AMA threads seem to be all the rage on FT these days, and given how any school-related thread has a sub-incident or two in it, I thought some folks might be interested in asking about a substitute's experiences and anecdotes and such. I'll try to answer best I can, but there's a few things I'm not allowed to mention (Mostly stuff that'll be irrelevant like who's and where's).
are you one of those cool substitute teachers who will show movies in class?
[editline]6th March 2014[/editline]
as for a more serious question, what do you do with students who are disrespectful towards you? seems like a lot of kids like give subtitute teachers a lot of crap over nothing
When I was in primary education we once had a substitute teacher and my entire class resolved to ruin her day. Two or three kids at the class took EVERY LAST piece of spare paper they had and scrunched them up and threw them at the back of the class during the lesson. When she finally realized the entire back of the classroom was covered in paper and she started crying and ran out of the class. Later we had a stern talking-to by the headmaster.
So, more on-topic: Do you ever get kids who try to piss you off intentionally? How do you react, how do you feel and why?
Is the job as annoying as it sounds?
What's the worst situation you've ever been in on the job?
Are you one of those nice ones who don't check for homework, don't even give much homework and just tell "Do those exercises and then you can go home."? We sorta currently have one like that in our physics class, he's awesome.
[QUOTE=Makol;44149818]are you one of those cool substitute teachers who will show movies in class?[/quote]
Only if I have [I]nothing[/I] else to work with. Done it twice in my year-and-a-half on the job.
[quote=Makol]as for a more serious question, what do you do with students who are disrespectful towards you? seems like a lot of kids like give subtitute teachers a lot of crap over nothing[/QUOTE]
Really depends on what they do and how old they are. Younger kids, I look them in the eyes and do the usual 'We don't want to hear that sort of language around here' deal. Older kids are generally fairly respectful, though I've had one who insisted on calling me 'pedo', a colleague 'asschin' and the principal 'retard'. I gave him a lecture in how to talk to people and common, mutual respect, even for people you don't like because you're a stuck-up little brat.
[QUOTE=Internet1001;44149835]When I was in primary education we once had a substitute teacher and my entire class resolved to ruin her day. Two or three kids at the class took EVERY LAST piece of spare paper and scrunched them up and threw them at the back of the class during the lesson. When she finally realized she started crying and ran out of the class. Later we had a stern talking-to by the headmaster.
So, more on-topic: Do you ever get kids who try to piss you off intentionally? How do you react, how do you feel and why?[/QUOTE]
I've had kids intentionally trying to piss me off, yeah. Very first day on the job, two kids jumped out the classroom window and had a snowball fight on the roof, back then I didn't know how to handle it and kinda just what-the-fuck'd. Now, if kids intentionally try to piss me off or ruin the class in one way or another, I tighten right up on what they're allowed to do, tell them ass-in-fucking-seat or they're going to the headmaster's office in no time, then just ignore them and teach the rest of the class.
[QUOTE=yellowoboe;44149836]Is the job as annoying as it sounds?[/QUOTE]
No. I like it. It's rough, often tired at the end of the day, but it's really quite fun and enjoyable. Great colleagues, nice work-enviroment for the most part, and once kids get to know you, they're decently respectful and just do what they're told to do.
[QUOTE=Chaohord;44149839]What's the worst situation you've ever been in on the job?[/QUOTE]
Of the ones I'm sure I'm allowed to mention, the one above with the snowballs on the roof on the first day of the job. That quite sucked. I have another worse one, but I think it falls under my confidentiality rules.
As a substitute teacher, do you cover any subject that is missing a teacher? Are you assigned a/some specific school(s) that you cover for?
[QUOTE=Funley;44149876]Are you one of those nice ones who don't check for homework, don't even give much homework and just tell "Do those exercises and then you can go home."? We sorta currently have one like that in our physics class, he's awesome.[/QUOTE]
It really, [I]really[/I] depends on what the 'real' teacher leaves for me to work with. Some teachers leave exercise-papers, others expect me to actually do their job in their place. I personally really prefer the latter, because those papers with a few math or English or Danish or whatever exercises on them, no kids give a shit about those; they know they're inconsequential and as such, will just fuck around for the entirety of class. When I'm picking up real work for the teacher, they know they'll be checked later, so they pretty much behave and work exactly like they'd do when the teacher is actually there.
