Kids act up for subs. This has always been the case.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
1. It's 8th grade.

2. You're a sub.

3. Of course they're not going to respect you or want to do a lick of work

4. And you're so stupid and unaware of the dynamic here, you can conclude they're all doomed after one day!!! Clearly, subbing for that age group is not for you

I don’t know how you raise your kids, but my 8th grader knows to treat both teachers and subs respectfully.

PP you replied to. My high schooler and middle schooler are very polite, thank you very much.

Regarding subs, I KNOW. I've witnessed it. Kids have a working relationship with their year-round or semester teachers. That relationship is more or less productive, but it is a relationship and usually it works for all parties.

With subs, particularly for that age group, all bets are off. These are grumpy adolescents, and usually their subs are incompetent. Not saying OP is incompetent! Again, this is from years of personal observation. So they see a sub coming in, and most of them, being grumpy adolescents, moan and groan, and some say extraordinarily rude things, to see how the sub reacts, and some have fun with pretending they can't read or can't do basic math, and it's all an immature expression of their many frustrations.

OP, it looks like you're new to this and didn't know how hard it was going to be, so I apologize for my "stupid" statement. Let's just say you were very naive. There are many reasons no one wants to sub, but one of them is that you usually get a frosty reception (all age groups - I once witnessed a 4th grade class reducing a sub to tears, but middle schoolers are the worst).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
1. It's 8th grade.

2. You're a sub.

3. Of course they're not going to respect you or want to do a lick of work

4. And you're so stupid and unaware of the dynamic here, you can conclude they're all doomed after one day!!! Clearly, subbing for that age group is not for you

Whoa. I hope you are kid-troll poster. Otherwise you are a parent of tween/teen basically saying it’s okay to disrespect a sub.

1 through 4 was posted by one of the 8th graders in OP’s class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
1. It's 8th grade.

2. You're a sub.

3. Of course they're not going to respect you or want to do a lick of work

4. And you're so stupid and unaware of the dynamic here, you can conclude they're all doomed after one day!!! Clearly, subbing for that age group is not for you

Not to mention the disrespect is obviously mutual based on what OP wrote. Kids will pick up on that and act accordingly.

Yes, I'm sure every other day those kids are paying rapt attention to the teacher willing to discuss the days lesson with their homework complete.

Funny that I'm reading this on my planning while the teacher across the hall from me just came back from an appt. Apparently these kids (who are always great for her), tore up the room in the hour long window they had a sub.

I wouldn't make any general statements on the future of America based on a day of subbing. I know all the kids at my school and its still tough when I fill an unfamiliar role (e.g. I'm an ELA teacher but sometimes I provide coverage for math). Thank you for trying though I know that must have been a really hard day. There's a reason there's a sub shortage...it's really miserable work

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sus that you’re blaming the kids. They’re children. It’s adults that have failed them.

I don’t see OP blaming anyone. Just stating the facts. The prognosis isn’t looking so good regardless of who’s responsible.

She places blame directly on them. “Many are extremely defiant…They don’t seem to understand that this is their chance to create a good future.” Pure disdain for these kids.

You should pick a different job OP.

PP, you are part of the problem. Kids need to learn to respect teachers and other adults. My experience was they were running amuck in MCPS by third or grade, with the teachers cowed and most principals feeling they had no right to will to discipline the kids.

Anonymous wrote:I subbed for 8th grade yesterday. It made me sad. So many kids on track to "dead end" lives. Some can't read. some aren't willing to do any work at all, just sit on their phones all class period. Many are extremely defiant. One girl announced to the class I was racist because of "the way I looked at her". Kids loudly announcing they "hate all subs". So many of these kids seem to be headed to a life on minimum wage jobs. They don't seem to understand that this is their chance to create a good future. Of course there were some really great kids too, but overall I feel sad.

Toxic social media + phones = so many lost kids who will waste their lives.

Anonymous wrote:
1. It's 8th grade.

2. You're a sub.

3. Of course they're not going to respect you or want to do a lick of work

4. And you're so stupid and unaware of the dynamic here, you can conclude they're all doomed after one day!!! Clearly, subbing for that age group is not for you

My kids respected subs. It's not really that hard.

So interesting. Contrast this with the many threads in the college forum on how difficult it is to get into the good colleges these days. Even the top 50. Looks like the children in our society are going in two different directions at the same time. So just ask, which side do you want your kid to be on? This sub is just telling it like it is. But not saying the school district.

Anonymous wrote:I subbed for 8th grade yesterday. It made me sad. So many kids on track to "dead end" lives. Some can't read. some aren't willing to do any work at all, just sit on their phones all class period. Many are extremely defiant. One girl announced to the class I was racist because of "the way I looked at her". Kids loudly announcing they "hate all subs". So many of these kids seem to be headed to a life on minimum wage jobs. They don't seem to understand that this is their chance to create a good future. Of course there were some really great kids too, but overall I feel sad.

Thanks for sharing, OP. It makes me think it would be so much better if we allowed hybrid trade school /academics beginning in middle school. Kids would continue with focus on math, English, science, history and civics for the morning and then go to learn how to be an aesthetician, plumber, electrician, carpenter, energy auditor, mechanic, etc., during the day. If you've ever tried to find a good tradesman around here you know how hard it is to find one. The people I use started their companies 35 or 40 years ago or more. They pay their top workers around $100k.

That said, passing along middle schoolers who are illiterate is unconscionable. Are these kids mainly from families who speak another language, or are they at least second gen American and yet illiterate?

Thanks, OP. What school? Do you really think they can't read? Being on their phones seems pretty par for the course, but not knowing how to read definitely isn't.

Anonymous wrote:
1. It's 8th grade.

2. You're a sub.

3. Of course they're not going to respect you or want to do a lick of work

4. And you're so stupid and unaware of the dynamic here, you can conclude they're all doomed after one day!!! Clearly, subbing for that age group is not for you

Whoa. I hope you are kid-troll poster. Otherwise you are a parent of tween/teen basically saying it’s okay to disrespect a sub.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
1. It's 8th grade.

2. You're a sub.

3. Of course they're not going to respect you or want to do a lick of work

4. And you're so stupid and unaware of the dynamic here, you can conclude they're all doomed after one day!!! Clearly, subbing for that age group is not for you

I don’t know how you raise your kids, but my 8th grader knows to treat both teachers and subs respectfully.

Maybe yes, maybe no... Subs bring out the worst in kids.

Anonymous wrote:
1. It's 8th grade.

2. You're a sub.

3. Of course they're not going to respect you or want to do a lick of work

4. And you're so stupid and unaware of the dynamic here, you can conclude they're all doomed after one day!!! Clearly, subbing for that age group is not for you

I don’t know how you raise your kids, but my 8th grader knows to treat both teachers and subs respectfully.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
1. It's 8th grade.

2. You're a sub.

3. Of course they're not going to respect you or want to do a lick of work

4. And you're so stupid and unaware of the dynamic here, you can conclude they're all doomed after one day!!! Clearly, subbing for that age group is not for you

Not to mention the disrespect is obviously mutual based on what OP wrote. Kids will pick up on that and act accordingly.

Yes, I'm sure every other day those kids are paying rapt attention to the teacher willing to discuss the days lesson with their homework complete.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm a parent trying to help with the sub shortage. I actually have an 8th grader at the school and thought I had a general sense of what was going on there. Nope! I realize these are kids and it's not their fault. My observation is that some of these kids did were not willing to do any work or put in any effort. I'm not going to sugar coat what I observed.

Thanks op. Dcum is filled with people who’ll be contrary no matter what. Thanks for subbing and thanks for sharing your observations.