I been subbing for a few weeks, and noticed I don't really have a real lesson plans, most of the time is just busy work, like maybe just reading a Story time, but not doing real work... |
Do you have any teaching experience (or background) in a particular subject area? Some substitutes do, especially FCPS retirees. If you let the school principal and department chair know this, they could arrange a sub job which would involve actual instruction. |
Yes we had a longterm sub for 2 months for maternity leave and she did full curriculum leasons with the kids. |
That's why I'm a long term sub - short terms subs are just glorified babysitters. |
I had 30 years with FCPS and started subbing this year. I mostly sub at the ES from which I retired and I have taught "real lessons". Sometimes I plan on the fly and teach "real lessons". I checked in with one teacher the day before my sub job and was told, "I'm leaving actual lessons for you to do". |
In ES, they might have highly scripted lesson plans for you to follow.
In MS and HS, they might let you teach if they know you know your subject matter. I taught lessons when I was a sub once the teacher realized I knew the subject matter and asked me to sub for them again. I do the same with some subs now that I am a teacher. |
As a PP says, I leave behind very scripted plans for my ES classroom. I also use the same few subs who I have met over the years and I know they are able and willing to actually teach my lessons. |
Most of our daily subs are just babysitting. Many are not proficient English speakers and most cannot follow anything more than the worksheets we leave. Sometimes even that is a big ask. |
Many subs don't understand the concepts themselves (even in 4th grade), so we often leave review pages that the kids can do on their own. If you are skilled in a particular skill then notify the main office, they can share that with the teachers. |
I can’t get my subs to follow basic plans like “hand out this worksheet at 11:00”. I’m definitely not leaving actual instruction. I’ve had multiple subs “help” on a 5th grade review worksheet and do the math wrong. I know there are some great subs, but I’ve never been lucky enough to get one. |
+1, even when I leave a word-by-word script with answer keys, the kids still tell me that the sub was completely useless…and these are 2nd graders. |
I have always taught real lessons, every time I sub in elementary schools. Math, social studies, language arts, science - whatever the teacher leaves for me, I always teach. |
DP. Who are these subs you're getting? I can't imagine accepting a subbing job and not actually instructing. I follow the teacher's plan to a T. |
I was a long-term sub for a while too, for the same reason. But then I learned that long-term subs are expected to do report cards and parent conferences, as well as planning - all for the low, low salary of a sub. No thanks. |
My child has a long term sub and she has been doing a great job - the teacher is on maternity leave so she had time to prepare, she hand picked the sub, and the curriculum is team taught so she has a lot of support from the other teachers. It’s the best sub experience any of my kids have had. |