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Survival Skills For The New Substitute Teacher

by Jeannette M. Konior, M. Ed.

44 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #04-2908; ISBN 1-4120-5100-2; US$11.50, C$14.00, EUR9.10, £6.31

If you are planning to substitute teach on the elementary or secondary level, you'll want to know what is expected of you. Here you'll find out how the professionals handle a wide variety of situations before you even enter the classroom.

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About the Book      About the Author      Excerpts      Catalogue Information

About the Book

Every year thousands of college students accumulate enough credits to substitute teach. In most cases they are totally unaware of what to do, but they are expected to perform professionally. There are no courses on substitute teaching. This book deals with what to expect from the school staff and how to effectively manage a classroom when you, the substitute, are there for only one day. Here is a blue print for success as a sub.

Please also see:

Survival Skills For The New Elementary Teacher

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About the Author

Ms. Konior was born and raised in New York City where she pursued a career in business after graduating from Cathedral High School in Manhattan. She held secretarial and administrative positions in the fields of engineering, sales, utilities, and law. She began teaching religious education classes in the late 1960's. She volunteered her services in the parishes where she lived on a continuous basis. After the birth of her daughter, she returned to school and earned a B.S. in elementary education from The State University of New York at New Paltz. While employed by the Archdiocese of New York as an elementary teacher, she earned her M.S. in education from The State University of New York at New Paltz. She is now certified to teach the following grades: K-6 (all subjects), English 7-12, and Social Studies 7-12. After retiring from the Archdiocese, she continued to teach on a substitute basis in the area in which she now lives. Ms. Konior brings a unique collection of experiences with a wide range of expertise in all grades.

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Excerpts

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Substitute teaching is a really wonderful way to become acquainted with a particular school and/or school district. You'll meet the teachers up close and personal. Hopefully, you'll make some nice friends who may help you in your quest for a permanent position. Most school administrative offices will tell you that they take a lage portion of their new hires from their substitute list. This is true to some extent. There are several variables that the school district will consider such as: area of certification, experience, level of competency demonstrated through your transcripts, student teaching evaluations, and of course, your personal interview. If you establish a good reputation, you might get what they call a permanent sub position. You may have an opportunity to fill in for a teacher on maternity leave or sick leave. Occasionally, a teacher will go on a sabbatical for one year. If you acquire such a job, you have a chance to prove yourself and establish a good relationship with the principal of the school.

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Your primary responsibility as a substitute teacher is to implement the lesson plans that the absent teacher leaves for you. It is rare that a teacher has not left plans. But, we will talk about what to do if this happens later on in the book.

Another major responsibility is to keep good order in the classroom. A noisy class is tolerable as long as the students are seated and working. Under no circumstances should you allow the students to walk or run around the room during class. If you are spotted allowing this by another teacher or administrator, it will be assumed that you have no control. If you have no control, you will not be called to sub again. The best case scenario is that you maintain strict order with a minimum amount of talking. Students should be academically engaged the entire time they are with you. We'll talk more about this later too.

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First thing in the morning, be sure to get a list of students for your class. This can be obtained from the office. Most of the time the teacher has a list like this on his/her desk. Have secondary students sign in at the beginning of each period. The list can be circulating around the room as you are teaching or as the class is doing the seat work assigned. Make sure that each student signs his/her own name and nobody else's. Sometimes the kids will sign a friend's name who has cut the class. Once the list is returned to you, compare the number of signatures against the number of students in the class. If you have too many signatures, go around the room to each one of the kids and find out what his/her name is and check it off. The students you have not met are absent and can then be crossed off the list. Watch out for fictitious names the kids might write like cartoon characters, famous people, etc. Very often secondary students will try to take advantage of a sub. They will say that they were present for a class and that the sub didn't know. If you have a signed list, you can prove otherwise. If you don't have a signed list, it's your word against the student's. The administration will have doubts as to whether or not you knew the student was in the classroom

On occasion, it may be necessary for you to write a referral for disciplinary purposes. Just remember, a referral is written for extremely bad behavior. It is not written for the students who just give you a hard time for a moment or two. Be very selective with the referrals you write. If you write too many, it will be presumed you have no control. No control means no calls in the morning for work.

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Catalogue Information

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