So while my student teaching is kicking in and four classes (weird days/hours that make it hard to have a "regular" job) I have been subbing. Can I tell you a secret? I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! It's a three LOVE kinda affair! I'm just so thrilled with this job! I've always loved all of my past jobs (dance teacher/ballet teacher/babysitter/day care worker/tutor) subbing is just...different. Since I was little I've wanted to be a teacher (ever since I realized that being a fairy princess with a unicorn BFF was no longer in my realm of career possibilities). Subbing is all of the fun parts of teaching. Here are a list of pros and cons that I have compiled after subbing for 2 weeks.
Pros
- The FUN parts about teaching-You get to perform! You get to stand up in front of a class and just talk and be funny and silly and goofy and TEACH!
- No lesson plans-As a Special Ed Master's student I have written my fair share of 12 page long lesson plans (To all of you non-Ed majors, I'd gladly take your weekly lab reports over a 12 page document detailing my every move).
- Everyday is something new-Every day I have a new crop of kids, a new grade level, a new opportunity. I have always said that 3rd-5th graders are "my people". They get me, I get them, we just mesh. However, I think it's important to try on all different types of teaching roles. I eventually want to be a superintendent and I think that in order to be the boss (and be respected) you have to know how to do every one else's job. You need to know the stresses, excitement, hardships, and challenges that every person on your staff faces. I have subbed for gym, library, special ed, gen ed and I have found some things I like and dislike about all of them.
- Being scared out of your mind-This is something that I like a lot. There's a great quote that says, "All of the best things in life are just outside your comfort zone". I think this is 100% true. I went into subbing more scared than I have ever been in my life! (Even more than when a cat scared me at the beach...or the dark...shuddering.right.now.) I love being scared and I think that you grow best once you've been scared and learned how to deal with your fear and channel it into positivity.
- You get to hone your skillz-You can really werrrrrk your hard and long learned teaching skills on the main stage. You're rolling with the big girls now! You have 25-30 sets of eyes looking right at you, waiting for you to fill their brains with knowledge, and maybe some laughs...if your lucky!
- I can pick my schedule-If I have a busy school week coming up I can opt out of working one day to finish up some stuff/work on a paper/write a lesson plan.
- TEACHER CLOTHES-I love teacher clothes! I get to dress up (a personal fav activity) everyday for work! On a non-shallow side of this, it's hard to get 26 kids to respect a newbie, young, blonde sub. But dressing the part makes it easier. You can't wear jeans and a sweatshirt and sneaks and think that the kids will see you as a real teacher...THEY WON'T. You need to be conservative but still cute and as always...CLASSY<3
Cons
- Every day you go in cold-As an ed major we have multiple weeks, months, days to prepare a lesson plan. We can scrutinize, debate, discuss, research, pin :) every angle and detail to ensure that it is perfect. Subbing is not this way AT ALL! Every day you walk in not knowing your kids, their goals, behaviors, IEPs, challenges, learning styles, aides, co-teachers, likes, dislikes, life, background, and how they learn. It's also hard because you don't know the plans. You don't know where materials are, what the students are allowed and not allowed to do.
- Morning phone calls-Every day I get (or don't get) a phone call at 6:30. I have to answer the phone in a professional manner (not groggy grouchy Curmudgeon Erin) and remember the information the sub caller gives me. Today I got a call when I was at spinning...at 6:13. My spin instructor was none too thrilled with me for leaving to answer the phone.
- Disrespect-some kids (only one day thank GOD) just don't care. Some kids are not going to listen no matter what you do or how many privileges you give them. It's hard work.
- A lot of work-You need to figure out all of the duties, locks, behavior management, personalities, bathroom breaks (only lunch and prep), floor plans of the schools on the fly.
- Not knowing anyone-Usually I stay in my classroom for lunch because I don't know anyone. I end up doing homework, reading, or most likely prepping for the afternoon classes. At TCNJ I have lunch with my fellow SPEDs and we talk about everything and laugh and really enjoy ourselves. I'm just not sure how to walk into a teacher's lounge and sit down and be like, "Hey...I'm Erin the sub..." So for now I'm gonna lone wolf it up! I also enjoy the quiet alone time...peace and zen, peace and zen.
Moral of the story? Subbing is harder than it looks! It is the most fun I've ever had at a job! I like the fear of the unknown and the joy of working with kids and I love practicing being a teacher. I think this is preparing me for my future life of student teaching and my future profession. Below are some of my constructed Teacher Erin Outfits!
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| First Day of Subbing! *Jean Jacket-LOFT *White Tee-Target *Crops-Gap *Tan Flats-Target *Earrings-Loft *Watch-Michael Kors *Infinity Ring-Tiffanys *Scarf-Target (It was Patriot Day) |
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| Day Four (please forgive the scrunch hair...I had one hour to go from Schweaty Spinner to Sub :)) *Sweater-LOFT *Pink Tee-LOFT *Jeans-Gap *Sperry's-Lord & Taylor *Watch-Michael Kors *Infinity Ring-Tiffanys *Ball Earrings-Tiffanys
My outfit yesterday was tres fab and Jackie inspired...but...no one was home to take my pic and I didn't wanna be a selfie girl at subbing, so I didn't get to take it :(
Happy Weekend ya'll,
Erin
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