Here's what I think

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Home : 2002 : February : 14

Here's what I think
By LW

I sub in a large suburban district that uses the automated sub finder system. I was told when I signed up at the beginning of this year that I would be kept very busy. But since October, I have been called a total of 10
times. I would take this personally, except for the fact that I seem to go to a different building every time and each time I have gone, neighboring teachers have stopped by my room to ask for my sub finder ID # and to tell me they thought I did a great job and would use me in the future. However, I have not been requested once. The frustrating thing to me is that I am a very good sub

but I don't feel as though I've been given a chance to prove that to anyone. How can people be dissatisfied with your performance if you've been given the opportunity to show them what you've got? This is why I don't take it personally. Here's what I think is happening. Even though we have subfinder, many of the school secretaries are bypassing the system and calling tried and true substitutes directly at home to line up teachers for their buildings. I know many substitutes who say they work every day, but almost always go to the same buildings. So I feel that the old stand bys are being requested outside the system, leaving very few jobs for the newcomers. How frustrating is that? How can you overcome competition like this when you can't even get in the classrooms to show your capabilities? I would love to sub more but you can't twist teachers arms and say, "Use me, use me!!" I don't blame them. When I had my own classroom I liked to use the same subs over and over because she knew my students and they knew her, she was familiar with my routines, curriculum, etc. It was easier on the kids and easier on me to prepare for an absence as well as when I returned. So, I have no answers, but I am very disappointed in the subfinder system. I think it would almost be easier to sub in a district where teachers were not allowed to request. At least from the subs point of view, everyone is treated fairly and has an equal job to sub every day. I would be interested in any other people's thoughts.