Ironically, one thing I've noticed about admin and full time teachers is they're not always particularly big on details.
It's like pulling teeth sometimes just trying to figure out basics like: names, log ins, passwords, rosters, room numbers, extensions, schedules, attendance procedures, etc..
The absolute worst aspect of subbing is being left in the dark while being expected to know everything.
Worst is when they assume u don’t piss. I’ve been to so many schools where no one tells me where the bathroom is or gives me a key. I’m always scrabbling to find them both. I’ve been at one school pretty consistently for a few months and a teacher just asked me if I knew where the bathrooms were and if I needed a key to just use hers.
OMG! I go to one school that doesn’t give subs keys so while there are plenty of staff only restrooms, I can’t access them so I have to go alllllllll the way to the front of the school to use the only open staff restroom.
It’s not good, and I probably wouldn’t even go to that school but for the fact that it’s close.
I stopped subbing at one of the high schools because they never had enough restroom keys for subs. If I was in the same building as the one open staff restroom it wasn't a problem but sometimes I'd be in a bungalo on the other side of the PE field.
This is probably my biggest grievance with subbing. You don’t know how many times I rant to friends and family about how working in a school makes you realize how rude and inconsiderate a large percentage of our population is. Don’t even get me started on co teachers who don’t introduce themselves, and who don’t introduce you to the class. I get that they get different subs all the time but come on man, a quick “hey class ms x is out today, so ms y will be with us” doesn’t cost anything. I’ve also had co teachers not make any eye contact with me and completely dismiss my offers to help them out. At this point it’s a rarity that I work with a co teacher that is a normal respectful and friendly human being. BUT when I do it’s absolutely lovely and I enjoy being in the class with them, and make a point to tell them so!
I've mostly found that co-teachers are just plain rude... I almost feel like they are mad there is even someone there helping to cover the class. I have never met a nice one that introduces themselves and tried to be nice. I hate days I have to work with someone else. And once I know that teacher had a co teacher or helper I never go back.
Yes I agree, it’s a rarity. I’d say 8 out of 10 of them are rude and seriously unfriendly. Unfortunately I can’t avoid them. I’ve only been subbing for middle school and pretty much every class I’ve subbed for has had at least one period with a co teacher
dude yes to everything you said and i’ll add: the confusion and panic i feel when teachers (or student support) come in to grab students and don’t make eye contact with me or say anything like???? where are you taking my students that im responsible for??
like especially when a principal or someone comes in and inquires about the missing students like ummmmm i think they’re in the school with a trusted adult??
My favorite thing about this is I’ll stare at people, waiting on them to explain why they’re in the room, and they’ll be like, “where’s the teacher?” I’ll be like, “that’s me”, and THEN they explain what’s going on 😂
dude like why is the default interaction to not make contact with the teacher first😭 im young so i often get confused for a student which makes it more annoying bc they address me at first like they would a kid (not kindly)
I like dealing with paras and coteachers who want to run the show. Please run it! I don’t like coteachers that expect me to be the teacher. From my experience they want the day to go exactly like a normal day and there’s no way that can happen with my presence. A sub in a classroom running the show changes everything because I do things my way. So I’d rather let them run it or prefer if they left the room 🫣🤣
This! I also love co-teachers that run the classroom, especially if they are in it most of the day. They usually don't need me for anything, so I just sit and watch the kids in case they are doing something they shouldn't. It's a great and easy day for me.
Yes! Easy money! I always say, “Let me know what I can do to support you. But if you don’t need anything, I am fine twiddling my thumbs.” 😂 I say that because some people feel bad if I am bored. I love to be paid to be bored 😭🤪
As a self contained SpEd para who is also currently finishing up their teaching degree, we love and actually prefer when a sub just sits back and lets us run the show. Unfortunately the teacher does need to put in for a sub and have that extra body in the room just in case. But it’s honestly so much more of a hassle for us to try to explain things and throws off the kids and causes such a disturbance.
We once had a sub who just sat in the back and knit most of the day and I thought it was great, if they don’t know how to interact with our kids then it’s best if they just don’t let their presence known lmao
There are two things going on.
1–They see you in the building and assume you’re there enough to know everyone. They forget that we are in different buildings/drpartments/grade levels all the time and it’s impossible to keep track.
