Today while subbing I learned the importance of keeping your promises and leaving accurate sub notes. I was subbing for a history teacher who, of course, left me a test to administer. (I understand that it is easy to leave a test for subs, as there is no teaching involved, but if there is a problem that comes up, the sub has little to no authority to make decisions regarding the test. This was a test over World War II. Towards the beginning of class a couple of students asked if they would be allowed to use their time-lines. The teacher had not left any indication that the students would be able to use any materials on this test, but the class insisted that he told them they could use it.
Up until now I would have trusted the class and allowed them to use it, but I recalled a conversation I had had with Deana about a sub that allowed the class to play cards because the class told the sub that their teacher allowed them to do it. Deana was very unhappy with the sub and asked why the sub would believe the students. I then decided that I would ask someone, the para who is usually in the room, but as her student was absent she decided to work in the resource room. She said that the students were not allowed to use the time-lines.
At this point I am feeling a little confused. I informed the students that they would not be able use their time-lines. Let me tell you, there was a tidal wave of hate headed my way. Many students indicated that they were going to fail this test now, and it was all my fault because I decided that they could not use their time-lines. I tried to tell them that their teacher did not let me know about the time lines and that its safer for me to just say no. They were not happy with that answer. I emailed one of the paras that I know is in his class to ask if they knew if the students were allowed to use the time line on the test. The para said no, but the students were so insistent, I told them I would leave a note letting their teacher know about the discussion, which made them feel better, but they still seemed very upset, so I emailed their teacher. He emailed me back, thank goodness, and said that they were allowed to use it in the test. He felt really bad about not leaving me a note, but it still put me in a bad position. Students either don’t like subs or use them as an excuse to behave badly, why do teachers make subs jobs harder on them then it has to be?
I had probably one of the worst classes I have ever experienced. It was a class full of boys with only two girls. There were only like 4 students in the whole class that did their work quietly on their own. After the test the students had some worksheets to work on. They needed the books to work on them and they were supposed to work alone. They also needed to be quiet because other students were still working on their tests. This was a problem because the students felt that they should be able to work in pairs. They wouldn’t understand, and they kept making noise. I separated the students that were in the wrong seats, (I think from now on I will take attendance from the seating charts asking the students to raise their hand when they are called so I know who they are and that they are in the right seats)and that helped some, but then some students opened the classroom door, combat-rolled into the room, then left very quickly. I decided not to make a big deal out of it, hoping the students would follow my lead, but that was too much to ask for. During the passing period, the teacher next door, who was showing a movie very loudly, apologized for the class stating that it was impossible to control them, It would have been nice for the teacher to have left a note of warning. I guess what I am taking away from this experience is that as a teacher you need to leave detailed sub plans, because without them you are just making your sub’s job harder.
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