening and it is here to stay! 

Good for us!

Sub Vision: A New Low for Mathematics or just the New Normal?

The other day I was asked to cover a math class at a reputable school. The system didn’t give the teacher’s name but when I got to the school I realized I had worked for that teacher before, and he is the math department head.

As in previous times, he left tests for each of his classes with instructions how to sit the students and in what order to distribute the tests, part A then part B.

I was alarmed, though, when I discovered in his instruction that he wants me to grade the tests. Most of the tests were geometry, for sure within my skills, but hey, I am a substitute teacher for that specific reason, so I don’t have to grade 200 tests.

I decided to ignore it and just made sure students were doing their job, answering their own tests (using their own brain), but when a student came to me with what she claimed to be a completed part A, and it was very easy to see that she didn’t bother to solve the equations, I told her she needed to go back and complete it.

She did, but not before she told me it doesn’t matter, what matter is that she showed some work. I rejected that notion and sent her back to her seat.

Later that day I saw the teacher and he asked me if I graded the tests. I asked him if he really meant that I give grades to his students. “Oh no” he said, “all I want you to do is to count the number of problems done, give 10 points for each problem, and write the total, so that my TA (usually a student) can put down their grades…”

So here is my questions, does he also go back to check that the answers were correct? Is it a separate grade or ‘my’ grade is THE grade?

Additional question is, of course, is it reasonable for a teacher to check methodically 200 tests? Is it doable?

My personal challenge was what deserves 10 points. If someone just puts a numeric answer without any proof of work, does that merit ten points? If an equation is clearly incorrect, does that count? What about an unsolved equation (correct or incorrect), does that deserve ten point?

I made my own decisions and I am so thankful not to be accountable for them!