In a competitive job market, high schools have more substitute teachers on their list than they need on a given day, meaning that substitutes may get called according to preference. In order to maximize the chances of getting called (besides being on several different schools' lists), substitutes must display professionalism in all areas of the job, including the most challenging task of demanding respect from 100+ students throughout the day who will almost certainly take as much advantage of the substitute as they can.
Professionalism With Superordinates
A substitute teacher should come to school prepared - knowing the regulations, procedures, and protocol for various situations. S/he should find out these things upon the interview or from a handbook created for faculty members.
If a substitute finds s/he does not know certain protocol, s/he can always ask any of the faculty members or the vice principal. The substitute should not be embarrassed of asking questions, even for repeats of information - no one expects a new employee to have found out or to recall every bit of information from the interview. Those who work in education especially know that information is cemented when applied, meaning the longer the substitute works in the building, the better that person will be at his/her job.
When in Doubt, Report it and Ask
It is good to treat each novel and ambiguous issue (bullying, talking about drugs, dress code violations) as a big deal until the substitute learns how to treat each situation. S/he should find the name/s of the particular student/s causing the trouble so s/he can report the issue and let the teacher deal with it. This can be done by listening to other students talk to them and say their name, but usually asking them or other students what their name is will result in the students lying to the substitute.
Substitutes get reputations, just like teachers do, meaning they play a small part in how they are treated and received. A substitute who is a rule stickler may get a widely negative and rebellious response, but a substitute who is too lenient may make the students feel that rules and conduct do not need to be followed. This balance of discipline is specific to each substitute’s personality, and must be gained through experience.
Leaving one’s contact information at the end of the daily report is a polite way to allow the teachers to contact the substitutes if they feel the need.
Don’t be anxious of being secretly bumped down on the call list. Although this often happens to no knowledge of the substitute because substitutes are never observed and critiqued, anxiety can cause an employee to overanalyze and micromanage, which is damaging to the student-teacher relationship.
Own the Classroom
Just because the substitute is not the teacher for the year does not mean s/he is not the teacher for the day. The substitute should demand respect, hard work, and excellence from the students, and function with the students in his/her own way in order to achieve this.
Apply with Connections
A very strong pull in favor of getting called back is working in a school where one attended, or had a family member attend, or had a family member work at. Like any business, when a handful of employees are equally qualified, having a previous connection with the place will hugely increase the possibility of working there, because the boss already has a relationship with the prospective employee.
Substitute teaching is less fun than teaching, but if one maintains a professional, positive, and proactive attitude, one will do the job right and be called often.
Elisabeth Sharber - Elisabeth Sharber is a Messiah College graduate with a BA in English, and minors in politics and psychology. She is currently job ...
