Substitute Teaching: 6 Months In

I’ve been avoiding LinkedIn. Looking for a role in recruiting for over 8 months was a big downer. The constant blackholes where my resumes went with no reply are in that LinkedIn home page. I know it is not true but every time I open the LinkedIn app I feel inadequate. I thought I was a leader, an expert in recruiting, a DEIB specialist and the sparkling star of candidate engagement. It turns out that there were 1000s of us. All unemployed at the same time. All with a crab mentality for the few crumbs remaining in our skill set.

So, I sat down and wrote all the things I like about recruiting. Top of the list was getting back to candidates who did poorly on the interview. Next on the list were managers whose feedback was “She just didn’t hit the right buttons” despite a skill match exceeding expectations. 3rd was 14 people committees meeting for 90 minutes on a candidate who had done 7 interviews, a take home test and a whiteboard code review to have one of the 14 people give a “I just don’t feel it. Let’s pass”

OK, obviously that wasn’t it. It was teaching. It was leading seminars. Then came teaching again. And again. And again. I decided to get an emergency substitute certification and sub TK-12. California needs substitutes and full time teachers. The state educational system is in crisis. Even if I hated it, well, I could do good until something better came along.

I knew if I liked it, I’d end up as a High School teacher. Talking history or art or literature is my jelly and my jam. Some would say I can be rather loquacious if you get me started on any of those subjects. Turns out I was wrong. Well, not about being a talker but about ending up in a high school.

In my earlier post, I talked about the process to get there. A recap is I took a test called a CBEST (which it turns out I didn’t need). I had my fingerprints and background done. I found a district that offered to take care of a lot of the paperwork.

When I started recruiting, in 1998, it was my first grownup job out of college. I didn’t know anything about anything. They gave me a script, a list of names and numbers and said “Call. Call them and get a resume faxed over. Call them all and let Tom (my boss) sort it out. He’ll know his own”. That was my training. It was more in depth and detailed than the training a substitute gets.

The training I got was how and where to submit my timesheet. It? is still analog and handed in once a month. I was told about Aesop Frontline and how to get assignments. I got a sheet about mandated reporting. That was it.

My first assignment was in a Title 1 middle school. Title 1s are the most challenging of all schools. So challenging you get an extra 50 bucks a day for it! They have a more diverse population and a lot less money.?

I walked into a 7th/8th grade science class. I was given a chromebook to take attendance, a print out of a lesson plan, and a hearty good luck. Well, that is not 100% true, No one said Good Luck.

The kids walked over me like I was a 1970s shag carpet. They put on their boogie shoes and just danced. I was as useless and unwanted as a rack of baby back pork ribs at the Chabad picnic. I went in that morning wanting to be Michelle Pfiefer in Dangerous Minds. Instead, I was John Lovitz in the (problematic and forgotten) High School High.

But, it got better. I got better at it, too.?

I found my zone.

It turns out I am amazing with “the littles”. Transitional Kindergarten/Kindergarten is my absolute favorite. I love it right up to the third grade. Then, each grade gets less exciting to me until we hit middle school.?

The sights, sounds and most of all smells of middle school are very intense. Tweens is really a great word for this age. Some are grownups, in body if not mind. Some are still little kids. They tend to be loud, smelly and pains in the behind. There are some gems hidden among them but, wow, they are the most challenging, One on one can be beautiful, In a group, they’re more rowdy then a bunch of juggalos when the Faygo runs out.?

High School is its own thing. As a sub it is the easiest and the most boring. You write bathroom passes. You say “put your phone away or at least be discreet”. You can walk around and make sure people are doing what they’re supposed to do but it's not essential.?

Elementary school is where, for me, it is AT. You actually get to teach things. The lesson plans are usually clear and explicit. The children still listen, for the most part. You can see the burst of light in their eyes when something clicks. Guiding them to helpful emotional choices is one of the greatest joys I’ve found in my teaching journey.

My first TK experience was also in a Title One school. The majority of children did not speak English at home. The classes were not as well set up as other schools I had been too. Supplies were lacking. I’d say 90% of classrooms have a Promethean. This is a gigantic touch screen television set up for educational purposes. They are amazing and so useful as a sub. When you don’t have one, it can be tough. There were none at this school.

I introduced myself as Mr. Newman but something didn’t quite translate. Then, this beautiful group of younglings gave me me a nomme de teaching. “Mr. Noodles!” they yelled. And so, Mr. Noodles realized he found his place. Mr. Noodles found his calling.

One of the kids was on the spectrum. He didn’t really speak. He’d cry all the time in unfamiliar situations. I connected with him. It wasn’t something I was taught how to do. I’m not even sure what made it click. When he saw me, his eyes lit up. I spent 2 days in that class. At the end, the teacher thanked me for what I had done.

I went home more satisfied with my day’s work than I had been in sometime.

I had a few other assignments here and there. Then, I took a week long TK gig in a different school. It was also a Title 1. It turned out these children, already at a disadvantage, had not had a permanent teacher all year. That hurt me. These were great kids and deserved better. I called the district and told them so.

“These kids need stability. They DESERVE stability. I don’t know what you can do but they need more than they’re getting.”

That’s how I ended up teaching a TK class for 2 months. Mr. Noodles was coming into his own!?

I’ve developed some techniques I use at all grade levels. I’ve created some go-tos, some personas and a good introduction establishing what my expectations are. The first step to being an expert at something is sucking at it first. I’m getting better.

I also have started applying to schools to get my certification to teach TK/Kindergarten. The journey continues.

(PS, I have NO idea what I am doing this summer. If you need 2 months of sourcing, give me a buzz!)