I made a life-changing decision during the spring semester of my first year at the University: I was going to work as a substitute teacher for the Fairfax County school systems during the summer.
I was convinced this was an incredible idea. First, the pay was good at $13 an hour. Second, I'd get to hang out with my high school friends from the opposite side of the teacher's desk. Third, the work would be easy -- glorified baby-sitting. I was prepared to watch Disney movies, proctor chapter tests and struggle with difficult last names.
I was partially correct. Substitute teaching has been one of the most rewarding activities I have ever done. It has also been one of the most challenging. I thoroughly underestimated the challenges inherent to the job, but the difficult experiences have been those that had the most positive effect on me.
The Good
For starters, getting a substitute job is fairly easy. Once I decided to apply for the job, I first submitted my resume online, which was embarrassingly short.
Next, I completed an online screening test. The same test is given to both potential teachers and substitutes. The "interview," as it is called, is a timed series of short answer questions about one's philosophy of education. This was actually the hardest part of the application process. My creativity was truly tested as I attempted to come up with answers to questions about corporal punishment (how many ways can one say "bad?"), whether every child deserved to learn (did they really think I would say no?) and my long-term goals for the education of my pupils (how many long term goals could I have as a sub?).
Once the county's third-party online interviewing system found my answers satisfactory, I had to get a letter of recommendation, my transcript and the usual battery of documents verifying my identity.
Next, we had orientation. All of the members of the next class of subs-to-be were herded into a line to be fingerprinted and then packed into a small classroom where we filled out tax forms. Then a very aggressive woman came in to chat with us. She read off some slides, reminded us how lucky we were that the pay was increasing and warned us not to fall asleep in the classroom or bring a beer with us to lunch.
That was it. The stringent substitute selections process had ended and I could begin substitute teaching the next day. I was fairly correct as far as my expectations of the job. The pay has been steadily increasing. I've gone back to my old high school and taught people I used to hang out with after school. I can also now recite "Beauty and the Beast" word for word. These were only minor benefits, however.
As easy as watching a movie is, I enjoy challenges greater than deciding whether to grant an appeal to go to the restroom. Actually teaching material is far more entertaining.
Like most students, I used to complain about how bad I thought my teachers were. Now when I go to work, I get the opportunity to teach material as I always thought it should be taught. I get to discard useless metaphors like the Ginsu knife (Sorry Mrs. Follansbee, the imaginary Ginsu knife explained nothing about chemistry). I get to draw examples on the board, make up my own practice problems and actually help students who want to learn. Teaching is fulfilling.
The Bad
There are however, many drawbacks to substitute teaching. One of the first hit me as soon as I got home from orientation: If I didn't have a job lined up for each of the days that week, my phone would ring continuously as late as 10 p.m. and as early as 5 a.m. I was being harassed by an automated telephone system, and it would not cease until I had filled my schedule with substitute jobs.
This wouldn't be a problem were all assignments were equally appealing. If every class were as pleasant as the next, I would quickly jump at any job. A substitute learns very quickly, however, that some jobs are rewarding and some jobs make one consider never substituting again.
For example, I quickly discovered that middle school positions are unbearable. Elementary school students universally respond to a closed door and switching the lights off. High school students have usually matured somewhat and rarely misbehave for the sake of misbehaving. Middle school students have just begun to reject authority, but are almost universally rebels without a cause.
All of the other substitutes seem to realize this as well. High school and elementary school substitute openings disappear instantly. In contrast, I have been called as many as seven times to reconsider the same middle school job offer. About half the time I decided that I would rather take the day off than subject myself to the misery that is middle school substituting.
At first I believed middle school and high school would be the perfect opportunity. Since teachers have planning periods, I thought substitutes would get that time off. Administrators, however, seem to hire exactly half of the substitutes they need and then give double or triple shifts as we check into the office. Teaching band, P.E. and math in the same day has been the norm rather than the exception.
