Just thought I'd ask and see what y'all say.
Pros:
- i can pick and choose what days/classes i want to work online
- i hear it can be easy af, like literally just read a book the whole time
Cons:
- kids can be crazy
- the pay is basically the lowest amount I'd possibly accept for a day's work, varies slightly but around 130$ for 7 hours
- gotta get up earlyish in the morning
It's not worth it unless you're trying to make a career in teaching and can build some experience/fish for a permanent position.
Seriously, as a teacher, let me tell you that subbing sucks ass and is not worth the money
Thanks yeah this is exactly why I asked.
It seems like it can really suck
Keep in mind that if anything bad happens in the class, you're dead last in who is believed for what happens, including any students that did the bad thing.
It could be vandalism. It could be a kid slashing their wrist in the bathroom. It could be a group of kids that decide they don't like you and decide to come together and make up a story about something you said in class. You will be believed last.
I'm not saying don't do it, but the passive-aggressive air of dismissive hostility will persist that entire day you're there, unless you're lucky enough to have a teacher (and class) that likes you enough to ask for you back by name for later jobs.
Yeah this was exactly the kind of stuff I am worried about.
Have you been a sub before?
I don't want to dox myself, but I have worked for local school systems and I've seen what I've been talking about.
It's doable. Some subs do it for years, even decades. It's just a minefield to finesse. One of the most essential tricks is learning how to be both approachable but unassailable to antisocial kids that can detect the slightest annoyance in your voice if you let it show and will exploit that all day.
Your school had a camera? What for? That's fucked teachers aren't pigs.
My high school had cameras in all the classrooms and hallways. The teachers weren't the pigs. We called them disciplinarians.
Yeah I thought the cameras were for the teachers. Weird that you'd need them in a classroom if a teacher is already there, but I can picture some schools needing security in public spaces. I'm sure I would have been safer in the halls if people didn't think they could assault me with no evidence.
Honestly this was more religious white suburban paranoia than it was actually necessary for security or evidence. I never witnessed or heard about any physical altercations the entire time I went to school there. The disciplinarians mainly spent their time handing out demerits/detentions for uniform violations and lateness.
My teacher said that all classrooms had cameras but they were hidden. I didn’t believe him though because we’ve had fights and security didn’t come until after someone ran out to get them lol. Just some panopticon shit
It would be whatever is available. There an online system that i could pick and choose which classes i want to do.
However from what I understand it's mostly just doing what the actual teacher has left for me to do, which is probably just overseeing the kids do work on their own. I would basically never be doing my own teaching or what not
You'd be surprised how much room there is for you to teach how you think is best
Yeah true. Being able to offer the students a better perspective would definitely be a plus of the job
My experience subbing is that it’s a lot of random 6am phone calls and you’re never sure when you’ll be able to work, but that was also pre-covid and I imagine the need for subs is through the roof atm so you probably have a lot of say on when you actually work. Knowing the subject matter is good so you can answer questions in class but not necessary depending on the materials left by the teacher. My experience is that the kids will run the gamut of “no input necessary” to “literally eating paint” And usually all in one day because schools like to stack different periods with either all the ‘gifted’ kids or all the ‘others.’
The school districts in my area have an online system that you can browse which classes need subs and pick and choose which and when to sign up. So at least that part would be nice.
I am worried about how stressful or insane it would be tho actually doing the job. Like you said it seems pretty unpredictable and possibly quite bad. Idk if that's something that I want to bother with
As far as I know it’s very easy to only pick up a single class and then not come back if you didn’t enjoy it. There’s not any long term contracts for subs afaik. You just have to do the initial paperwork/background check to make sure you’re not a pedo
Yeah true.
Worse case scenario i do the whole application just to decide after one day that i don't want to do it anymore. Which would suck but it's not that big of a loss
I mean if you're teaching online classes then kids being crazy are still only being crazy in their own house
Classes aren't online, just the sign up system.
I could pick and choose classes and days from a list online
oh ok I misread the post. If you can pick and choose classes why don't you try teaching a class and see how you like it
Nah the way I wrote it was really bad and confusing.
I think you're right. I might as well try.
