A Typical Day Supply Teaching

I told you several posts ago that I'd write about a typical day supply teaching for me. So here it is:

1. If I knew where I was going ahead of time I'd wake up at 5:30 or 6:00 because I take public transportation and I like to be early to prepare. If I was waiting for a dispatch call, I'd get up at 6:00 or 7:00 since that's usually when I received the calls.
2. If I received a dispatch call, I'd locate the school on a map and decide whether or not I could make it there in an hour. If I couldn't, then I just waited for the next call. If I could, then I quickly collected my things and made a mad dash for the door.
3. I then took the bus, streetcar, subway, then another bus, then walked to get to the school (the things I do to save money :p). And yes, this is typical transportation for me.
4. Once at the school, I checked into the office. I introduced myself, said who and which grade I'd be subbing for.
5. I'd pick up the attendance, and depending on the school, I picked up a key or signed in.
6. If I was lucky, someone would show me around the school (the classroom I'd be teaching in, the staff room, washroom).
7. Once in the classroom, I'd dump my stuff at the teacher's desk and locate the fire exit and emergency folder (which was often difficult to find).
8. Next, I'd focus on day plans, paying special attention to the first half of the day and scanning for any extra responsibilities (e.g. yard duty).
9. After that, I'd explore the classroom looking for items I'd need for lessons (e.g. chart sheets, text books) as well as routine-type things (calendar numbers, chore lists, bathroom sign-out binder etc.).
10. I sometimes wrote an agenda on the board for myself (since each school has its own schedule and I can be bad with time :p)
11. As students entered the classroom, I'd greet them at the door.
12. At the start of class, I introduced myself and wrote my name on the board.
13. If routines/lessons were unclear to me, I'd ask a student who seemed responsible to be a "teacher for a moment" in order to explain what needed to be done. The students enjoyed this as I would call them Miss. Jane or Mr. John, for example, when in their teacher role.
14. During recess breaks, lunchtime, and prep. times, I'd prepare for upcoming periods, and if there was extra time, I'd mark.
15. At the end of the day, I would sometimes mark (as a rule I didn't mark any major assignments or assignments that were subjective e.g. a writing response). I would also write notes about how the day went, commenting on student behaviour (both negative and positive), and effectiveness of activities (usually I would focus on the positive here). I would also leave my phone number and employee number in case the teacher wanted to contact me for future assignments.
16. Before leaving, I stopped by the office to return a key, sign-out, or to simply say goodbye and that I'd left notes regarding the day on the teacher's desk.
17. Return home and wait for dispatch calls for future supply jobs. And so it continued…
    
    Until now…I'm no longer going to be working as a supply teacher. But I'll talk about that more in my next post.
    
    Bye!

Supply Teaching Stories

For more stories on supply teaching, click this link:

http://www.thecanadianteacher.com/archives/category/inspiration/supply-teaching/

I especially like the cute story about the Gr.1's doing the Terry Fox run.

Top 10 reasons why I like supply teaching:

10. I'm becoming very adept at reading maps

9. I'm becoming a more flexible teacher (as a supply teacher, you have to be ready for anything)

8. I'm collecting many different teaching ideas

7. I'm sharpening my classroom management skills

6. I get to see what the different schools are like (and whether or not I might want to work there more permanently in the future)

5. It helps me determine which grade levels I would prefer to teach in the future

4. I get to see much of the big city

3. It's a new adventure every day

2. If the kids give me a hard time, I don't have to deal with them ever again

1. When the day is over, the job is over


See, it's not all that bad!

Myths about Supply Teaching

Myth #1: Supply teachers are rejects who could not obtain "real" or contract teaching positions

Many supply teachers choose to be supply teachers for various reasons. For instance, they may enjoy having their evenings and weekends off instead of having to plan for lessons, mark assignments, write report cards etc. This job is ideal for individuals who want to spend more time with family and friends or for someone who wants to work part-time. Now, I have to admit that I personally did not choose the job. I originally wanted a contract position, was actually offered one but declined it in hopes for a job that had more hours and was in a better location. So, due to my pickiness, I ended up as a supply teacher. But, as you'll see later, it worked out for the best.

Myth #2: Supply teachers have to deal with difficult students all the time

It's true that students will not be on their best behaviour when they find out that they're going to have a supply teacher for the day. However, I've noticed that most groups of difficult kids are also difficult for their regular teacher. And, at the school board I work for, I can pick and choose which schools I want to or don't want to work at…ever again. Fortunately, most students I've worked with have been pretty well-behaved as far as kids go.

Myth #3: Supply teachers can't earn enough to survive

Well, this myth is partly true. The amount of call-ins you get for supply jobs depends on where you live. I'm fortunate to be working in a big city where there are plenty of schools to keep me fairly busy. I don't get calls to work every day but so far it's been enough to prevent me from going back to dial-up internet. Thank goodness!

Myth #4: You need a car to get supply work

So far I've managed to avoid buying or renting a car. Of course, it would make travelling to and from various jobs easier, but with careful planning, I've been able to make the public transit thing work. Again, this is more feasible in a big city.

Myth #5: Supply teachers are not required to possess a teaching certificate

You will find that due to stiff competition and strict regulations, most school boards will only hire individuals who have a teaching certificate.


Well…I can't think of any more myths for now. If you can think of any, please let me know.

A new beginning...

I'm a new supply teacher, fresh out of teacher's college, learning about the joys and rigours of teaching each day I step into the classroom. With this blog, I intend to document my teaching experiences, and what I've learned along the way as I take my first steps in this profession.

Note: I use the term "supply teacher" because it's nice and short and it's most commonly used where I live. However, I may use it interchangeably with "substitute teacher" or "occasional teacher".