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Wow, I'm sad so many of you have had bad experiences. I've been subbing for several years, in three different districts, and I LOVE it. I really do.
I am in charge of the sub assignments I take (and so are you, presumably), so on the rare occasions I've had a terrible classroom, I just don't take an assignment in that classroom again. There are only two schools I never returned to because the discipline issues in the whole school were out of control, but every other school (elementary, middle, and HS) I have returned to multiple times and always enjoyed myself. And I prefer middle and high school students.
The requirements to be a sub will vary depending on the location and available number of qualified individuals. At some point just having a clean criminal record and a high school diploma is enough to be a sub. In some schools I'd learn some forms of self defense like Akido, Hapkido, or Judo before setting foot on school property.
Schools today are nothing more than glorified babysitting operations. Kids are not disciplined anymore at home and they have no respect for their parents. So their respect for teachers is even less. The problem is that school administrators are too scared of lawsuits, so they just allow the kids to basically do whatever they want. I had a student in our high school that was arrested for having heroin in the school. Guess what, that kid was back in class in two weeks. Back in the day that kid would have been expelled indefinitely and sent to an alternative school which is just one level below a prison.
Schools today are nothing more than glorified babysitting operations. Kids are not disciplined anymore at home and they have no respect for their parents. So their respect for teachers is even less. The problem is that school administrators are too scared of lawsuits, so they just allow the kids to basically do whatever they want. I had a student in our high school that was arrested for having heroin in the school. Guess what, that kid was back in class in two weeks. Back in the day that kid would have been expelled indefinitely and sent to an alternative school which is just one level below a prison.
Are you a teacher or somehow involved in the school system?
I've done a lot of subbing in between LTS positions, and my best advice is to pick one district, preferably one school, and go there as often as possible. At first it's awkward when the kids don't know who you are, but once you are around the school often, in a lot of different subjects as often as possible, the kids come to know you and that's not an issue any longer.
In a high school setting, unless you are "friends" with a particular teacher and you have a knowledge of the content, you'll mainly be doing 1 of 3 things:
1. Showing a video. Make sure you know how to use the school's technology set up.
2. Passing out worksheets / babysitting. I find the best thing to do is just pass them out, then walk around and generally just keep the peace. Like I said, once you have a rapport with the kids of the school, this'll be easy and they'll (probably, in my case) look forward to having you as a sub.
3. Administering a test. Make sure you follow any directions the teacher might have left, and make sure you don't see any cell phones.
Subbing is easy, can be fun, but can also be extremely boring. It's "fun" if you know other teachers in the building, as well as some students. I subbed mostly at a school where I did my student teaching and then had several LTS positions, so I knew most of the math dept (I teach math) and lots of the faculty. So I had "friends" no matter where I was in the building. Make friends with the security staff (if there is one).
Don't try to be super strict, but don't let kids walk all over you either. Make sure you know the school's policy for being late to homeroom / class, that's a good way to show you mean business, especially homeroom. If HR starts at 7:24, for example, close the door and send kids who come late to the office for a late pass. Write down for the teacher who comes late during a class and let them know you are doing that. If the school has a no gum or no water bottle rule, enforce that. My opinion is: saying something like "Hey, can you spit your gum out, please?" Is way more effective than demanding them to do that and then threatening with a discipline referral.
And, on the subject of discipline: some admins "frown" upon constant write-ups from subs. They think it means that you can't control the class, even if you think it is a matter of trying to enforce rules. Obviously, if something extreme happens (kids curse at you, fight breaks out, etc. etc.) you must write those things up, but if you feel you can handle it yourself, do so. But, that probably varies by school.
A good thing to bring everyday: the newspaper and the crosswords section. Can't tell you how many puzzles I would do in a day, because it is sometimes very boring, especially if you are giving a test in every class (or showing the same part of the same video 6 times).
Some tips that you hopefully found useful!
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