Subbing..Disrespect

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Subbing..Disrespect
By Mary

Subbing in middle school, by some, is considered babysitting that deserves combat pay. I have subbed for that past 3 years at elementary level and just this year moved up to middle school. I was leery at first but once
I got to know the kids things went fine. I was at an advantage of sorts because some of the kids attended the elementary school that I have been at for the part 3 years so I recognized some of them.
There will always be some who push the line a little more, but if you show who is in control and give the kids respect too, things can go well. The middle school I go to has a fantastic principal

and office staff. The principal will not stand for any student giving grief to a teacher or a sub or another student. I have had several classes that just would not "get it together" so I buzzed the office and someone from the office was sent down immediately. If I have given a class an assignment as a "punishment" for behavior the teacher has always supported me. (An example was the class not working and so instead of having the next day to finish the math in class, the math was homework and due at the start of class.) The students know I mean business. I am not there to babysit but to continue the class work. We laugh and have some fun time on occasion but work comes first. There are times when I was confused about the lesson plans but neighboring teachers have always been helpful.
If you don't tell the school's administration about problem classes they can't do anything to make changes. Here in Northern Virginia they are desperate for subs so if a school has you as a "regular" and wants to keep you, they want to know about teachers not leaving lesson plans, problems etc. I do not like to write a student up on a referral but if it is unacceptable behavior then I will deal with it then, not let it wait for the teacher to return. And in a funny way the kids respect that too.
Subbing is a hard job, you never know what you might have to teach and who you will run into but I have learned a lot from other teachers and from the kids themselves.