Also if i found a certain subject or class of kids i liked i could just always pick them. I could also avoid a class if it's really bad
Hey! I'm a substitute! Though I haven't actually worked as one yet, just got in the system last week so I'll probably get my first experience next school year.
Anyway I figure anything's worth trying because you never know how you'll feel until you do it and you also never know what doors it will open for you until you finish, and if you haven't taken out tens of thousands of dollars worth of student loans then you don't have much to lose beyond a few days of your life if you don't like it.
Hey yeah! I was planning to do all the paperwork this summer and start subbing next school year as well
Yeah i think you might be right about it being worth giving a shot.
Just out of curiosity, what lead you to decide to give subbing a try?
I was looking for government jobs in my area, and that was one of the ones that popped up that i was qualified for. I talked to my step mom who's a teacher about it and she basically told me what I said in the post.
I have a family member who told me I should give it a shot. That kind of makes me feel better about trying it.
Honestly i think it could be fun but I'm just worried about how stressful it could get but i guess I'll have to try it as see
Sure, if you don't like it its usually easy enough to just quit, since there's no contacts or anything. just up and leave.
For more cons: ,admin-teacher drama and pecking order (tread lightly and keep guarded), parents can be crazy too, and your first year working with kids you're going to catch everything that's going around, EVERYTHING, in the years of covid19, monkeypox and whatever else that's not fun.
If you’re an American :fidel-wut: maybe not unless you have a Kevlar vest underneath
___Yeah this is another thing that makes me want to find something else...
I thought it was great, personally, but I'm an experienced teacher with very good classroom management practice, so I'm very good at taking control of the room and bringing students on my side. (I have a new things working in my favour as I fulfil a sexist/homophobic archetype most students have coded as the type of person you're supposed to give respect to.) I also know a wide variety of subject matter within my domain and can teach a lot of things clearly and effectively, so students often like that I'm there.
If you can control a room and convince students early you can give them what they need (structure, respect, kindness, effective and engaging instruction), subbing is a breeze, it's fun, engaging and you don't take any work home with you.
I should add where I live a substitute teacher is paid slightly more than they would be with their level of experience, but you don't have the health coverage. If I was making $130 a day, which really is like nothing, I'm not sure that would be worth it, or at least I'd have to think carefully about it.
Most of the horror stories I've seen always seem to come from someone who didn't have good classroom management. So i can totally see how good classroom management can make subbing a lot easier.
I have quite a bit of classroom experience but nothing as an actual teacher. My current gig has me in different school's after school programs and so I'm use to being in front of a class but i wouldn't call my classroom management anything better than average. I imagine i could improve those over time tho with more experience?
The pay is possibly the thing that's keeping me from just going for it. Cost of living is low relative to the rest of the nation but still 130$ is pretty shit. They say they'll go higher with more experience but ofc there is absolutely no promise to that.
Yeah, it's interesting I never did any subbing as a beginner teacher, but it wasn't until I started subbing after several years that I learned I'd been developing these soft skills the whole time of running a class smoothly, commanding attention, correcting student behaviour in a way that makes them feel cared for and not chided. All these little skills made subbing really easy and fun.
Yeah i feel like if I could develop those skill subbing would be nice. The pay tho is a sticking point. I have to wonder if I should just keep looking for something else
Yeah when I was subbing I could basically pay my rent with 2 day's labour. $130 is a pittance
I know right!
Had been bouncing the idea of doing this around my head for a while and the $130 a day really caught me off guard. Like wtf. I do live in a state with a lowish cost of living but still.
They do say that pay can increase with experience and performance so maybe, if i try it and like it, i could just straight up ask for more
Getting your foot in the door with a school district is a smart move in case of a wave of unemployment around the corner
True, they'll always need teachers even if they just turn them into glorified babysitters
From your pro/con list it sounds like you should do it lol. The shit money sucks so if you're the main earner for your home and other people depend on your pay, that might be a deal breaker for you I dunno.
Yeah no one depends on me but myself so the shit pay isn't like threatening my ability to live. It's just kinda a lot less then i think the job deserves and ofc I'd want to make more
I did it for a few months at my old high school this year and I really liked it. The kids were pretty good. Idk what I did but I quickly become a favorite sub.
