Great Subs

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Home : 2004 : January : 2

Great Subs
By Denise

I was a sub for about a year while I finished my master's degree and now am a full time teacher. Hopefully I can help with both sides of the coin.

As a sub I always made sure I did 2 things. First I arrived very early,
at least an hour before school started, especially if it were a new teacher I had never subbed for. This way I could find everything and be overprepared. I found that this made me reliable as a sub and I was constantly asked back to one school in particular because of this. Secondly, I always wrote a detailed note to the teacher. I kept this running throughout the day and would update

during gym, lunch and at the end of the day.

As the previous poster mentioned, I followed the teacher's plans exactly as described. I would adjust a little for my teaching style and student behavior, but all plans for the day were finished. I made sure that I held a tight grip on the class and they knew that I was there to teach, not to play. I may not have been the sub that would receive the "most fun" award from the kids, but many aides commented that I could keep even the hardest class in line. It was many of these aides that helped my credibilty and passed my name on to other teachers. I asked them questions, thanked them for their help, etc. I also brought a "bag of tricks" with me. I mostly subbed intermediate grades and middle school, so I kept some language arts/math books on hand, so I could fill time if there was not enough material for the day. I usually kept 30-40 copies on hand just in case.

As a teacher (and a newer one at that!) I keep my standards high. I have to be gone for department/grade level meetings once every few months and need my curriculum to be followed or we get behind. I expect to come back and see my plans completed. I've seen many posts of teachers complaining about subs who let their kids color all day, basically babysitting.

Finally, I treated each subbing experience as a something else I could talk about at an interview. A few teachers that I subbed for also recommended that I have the principal come in and observe me. Keep in mind that I subbed regularly at this school so I knew the principal quite well.

Hopefully this helps, but if you have any more questions please email me. I'd be more than happy to give any more suggestions!