The combination of middle school and double-shifting is most dangerous. On my first day of substituting at a middle school, I was a substitute for both a chorus class and an English class. As I was hurrying from one class to the other between periods, disaster broke out in the chorus room. Apparently the students needed to be supervised in the room even before class started. Without supervision, student A punched student B, and student B responded by stabbing student A with a fork.
... and the Ugly
I've been dealt many exhausting, unsavory experiences as a substitute teacher. The worst experiences, however, have been those that I've grown from the most.
I walked into a local suburban high school to teach chemistry late in the year. I had both honors and non-honors classes, but if they had not been marked as such, I would have never guessed. On top of the rampant discipline problems, a brief glance at their molecule modeling projects showed they knew very little chemistry. I was worried -- I had taken the job for the entire week.
I started making lesson plans, looking up concepts in my old textbooks and called my friend, a biochemistry major, to check my facts. The state mandated Standards of Learning chemistry exam was coming up the Friday of my week there and my adopted students were going to fail unless there was a minor miracle.
I don't know if they learned anything that week, but those who actually paid attention in class were able to correctly answer sample SOL questions that Thursday. If nothing else, they learned that their gumdrop models of diamond shouldn't look like their gumdrop models of sodium-chloride.
On another occasion, I walked into a third grade class at an elementary school in a run-down neighborhood. I glanced at the schedule left for me on either side of a piece of construction paper. I was happy to see the day was planned out to the minute with neat handwriting using purple marker. The teacher seemed to be highly organized.
Yet my euphoria was short-lived as I started reading the instructions, which included: "Have students to choose 2 books that they would like to do this story map on," and "Have students to write a story. Have them to break it down to begining [sic], middle, and the end. Have students to draw and color pictures."
I soon met the students. I couldn't communicate with two, as I knew no Spanish and they knew no English. I wasn't sure that all of my instructions were getting through my eight-year-old interpreters, who volunteered to help me out. They implied that their normal teacher couldn't speak Spanish either.
It wasn't long before I picked up on some of the students saing strangesentences like "Mr. M., you gotta have him to stop that shit."
That day was the most depressing and disheartening of the two years of substituting I have done. I couldn't do anything to teach them, and my hopes that I could somehow be "Super Teacher" were broken.
This elementary school in particular had been targeted by the county as needing strong teachers. Only the best teachers were supposed to be teaching there, but when I asked another teacher what he thought about the direction of the school, he informed me that he was leaving the school soon and that many quality teachers had already. According to him, the quality of the neighborhood and the disruptiveness of the students had been "too much for [the teachers] to bear."
Those days were also the most important days I've ever experienced. I had toyed with the idea of being a teacher at some point in my life and possibly doing a program like Teach For America after graduating from the University. I was convinced there was a need for quality educators, but I never knew how great the need could be even in my county, which is known for its education system.
I still plan to go to law school and practice law. I still plan to apply to Teach For America. What has changed is my perspective. My time in the classroom as a substitute teacher has convinced me that education, the process of ensuring the wellbeing of the next generation, is more than a career. It is a duty.
I thought I was applying for nothing more than a nice summer job. This job has done far more than pay for some gas money and video games. It has convinced me of two things: I can make a difference, and I need to make a difference.
Read More
Letting go of my first year FOMO
By Mai Hukuoka | 10 hours agoIn an attempt to transition to University life, I found myself saying “yes” to way too many things, which left me feeling detached from my surroundings rather than at home on Grounds.
Days on the Lawn gives newly admitted Class of 2028 a taste of Grounds
By Miriella Jiffar and Mia Tan | 2 days agoThe annual spring program invites newly admitted students and their families to experience information sessions, resource fairs and tours around Grounds.
The weight of saying “I love you”
By Mai Hukuoka | 4 days agoWhile grand gestures can't fully describe the weight of love, that doesn't mean love has to be small. Love can, and should, feel heavy.