[QUOTE=Internet1001;44150045]As a substitute teacher, do you cover any subject that is missing a teacher? Are you assigned a/some specific school(s) that you cover for?[/QUOTE]
I'm mostly called in in the case of sickness, meetings or other one-day events, though these last two weeks, I have been covering for an 8th grade math teacher on holiday; and it is possible for me to be asked to cover for someone over a longer period of time, if they get seriously ill or go and do a baby. I'm only assigned to a single school, but that's plenty enough for me to make a good living, especially in the winter.
I'm actually considering getting a job as a substitute teacher after I'm done with high school this year - so what did you do to get the job? Did you attend that school before getting the job? Did they have any expectations regarding grades and so on?
what is the worst thing a kid has done to you
[QUOTE=GoDong-DK;44152307]I'm actually considering getting a job as a substitute teacher after I'm done with high school this year - so what did you do to get the job? Did you attend that school before getting the job? Did they have any expectations regarding grades and so on?[/QUOTE]
I just applied, then they had a trial-period where I was meant to not fuck up, then I was hired.
[QUOTE=R-money;44152363]what is the worst thing a kid has done to you[/QUOTE]
Handed me a bag of shit. He pooped his pants without telling anyone, so he went to change, and came back with the bag with his old pants in it. I looked in the bag, got hit by the full, pent-up, freshly made shit-fumes. Ew.
Why's everyone asking negative questions, though? 's a lot of good stuff, too!
What's it like to be a teacher c:
what has been your favorite experience in being a sub?
[QUOTE=Zillamaster55;44156582]What's it like to be a teacher c:[/QUOTE]
Stressful and noisy, but rewarding. Both financially, and job-satisfactionally.
[QUOTE=Ninja Gnome;44156614]what has been your favorite experience in being a sub?[/QUOTE]
Either whenever a kid goes 'ooh, that's why' and totally gets a concept that they didn't grasp when class started; that feeling of knowing that I taught the kid something. Or this one time when I was teaching a small group of not-all-that-special needs kids (ADHD and dsylxeia, not Down's or stuff like that) and they had to write diaries and one of them wrote (Paraphrased, since it was Danish, not English) "Todei we had an new teecher. Hes name is Riller. He has black pants and glasses. He is very nice". That was super cute and heartwarming.
What would your reaction be to finding a condom filled with white glue in your desk drawer? For the sake of argument, you don't necessarily know it is white glue.
That happened to one of the Subs I had in elementary.
[QUOTE=Zenreon117;44156676]What would your reaction be to finding a condom filled with white glue in your desk drawer? For the sake of argument, you don't necessarily know it is white glue.
That happened to one of the Subs I had in elementary.[/QUOTE]
Close the drawer again, draw no attention to it. Once kids are out on recess, dispose of it, wash hands. Bringing it up would absolutely destroy any hopes of attention for the class.
Do you like to get personal with students? I mean like, we had one sub when he came who during the last couple minutes would talk about movies with us and he was a big movie critic. So we would argue for the last 10 minutes of class on why Hot Fuzz is amazing and he'd be like "No Shaun of the Dead, do your homework!"
[editline]7th March 2014[/editline]
So along those lines? Or Vidya' games and music and such.
Do you tell the class that your name is Mr S?
How do you deal with kids who constantly interupt your lessons with their smartphones? Some of my teacher are doing nothing about it.
[QUOTE=blitzown;44156766]Do you like to get personal with students? I mean like, we had one sub when he came who during the last couple minutes would talk about movies with us and he was a big movie critic. So we would argue for the last 10 minutes of class on why Hot Fuzz is amazing and he'd be like "No Shaun of the Dead, do your homework!"
[editline]7th March 2014[/editline]
So along those lines? Or Vidya' games and music and such.[/QUOTE]
I talk a bit of video games with some kids, though [I]everyone[/I] these days just play Minecraft or LoL, so not much to talk about.
