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Monday, January 08, 2001
How's this for a job description: Get lost going to work, because it's in a different building every day. Spend seven hours in a classroom -- after spending an hour trying to find someone to unlock the door -- dealing with children who hate you because you're not their regular teacher or love you because they can take advantage of you.
A few of them will not speak English, and some of them will be special education students and you will not even be told what their disability is. Other students will insist they need to go to the bathroom or the guidance counselor NOW and since you've never seen these kids before, you're not sure if they're suicidal, have a true gastrointestinal emergency, or they're just pulling your leg.
And then they keep asking you: "Are you a RE-E-A-AL teacher?" Often, that answer is "No."
Substitutes in the nation's classrooms arguably have one of the most thankless, underpaid jobs imaginable. The Post-Gazette asked several subs around the country to sketch their most memorable moments, their daily challenges, and their thoughts on teaching. Here's what they said:
"If you're greeted at all, it's just, here's your key. Then you're on your own...In the faculty lounge, you're not welcome. You might sit in someone else's seat. They think you're an imposter."
-- Jennifer Anys, Mt. Pleasant, Pa.
"I worked hand in hand with the teacher, who was recovering from surgery. I would go to her house before school, after school. In the end, I got a bag full of cards and balloons from my babies telling me thanks for the extra effort. You'd be surprised how many subs are willing to do that. You have someone's life in your hands...you give all you can, and the kids know that you're giving all you can."
-- Ermalene Gault, Gary, Ind.
"Today I'm not so bad, but yesterday I couldn't go downstairs after I finished in the elementary school."
-- David Mandehr, Madison, Wis., who has a metabolic disorder
"All of the assigned classes were on the second floor. When the weather is cold or damp, my arthritis kicks in, and when my arthritis kicks in my knees don't work....I was on my feet all day, and by my half-hour lunch, I was pooped."
-- Edith Monk Hallberg, Berkeley, Calif., who also is visually impaired.
On first-grade physical education: "They played with bean bags all class. It was cute." On band and orchestra classes: "I enjoy it. There's always someone in the class who knows what's going on." On languages: "I don't like that. I just fake it." On teaching: "Most of these kids can't handle more than 20-25 minutes of learning anyway."
-- Gene Brandon, Ashland, Ore.
"I have no training except being a mom and social worker....If you have a college degree and especially if you have kids, you can do this job. A lot of the secretaries do not have a college education but they are running the building and they're very talented."
-- Evelyn Ambre, Aurora, Ill.
"I was in a class where I was the third sub, for the third day in a row, with no lesson plans. An inexperienced sub wouldn't know what to do."
-- Dorothy Hearn, Montgomery County, Md.
"I had a 27-minute video for a one-hour class....But the video was crummy and the kids couldn't follow along. I did this for five periods. Over and over."
-- Al Quinn, Santa Rosa, Calif.
"For over 10 years we have been there for you. Whenever you needed us. So what have you done for us during this same period? We want our fair share! We have the education and we do the work, so don't you think that we deserve the pay!" -- Pat Johnson, in a statement to the San Bernadino (Calif.) School Board.
"The teacher was supposed to be there at the beginning of class to get the students started. But we waited and waited and no teacher....So I was sitting writing a note, documenting that there was no equipment and no teacher. In the meantime the kids were playing Frisbee and I got hit so hard it made me cry. To top off all the things that shouldn't have happened that day...my arm was numb and my neck was numb and I wanted to be relieved of my class. I sent a girl to the office to tell them I was injured. The girl came back and said, 'No one is available.'"
-- Yvonne Christensen, Oregon City, Ore.
"The music teacher took some students, the best ones, to a competition, but he just left videos for the others....They resented it and just got up and left. They called me a bitch because I told them they had to stay. I had two kids left in the class when it was over."
-- Pat Perry, Hoquiam, Wash.
"Substitute teachers are not allowed to have keys to the bathrooms. Only one bathroom is available in the corner where the office is. This is a large campus, so it is sometimes a quarter-mile walk to the bathroom. When I asked why, I was told because they had problems with substitutes. There was no elaboration."
-- John Quartuccio, Manatee County, Fla.
"I gave an assignment that the students were to cut up a poem and glue it to a colorful piece of construction paper. I was walking around helping the other students and I go to see how [a special needs student] is doing and I find him cutting holes in his shirt....It's difficult for a teacher to write down everything that I need to know before she leaves. I took the scissors from him and finished cutting his poem for him and kept the scissors until the end of the day. I made a note for the teacher as well as advised the aide that came into help him later in the day. I didn't want his parents to call upset over his shirt and not have anyone but me know what had happened."
-- Marsha Turner, McCandless, Pa.
"This school has a zero-tolerance policy on subs and kids: if a kid gives a sub trouble, automatic one-day, in-school suspension. Wow. May seem harsh to some, but boy does it work. The secretary said that overall behavior had improved quickly in that area. With subs very hard to get....anything that helps our day will be appreciated."
-- Margaret Ferguson, Clarkston, Wash.
"I tend to use humor to run the class, which generally keeps the students more attentive. One of the 11th-grade students I had was my cousin. When I came in she was happy to tell the other students that we were related when one of them said, "Hey, this is that COOL sub."
-- Cara Wehmeier, a college student in Washington, Mo.