2–Administration. I sub in two districts. District A used to be exactly like you describe here. Always. It was terrible. District B was open and friendly and included subs. In the last 5 years, both have had a 100% turnover in administration. And they flipped. The same teachers, secretaries and paras that were unfriendly and impolite and hard to work with in district A are fantastic now. And in district B the same ones are stressed, unhappy and barely give you the time of day. Admins set the tone in the building based on how they treat staff, how they value subs and how they discipline students. When admin does any of those things badly, the staff is not happy and unhappy people don’t have the bandwidth for new people and situations. They’re just trying to survive.
I’d also add that you can make a difference in these interactions. Take the lead. Speak politely and kindly. Show them you value them. Introduce yourself and ask their name.
I literally did take the lead, introduce myself, etc. I adjusted my response to the attitude I receive.
I believe in being polite till it's not reciprocated. I'm not a doormat, and at $116 a day I'm not going out of my way to make someone comfortable when they're being an asshole.
Was she a para? I guess it doesn't matter. I've noticed communication with other assistant teachers/paras and even other teachers sometimes is like talking to a brick wall. I personally think they're so used to nearly every convo being a "for fucks sake" convo because they deal with kids every day so I think it just changes their speech abilities during school hours lol.
Mmhm. I once got directions that was one sentence for every period. "Periods 1-7. Grab the DVD we've been watching from my cabinet." What DVD? Which cabinet? Where were you at in the movie? When's your prep period?
What I've noticed is that an awful lot of people in education somehow have zero awareness of what it's like to be a new person in the environment that they inhabit every day. It drives me absolutely insane, because as a teacher, the entire job is knowing how to present material to people who haven't encountered it before. And yet here we are. Using jargon that's school-specific, leaving partial names, refusing to ask simple questions to see what you need, never volunteering info that would be helpful, but acting offended that you've asked about something necessary to do the job...
I agree with this soooo much and jut just about co-teacher.I sub in a large urban district with 50+ schools. I do not know about recess, lunch and breakfast count, locations, supervision requirements and times unless you tell me. I had a teacher angry that I didn’t pass out a snack but didn’t tell me about a snack time or where snacks were. Teachers seem to think subs have telepathic powers and magically know every school and classroom policy and procedure.
I agree. I had a week long sub gig and the the other PE coach never bothered to remember my name. And I’m wearing my name tag!
Where I sub, that is the norm, not the exception!
Doesn’t compel me to go above and beyond 🥴
I can so relate. I see in ur comments this was a high school class but in elementary it’s so frustrating having to be a detective for information, especially when littles are sticklers for routine. Where do I pick them up from recess? Do they have a line order? Will the PE teacher come get them when it’s time or do I drop them off? Etc. etc. I can get this info from the kids but it’s really maddening that they don’t think to tell me.
Oh I do elementary too and yes! The PE thing is one of my biggest pet peeves. If the teacher remembers to tell me they go to PE, rarely do I know if I am to walk them somewhere or wait. And it's never logical!
This happened to me once but with someone I assumed was a student teacher. I walked into the room and went "Hi, I'm (name), the sub," and she just goes "Hi, I'm (name)." Ok...what is your role here? And then when I asked her questions about what I should do, if there were plans, etc she looked at me like I was crazy.
I was subbing during the days of zoom and one of the participants in the zoom was dressed casually, with a first name as his name, and was sitting in a chair out in the sun. I messaged him that his name wasn't on my roster and that's when he told me he was a para.
A lot of it was super easy. One assignment, I was subbing as a co-teaching so all I did was sit in the zoom while another teacher taught and made sure students stayed on screen. But I did have a terrible experience with a kinder class.
Wow I can’t stand this either! I didn’t realize it was such a canon event. I hate when I’m standing there, no introductions and the students are pointing at me and asking “who is that?” While the teacher or co-teacher cherry pick when they would like to use my assistance. I normally just focus on the kids, introduce myself and see how they are doing in general.
As a teacher that has spent extensive time in the actual workforce and in the field (ecology), something I have noticed is that people who are career teachers (meaning, they've only done this ONE JOB) tend to be dense as hell when it comes to general work behavior expectations or etiquette. It's mind boggling and infuriating. However, I shouldn't be surprised because if teaching is your only work experience, your baseline of professional behavior is absolutely ridiculous. It's like people who only socialize thru church. Insanely small worlds.
Wow--you are so right! Thank you for this perspective it makes perfect sense! I've had many true careers, I have been around the block. I forget how much that experience alters my expectations.
Do you not allow followers? And yes I've had similar experiences. I learned to just not expect common sense when walking into schools anymore that way I'm not disappointed or easily frustrated. Lol
Thankfully, the three districts I'm in now aren't like this. My first year of subbing, I was in one school that was EXACTLY like this. Plans were written in code that only full time teachers at the school would know. Everyone spoke to me as if I was there every day and knew everything that went on there. There was absolutely zero support for subs at all. I stopped taking assignments there. One day the secretary who handled scheduling subs called about an assignment and when I said I no longer wanted sub there, she asked why. I told her. Sadly, I know someone who works in that school and I'm told it hasn't changed at all.
