mrs. Alison VanOverbeke
Substitute Teaching
Pre-K through Grade 12
Life happens to teachers: teachers get sick; their kids get sick; they have dentist appointments and doctors appointments; they have meetings preset for them at inconvenient times, class times--meetings with principals and parents, social workers and special education instructors; they have to attend professional development seminars and workshops--these can last hours, they can last days, they can be nearby, across town, or across the country; life happens to teachers just as it does to everyone else. However, unlike most other professionals, teachers get a substitute to fill their shoes for the day.
Substitute Teachers are college educated and teacher trained, ready and willing to take on a lesson in any classroom regardless of grade level or subject area. Since March 2014, I have been one of these Subs. There is no longer a need to "waste" a day of education just because the regular classroom teacher is absent.
Of course being a Substitute Teacher comes with it’s own set of challenges and joys.
the challenges
​
It can be difficult navigating to a school you have never been to before and having your schedule change daily. It can be tricky managing a new group of students everyday, some of which may challenge your authority at every turn, or attempt to break even the most basic of rules, which are typically posted in the classroom. This situation can be exasperated by a lack of information regarding students with exceptionalities, including those in the special education program.
​
The hardest part though, is the not knowing--not knowing who or what you will be teaching until 15 minutes before the bell starts your day of teaching. You don’t know what grade level, or subject area you will be encountering. One day it might be 9th grade ceramics, the next day pre-school, and the next day, 11th grade Journalism. The reality is, your students are strangers, you have no idea what your or their previous experience with the material you are teaching is. You also don’t know the classroom expectations regarding seating, cell phone and computer usage, talking, et cetera. Essentially, Substitute teaching is much like being a kid on the first day of school—everyday—except Substitute Teachers are expected to not only be the authority figure, but also the expert on that grade level and subject area, imparting knowledge.
the joys
​
For me, every challenge as a substitute teacher is met with resounding joys: nervous smiles and laughs as students say hello to the new teacher in the room, the stares of students sizing you up in their educational space, the whispers they make to one another, and the darndest things kids of all ages can’t help saying and asking: “You’re pretty,” “How old are you?” “She’s nice” “Are you married?” “I like your glasses,” “You would be a great real teacher.” Laugh. Out. Loud. Then there are the drawings they make you, the notes they leave you, the songs they sing you, the secrets they you as a one-time-adult in their life.
​
It’s always a relief being asked to return to the same classroom to sub again. It feels great to get an email of thanks from a teacher the next day explaining how much his or her students enjoyed class yesterday. It’s an even bigger compliment when the school asks you to come back to sub for multiple classes. And the more classes you sub at a school and the more frequent you do it, the more kids you get to know and the better you get to know them.
There are approximately six schools that regularly call me back. It feels like Christmas morning when kids run down the hall to high five you or hug you while exclaiming,” YEEEESSS! Ms. Carpenter! I’m so glad you’re our teacher today!"
the take-away
​
Pablo Picasso once said, “Good artists copy; great artists steal!” The same can be said of teachers. The best take-away’s I’ve gained from substitute teaching in Chicago has been stealing ideas from seemingly great teachers. I am able to do this simply through observation—observing teachers classrooms, their posters, their bookshelves, their organizational methods, their stacks of lesson plans, the lessons that are left from me as the sub, how much information or detail the teacher includes in their plans for me. I also observe the students and ask them questions regarding routines, procedures, and autonomy. It is truly amazing what one can gain simply from observing.
​
The first year I worked for Waianae High School, was the third year the school had failed the Adequate Yearly Progress Report, or so I was told back then. It was the 2008-2009 school year and as a part of the No Child Left Behind Act, the school was required to hire consultants as a means help in order to better train teachers and thus, improve students’ standardized test scores. WHS hired The Berc Group.
​
The BERC group measures “Powerful Teaching and Learning” through observations using the “STAR Protocol.” This protocol is divided into five essential components: Skills, Knowledge, Thinking, Application, and Relationships. As one of the teacher-trainees, I was placed into a small group with other teachers who taught various subject areas at my school. We were walked through the protocol and explained that while we all taught specific grades and subjects, we would be making observations at Elementary, Middle, and High Schools across the island before having observations within our own school. We were instructed to fill out the STAR Protocol Observation Forms and to take notes during the observation. Following each observation, we had debriefing sessions.
​
Throughout my time substitute teaching, I have utilized the STAR Protocol. While many teachers back at WHS complained observing lower elementary classes, I saw it as an opportunity to learn what and how kids were taught before reaching me in High School. I believe in that even more now and have several teaching ideas I have gathered over the past year and a half of subbing that I am anxiously waiting to modify and implement into a high school classroom. For example, Elementary Schools always start the day with a “Morning Meeting” building the classroom community. I would like to do this at least once a week and have a Friday Afternoon Meeting. I have also paid close attention to the ways in which reading is taught at the lower levels: in small groups utilizing several books with a common theme rather than a whole class novel. This is something I have recently read a lot about in terms of high schools and would like to try ASAP.
​
Please feel free to email me if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions for me.
lesson plans
Here are a few lessons I have left for substitute teachers:
lesson plans
Here are a few noteworthy lesson plans teachers have left for me while I was a Substitute Teacher in Chicago:
