June 11, 2023
I have been a sub in Union County, North Carolina since August 2022 and I wrote things I have noticed since starting.
Why I Became A Sub
I’ve been trying to work for the school system since we lived in Virginia. Yes. Writing is my first love, but I wanted to try this too. I think I applied for school jobs a lot in 2019.
No success.
I wanted to work in the school system for the time off.
I’m sure you all have noticed that Fred and I travel frequently. I figured working in the school district was the perfect way to do that.
I’d get summers off, Christmas break, and spring break. As well as many teacher workdays.
The original goal was to work as a receptionist or librarian at a school in the school district. My play aunt has experience working for a school district. She told me to start as a sub and network at the schools. She said when an opening for a receptionist position opens up – apply. I let go of the dream of being a librarian when I found out I need a master’s degree. I have a bachelor’s degree and I am tired of going to school.
How I Choose Schools
Where Fred and I live, there are at least seven schools in a 20-minute radius of us. There are over three dozen schools in the district.
We have an app/website we use to pick up assignments.
There is a “preference” tab where I can click on which schools I prefer to sub. This is beneficial because 90 different teachers can need a sub and narrowing down what schools I want to work at shows me 15-20 teachers who need a sub.
I’m at a point now where I know which schools I prefer, how their students act, great location, and some of the assistant principals have my number. They text me the night before or the morning of when they need a sub. There is an option where I can choose to receive phone calls, but I dislike those. I had to turn that option off.
I don’t sign up for many elementary schools. I don’t have patience for it. I know people say they see me working at an elementary school, but I can’t handle it.
I prefer middle and high school. Even though I initially avoided this with the plague. I avoided it because I look like a high schooler.
Plus, a lot of elementary-aged kids had kindergarten and first grade during COVID. I feel this probably hindered them. I’m not an expert, but COVID-19 hindered a lot of age groups. But I think the youngins got that the most.
The Students
My goodness! Students of today are very different from when Fred and I were in school. Think about. I went to high school 2008-2012 and new things were emerging. We had cellphones, but if we were caught with one at my high school, our parents had to pay $25 for us to get it back. MySpace was dwindling and Facebook was the new thing.
I don’t think I even heard of Instagram or Twitter between 2008-2011. It’s so interesting to me that students want their phones out during class. They want to Tik Tok every hour. Things are different with behavior too.
In school, I was scared if a teacher or administrator had to call my folks. My students don’t seem afraid when I ask someone to write them up.
The Lunch/Planning Periods/Coverage
I know you are tired of me saying this, but every school district is different. Times have changed.
I know you all see the news stories that school districts across the country have teacher shortages. I believe there is a substitute teacher shortage too.
Subbing for the 2022-2023 school year, I see why some teachers may retire from teaching early.
Or why people in the community will not sub.
I know pay is probably one reason. I make $115/day (I get less on half days). If I had other certifications I could make more.
But besides pay, I think I know other reasons why folks may not want to teach or sub.
Let’s talk coverage first, then planning periods and lunch.
Let’s say I assign myself to sub for a middle school tomorrow. Let’s say I chose an eighth-grade math class. I can walk into that middle school and they can tell me five more teachers are out today.
They will get me to cover where they see fit. So I might sub for other classes – and not just the eighth grade math class I signed up for.
For example, I once signed up for a sixth grade math class. I did that for two periods. I barely had time for lunch (the kids only get 25 minutes for lunch). Then I walked next door to sub for sixth grade ELA. I was supposed to have a planning period (a period I don’t have students) as my last class of the day, but I had to cover an eighth grade math class. I was moved around the school multiple times that day, but now I know that sometimes comes with being a sub during this shortage.
Stick around for part 2.