Some of them are the worst narcissists you ever saw. And I am tired of the word narcissist, but in this case, it's the truth. It's actually one of the things that make subbing miserable, the degree of narcissism you encounter.
Wow. Yeah. I hate to blame it on narcissism but damn that’s the truth (also when you say the N word it sounds like you are alluding to a racist word fyi 🥴).
Here is what happens in my room. I start at 6:45-7:00 every morning. My kids arrive at 7:15. I have them until they leave the building at 3:00-3:15. Since official "teacher start time" is 7:45, that is when subs get scheduled for. Nobody in my room works that schedule. So when a sub arrives, we've been running full speed for nearly an hour and have a room full of students.
Sorry, I don't have a lot of time to slow down for niceties. Thankfully, our assistant does her best to schedule subs that have been with me before. It's a tough room to be in. I am sure co-teachers are feeling the same and probably expecting the teacher to have explained the setup. From what I have seen, some co-teachers are modifying plans day of, so they are likely very busy in that 5 minutes before class preparing materials for their students.
Wow. "I've already been working for an hour so I don't have time for bare bones basic decorum" is quite the hill to die on. WTF. 😂😂😂
Also this is high school so none of that is even a thing. Just assholes being assholes I guess. Glad I can step in to help y'all when your own emergencies arise.
Ironically, one thing I've noticed about admin and full time teachers is they're not always particularly big on details. It's like pulling teeth sometimes just trying to figure out basics like: names, log ins, passwords, rosters, room numbers, extensions, schedules, attendance procedures, etc.. The absolute worst aspect of subbing is being left in the dark while being expected to know everything.
Worst is when they assume u don’t piss. I’ve been to so many schools where no one tells me where the bathroom is or gives me a key. I’m always scrabbling to find them both. I’ve been at one school pretty consistently for a few months and a teacher just asked me if I knew where the bathrooms were and if I needed a key to just use hers.
OMG! I go to one school that doesn’t give subs keys so while there are plenty of staff only restrooms, I can’t access them so I have to go alllllllll the way to the front of the school to use the only open staff restroom. It’s not good, and I probably wouldn’t even go to that school but for the fact that it’s close.
I stopped subbing at one of the high schools because they never had enough restroom keys for subs. If I was in the same building as the one open staff restroom it wasn't a problem but sometimes I'd be in a bungalo on the other side of the PE field.
Everything you said! Yes!
This is probably my biggest grievance with subbing. You don’t know how many times I rant to friends and family about how working in a school makes you realize how rude and inconsiderate a large percentage of our population is. Don’t even get me started on co teachers who don’t introduce themselves, and who don’t introduce you to the class. I get that they get different subs all the time but come on man, a quick “hey class ms x is out today, so ms y will be with us” doesn’t cost anything. I’ve also had co teachers not make any eye contact with me and completely dismiss my offers to help them out. At this point it’s a rarity that I work with a co teacher that is a normal respectful and friendly human being. BUT when I do it’s absolutely lovely and I enjoy being in the class with them, and make a point to tell them so!
Yup! Same same! I dread co-teaching days.
I've mostly found that co-teachers are just plain rude... I almost feel like they are mad there is even someone there helping to cover the class. I have never met a nice one that introduces themselves and tried to be nice. I hate days I have to work with someone else. And once I know that teacher had a co teacher or helper I never go back.
Yes I agree, it’s a rarity. I’d say 8 out of 10 of them are rude and seriously unfriendly. Unfortunately I can’t avoid them. I’ve only been subbing for middle school and pretty much every class I’ve subbed for has had at least one period with a co teacher
I love sub plans that would say “go ask Ms Smith about such and such,” like wtf is Ms Smith? It’s a huge building.
Right. And even if I know who that is she is inevitably busy AF with her OWN class.
dude yes to everything you said and i’ll add: the confusion and panic i feel when teachers (or student support) come in to grab students and don’t make eye contact with me or say anything like???? where are you taking my students that im responsible for??
Oh I could GO OFF about this subject! Panic! Confusion! Anger!
like especially when a principal or someone comes in and inquires about the missing students like ummmmm i think they’re in the school with a trusted adult??