[QUOTE=The golden;44156790]We once had a sub teacher that could remember the name of every student in our class after only teaching it once
when she returned a 3/4 of a year later.
That's some impressive memory when you go through hundreds of students a day.[/QUOTE]
I remember about-... Iunno, not all that many names. Maybe a third?
[QUOTE=Coffee;44156793]Do you tell the class that your name is Mr S?[/QUOTE]
Nope.
[QUOTE=Davidn64;44156815]How do you deal with kids who constantly interupt your lessons with their smartphones? Some of my teacher are doing nothing about it.[/QUOTE]
Tell them to put it away first time and second time, third time, I take it up to my desk.
[QUOTE=Riller;44156862]I talk a bit of video games with some kids, though [I]everyone[/I] these days just play Minecraft or LoL, so not much to talk about.[/QUOTE]
I used to play Command & Conquer with my homeroom teacher
[QUOTE=Davidn64;44156815]How do you deal with kids who constantly interupt your lessons with their smartphones? Some of my teacher are doing nothing about it.[/QUOTE]
This wouldn't have even been an issue at my school, any evidence of the possibility of any sort of phone and it was taken away from you for a week. It's actually really difficult for me to imagine going to school someplace where students would be allowed to have phones on their person.
What's the best advice you can give someone going into the teaching field?
[QUOTE=Atwal;44157056]What's the best advice you can give someone going into the teaching field?[/QUOTE]
Get out while you still can. Down that path, madness lies.
Or, y'know. Go for it! It's fun and rewarding work. I really can't give you any advice that a proper education won't tell you better than I can. Just know that, despite what we like to pretend, sometimes it really just [I]is[/I] the kids who are shits. Or the parents. Parents suck, y'all!
Do you let your kids listen to music on their earphones? If not, why?
[QUOTE=343N;44157432]Do you let your kids listen to music on their earphones? If not, why?[/QUOTE]
Depends on the class. If they're sitting on their arses doing math, I don't mind. If they're doing discussions, 'classroom teaching' (when I'm talking about shit, dunno what the English term is) or reading books, I'd rather they don't.
[QUOTE=Riller;44157134]Get out while you still can. Down that path, madness lies.
Or, y'know. Go for it! It's fun and rewarding work. I really can't give you any advice that a proper education won't tell you better than I can. Just know that, despite what we like to pretend, sometimes it really just [I]is[/I] the kids who are shits. Or the parents. Parents suck, y'all![/QUOTE]
I've heard people blame the problems of the new generation of kids on teachers/schooling and the weaker discipline enforced now. But I don't feel that is the case, sure a lot of teachers(A LOT) are idiots, but not all of them. I worked in a few different schools for a couple years(not as a teacher) I didn't really interact with kids but I got to know a lot of teachers.
Point is, parents will eat teachers alive if they do anything to their kid, that's where the new zero discipline comes from, it's not the teachers fault.
Opinions?
[video=youtube;eswQl-hcvU0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eswQl-hcvU0[/video]
Do you have to take any qualifications among what you want to teach? I want to teach film/photography in a college (what comes before university) for a couple of years before I go into camera trainee work.
[QUOTE=reevezy67;44157494]I've heard people blame the problems of the new generation of kids on teachers/schooling and the weaker discipline enforced now. But I don't feel that is the case, sure a lot of teachers(A LOT) are idiots, but not all of them. I worked in a few different schools for a couple years(not as a teacher) I didn't really interact with kids but I got to know a lot of teachers.
Point is, parents will eat teachers alive if they do anything to their kid, that's where the new zero discipline comes from, it's not the teachers fault.
Opinions?[/QUOTE]
Over the last ten years, kids have become entitled little shits from the day they step into school. It's impossible for this to be the flaw of the teachers, since the teachers haven't even said hello to the kids by the time they start acting like shit. It's bad parenting, is all. Parents are putting more and more of the responsibility of the raising children and teaching them how to behave on the school, which is not where stuff like that is meant to be taught. Parents don't raise their kids right any more, and then they blame the teachers when their kids act like shit. Teachers have been doing the exact same thing with the exact same discipline and rules now as they did before, it's on the homefront kids are turning to shit.
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