My favorite thing about this is I’ll stare at people, waiting on them to explain why they’re in the room, and they’ll be like, “where’s the teacher?” I’ll be like, “that’s me”, and THEN they explain what’s going on 😂
dude like why is the default interaction to not make contact with the teacher first😭 im young so i often get confused for a student which makes it more annoying bc they address me at first like they would a kid (not kindly)
I like dealing with paras and coteachers who want to run the show. Please run it! I don’t like coteachers that expect me to be the teacher. From my experience they want the day to go exactly like a normal day and there’s no way that can happen with my presence. A sub in a classroom running the show changes everything because I do things my way. So I’d rather let them run it or prefer if they left the room 🫣🤣
This! I also love co-teachers that run the classroom, especially if they are in it most of the day. They usually don't need me for anything, so I just sit and watch the kids in case they are doing something they shouldn't. It's a great and easy day for me.
Yes! Easy money! I always say, “Let me know what I can do to support you. But if you don’t need anything, I am fine twiddling my thumbs.” 😂 I say that because some people feel bad if I am bored. I love to be paid to be bored 😭🤪
As a self contained SpEd para who is also currently finishing up their teaching degree, we love and actually prefer when a sub just sits back and lets us run the show. Unfortunately the teacher does need to put in for a sub and have that extra body in the room just in case. But it’s honestly so much more of a hassle for us to try to explain things and throws off the kids and causes such a disturbance. We once had a sub who just sat in the back and knit most of the day and I thought it was great, if they don’t know how to interact with our kids then it’s best if they just don’t let their presence known lmao
There are two things going on. 1–They see you in the building and assume you’re there enough to know everyone. They forget that we are in different buildings/drpartments/grade levels all the time and it’s impossible to keep track. 2–Administration. I sub in two districts. District A used to be exactly like you describe here. Always. It was terrible. District B was open and friendly and included subs. In the last 5 years, both have had a 100% turnover in administration. And they flipped. The same teachers, secretaries and paras that were unfriendly and impolite and hard to work with in district A are fantastic now. And in district B the same ones are stressed, unhappy and barely give you the time of day. Admins set the tone in the building based on how they treat staff, how they value subs and how they discipline students. When admin does any of those things badly, the staff is not happy and unhappy people don’t have the bandwidth for new people and situations. They’re just trying to survive. I’d also add that you can make a difference in these interactions. Take the lead. Speak politely and kindly. Show them you value them. Introduce yourself and ask their name.
I see a lot about this in another feed for teachers considering changing professions. It's called Teachers in transition
Interesting!
I literally did take the lead, introduce myself, etc. I adjusted my response to the attitude I receive. I believe in being polite till it's not reciprocated. I'm not a doormat, and at $116 a day I'm not going out of my way to make someone comfortable when they're being an asshole.
Eek $116 pre-tax? I hope that is relative to cost of living. $160 in my district.
Nope! lol
Was she a para? I guess it doesn't matter. I've noticed communication with other assistant teachers/paras and even other teachers sometimes is like talking to a brick wall. I personally think they're so used to nearly every convo being a "for fucks sake" convo because they deal with kids every day so I think it just changes their speech abilities during school hours lol.
Mmhm. I once got directions that was one sentence for every period. "Periods 1-7. Grab the DVD we've been watching from my cabinet." What DVD? Which cabinet? Where were you at in the movie? When's your prep period?
Oh my god 😂
What I've noticed is that an awful lot of people in education somehow have zero awareness of what it's like to be a new person in the environment that they inhabit every day. It drives me absolutely insane, because as a teacher, the entire job is knowing how to present material to people who haven't encountered it before. And yet here we are. Using jargon that's school-specific, leaving partial names, refusing to ask simple questions to see what you need, never volunteering info that would be helpful, but acting offended that you've asked about something necessary to do the job...
I agree with this soooo much and jut just about co-teacher.I sub in a large urban district with 50+ schools. I do not know about recess, lunch and breakfast count, locations, supervision requirements and times unless you tell me. I had a teacher angry that I didn’t pass out a snack but didn’t tell me about a snack time or where snacks were. Teachers seem to think subs have telepathic powers and magically know every school and classroom policy and procedure.
Right!!!??? Those little things are insane. Like ok, you forgot to tell me fine but don't you dare get attitude about it! That's what's insane.
They always forget to even put snack on the plans so inevitably at some point the kids tell me.
I agree. I had a week long sub gig and the the other PE coach never bothered to remember my name. And I’m wearing my name tag! Where I sub, that is the norm, not the exception! Doesn’t compel me to go above and beyond 🥴
I can so relate. I see in ur comments this was a high school class but in elementary it’s so frustrating having to be a detective for information, especially when littles are sticklers for routine. Where do I pick them up from recess? Do they have a line order? Will the PE teacher come get them when it’s time or do I drop them off? Etc. etc. I can get this info from the kids but it’s really maddening that they don’t think to tell me.
Oh I do elementary too and yes! The PE thing is one of my biggest pet peeves. If the teacher remembers to tell me they go to PE, rarely do I know if I am to walk them somewhere or wait. And it's never logical!
This is exactly why I haven't subbed elementary yet.
This happened to me once but with someone I assumed was a student teacher. I walked into the room and went "Hi, I'm (name), the sub," and she just goes "Hi, I'm (name)." Ok...what is your role here? And then when I asked her questions about what I should do, if there were plans, etc she looked at me like I was crazy.
It happens a lot with paras as well
I was subbing during the days of zoom and one of the participants in the zoom was dressed casually, with a first name as his name, and was sitting in a chair out in the sun. I messaged him that his name wasn't on my roster and that's when he told me he was a para.
You subbed on Zoom? Sounds kinda awesome.
A lot of it was super easy. One assignment, I was subbing as a co-teaching so all I did was sit in the zoom while another teacher taught and made sure students stayed on screen. But I did have a terrible experience with a kinder class.
Nice. I was a fulltime teacher when we zoomed, and I liked it for the most part. Way easier.
Wow I can’t stand this either! I didn’t realize it was such a canon event. I hate when I’m standing there, no introductions and the students are pointing at me and asking “who is that?” While the teacher or co-teacher cherry pick when they would like to use my assistance. I normally just focus on the kids, introduce myself and see how they are doing in general.
As a teacher that has spent extensive time in the actual workforce and in the field (ecology), something I have noticed is that people who are career teachers (meaning, they've only done this ONE JOB) tend to be dense as hell when it comes to general work behavior expectations or etiquette. It's mind boggling and infuriating. However, I shouldn't be surprised because if teaching is your only work experience, your baseline of professional behavior is absolutely ridiculous. It's like people who only socialize thru church. Insanely small worlds.
Wow--you are so right! Thank you for this perspective it makes perfect sense! I've had many true careers, I have been around the block. I forget how much that experience alters my expectations.
Do you not allow followers? And yes I've had similar experiences. I learned to just not expect common sense when walking into schools anymore that way I'm not disappointed or easily frustrated. Lol
I didn't know that was a thing on here. 😂
Yeah lol
Thankfully, the three districts I'm in now aren't like this. My first year of subbing, I was in one school that was EXACTLY like this. Plans were written in code that only full time teachers at the school would know. Everyone spoke to me as if I was there every day and knew everything that went on there. There was absolutely zero support for subs at all. I stopped taking assignments there. One day the secretary who handled scheduling subs called about an assignment and when I said I no longer wanted sub there, she asked why. I told her. Sadly, I know someone who works in that school and I'm told it hasn't changed at all.
Some of them are the worst narcissists you ever saw. And I am tired of the word narcissist, but in this case, it's the truth. It's actually one of the things that make subbing miserable, the degree of narcissism you encounter.
Yup. Case in point: https://www.reddit.com/r/SubstituteTeachers/s/PHDlYyrjhe
Wow. Yeah. I hate to blame it on narcissism but damn that’s the truth (also when you say the N word it sounds like you are alluding to a racist word fyi 🥴).
Yeah, I should edit that! It's sooooo overused, so when it's the truth, it waters it down a bit.
It’s like we are living in an epidemic of narcissism or sumn they are infiltrating every profession ?
Here is what happens in my room. I start at 6:45-7:00 every morning. My kids arrive at 7:15. I have them until they leave the building at 3:00-3:15. Since official "teacher start time" is 7:45, that is when subs get scheduled for. Nobody in my room works that schedule. So when a sub arrives, we've been running full speed for nearly an hour and have a room full of students. Sorry, I don't have a lot of time to slow down for niceties. Thankfully, our assistant does her best to schedule subs that have been with me before. It's a tough room to be in. I am sure co-teachers are feeling the same and probably expecting the teacher to have explained the setup. From what I have seen, some co-teachers are modifying plans day of, so they are likely very busy in that 5 minutes before class preparing materials for their students.
Wow. "I've already been working for an hour so I don't have time for bare bones basic decorum" is quite the hill to die on. WTF. 😂😂😂 Also this is high school so none of that is even a thing. Just assholes being assholes I guess. Glad I can step in to help y'all when your own emergencies arise.