Tales of a Substitute Teacher: The Economics of Substitute Teaching

a sample paycheck for a regular substitute teacher

If everything had gone according to plan, on Monday I would have started a two-month interim sub stint as a 9th grade English teacher at Monarch High School. The timing for this opportunity could not have been more perfect. But due to a miscommunication between teacher and administrator, I did not get the job, and it was officially offered to someone else. 

It is no secret that I have been contemplating a career in education for years and became a sub mostly to get the public education experience, observe it, and share my passion for learning. My other freelance work has enabled me to step into the classroom when desired, and this interim post would have given my the first taste of real consistent teaching and the ability to sustain my family while doing so.

The interim sub job pays good money. It pays 240% above what a normal substitute teacher earns. According to the Broward Schools "Substitute Teacher Handbook" which is available publicly on-line, the daily rate for an interim sub is $204.07. If the average school month has 20 instructional days, then that sub earns about $4,000 a month. That is a respectable income.

Average substitute teacher pay is a different story. A single person cannot make a living as a substitute teacher. At Broward Schools, substitute teachers make $11.27 per hour, approximately $80 for a full day's work, and $1,690 per month or what it costs to rent an average two-bedroom apartment in my town. This hourly amount  is $3.22 over the Florida minimum wage and $5.71 below Florida's living wage for a single adult. The gap between earnings and the living wage naturally widens as you add in children or a non-working spouse.

There are certain upgrades in the substitute teaching arena, but it still won't translate into a livable wage. A "pool sub", for example, shows up to one school everyday and earns $95.03 for the daily commitment or $1,900/month. If you have a bachelor's degree and choose to work in a special school reserved for students who are emotionally, behaviorally, or intellectually challenged, you can earn $116.17 per day or $2,323 per month.  I have never sought to work in one of these facilities but am going to try this out one day and report back.

The economics of SUBstitute teaching support the meaning of the prefix which is "below, beneath, under and less than".  They are also aligned with what so many middle school and high school students think and say when they see a substitute teacher in their classroom, that you are "just a sub"...a placeholder, babysitter, someone to make sure students don't cut class and hurt each other. But I am certain that even 12-year old babysitters make more money an hour.

My daughter is in 9th grade. She has had a sub in English class for the last 7 school days. She reported that the class was expected to do ten minutes of vocabulary and grammar exercises daily and that once that was done the substitute teacher said, "The rest of the time is yours." Her class talked quietly, went on their phones, and listened to music.  I calculate roughly 4 hours of instructional time lost. As a parent this irks me greatly. As a substitute, I understand that teaching "The Odyssey" can be daunting, but there certainly could have been other language artsy things to do.

I write this blog and share my experiences because I hope I can have some impact raising the standards of substitute teaching and thus the compensation for doing the job.

Up next: The Interim Sub Job, Part II

Tales of a Substitute Teacher: Damn, Those Boyz Can Dance!

Yes, I know. I substituted a "z" where there should be an "s". I made a creative choice that just felt rightly urban for this group of limber 7-year old boys who could, via the merit of their fancy light-as-air footwork, make a fortune as street entertainers in NYC. Let's move on.

I subbed 2nd grade today.. After a year's hiatus, I returned to Winston Park Elementary, my girls' alma mater. Pulled into parking space #47 (part of my lucky number), waved to Mr. Dave, and rolled into the administration building. Big hellos to many of the teachers and hugs for some more. Unlike some schools where I wander aimlessly down halls looking for adult conveniences, here I already knew where the teacher bathrooms were located. An all around win-win.

Hey, Mrs. Trotter (sung to the tune of "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby")

 

"At 12:45 your class will go to the school fair," said Mrs. Trotter, an inspiring teacher and, later I learned, excellent dancer. The Student Appreciation Fair happens every year. Sponsored by the PTA, there is an array of old fashioned mostly wooden carnival games plus sno-cones, popcorn, cotton candy, and spin art. This year there was a DJ, a very funny one, who was not satisfied until I got up and danced...which I did and it was fun. We were all sweaty and quite happy.

Last year I spent most of my time subbing in the middle schools. I liked the challenge of converting serial disrespectors and staunch apatheticists (first misspellings, and now made-up words! Hey - it's my blog!) to listeners and learners. I was mildly successful; they are a very tough crowd. It gets really tiring.

When I returned to elementary school, I felt a distinct vibe of optimism. Here children are open, curious and eager to please. Their smiles and willingness to share is rewarding, even though those stories about the dog that their father's uncle's mother's friend found on the street can get a bit out of control. (I actually tell them "I love to hear from you but because I will probably never meet your father's uncle's mother's friend or see her dog, it would be so much more interesting to learn something about you.") We had a great day talking about Benjamin Franklin and practicing triple digit subtraction that demanded extensive borrowing. I left with some second grade swag: drawings, notes, and two Loom Band bracelets which I am told will glow in the dark..

P.S. Dear Ms. LaClair,  I hope you are feeling better. If you are reading this blog, I left my unfinished Starbucks coffee in the classroom. It's on the desk by the white board. Sorry!

TALES OF A SUBSTITUTE TEACHER: Optimistic Teacher's Bubble Bursts

I subbed 9th grade English and all I got was a lousy headache and this paper sculpture!

I open the door of Room 1015 and hover near the entrance. Upon seeing me, rather than the regular teacher, most of the students inevitably ask, "Do we have a substitute?" The answer seems fairly obvious to me.

Perhaps I should be warmed by the instant joy that follows. Perhaps I should be flattered when they blurt out, "We thought you were a student". With each new class that I greet, I am hopeful that we will have a fruitful 55 minutes together.

After taking attendance I pass out the assignment, ask them to take out a separate piece of paper and a pen. At the first request a few people do what is asked. At the second request a few more have paper and something to write with. I walk up and down each row, and personally ask the remaining students to get out the necessary things. A few students still don't make a move.

Just as I'm thinking substitute teaching feels more like babysitting, students of child development are required to carry and care for baby dolls the whole day. This particular public high school also has a daycare on campus.

It's not just this lack of response that begins to deflate my natural penchant for optimism. It is also the incessant high-volume conversations volleyed across the room despite my asking for quiet. It's also the phone use that continues on-top-of-desk, under-desk, in-pocket, and in-backpack despite repeated requests to not use phones. And it is the abundance of barely-done classwork that I collect at the end of class. Period after period, the routine goes something like this. The behaviors become predictable, and it seems as thought I am merely running a daycare.

I decide not to take it personally, but choose to blame the "bad day" on the tough crowd, the typical treatment of substitute teachers. and a bad choice of classwork. What would you do if you had no formal introduction to Shakespeare, had not yet begun to read "Romeo & Juliet" in class, and yet, on the eve of spring break, were asked to answer 4 pages of questions on the literary devices used in the story?

Exactly!

It takes a lot to bum me out. I am a half-full kind of girl. I don't mind challenges, because the break throughs are all the sweeter.  I guess what I am saying is that being a substitute teacher has its moments, that a lot of kids do not behave well in school, that if I had known that we were doing "Romeo & Juliet," I would have studied up on it a smidge, and come to class prepared to parlay some of the insight that I got from reading the story in Tr. Janet's 9th grade English class, and that spring break is here at just the right time.

at one point in the day, I actually did this, and inevitable went "south" again.

Tales of a Substitute Teacher: VALENTINE HIGH

I kept thinking, "Ted."

water, please.

Perhaps my least favorite type of cookie... what they lack in taste, they make up for in looks.

I was excited to substitute teach  on Friday, February 14th because I knew that the Coral Springs High campus would be rich, not only with chocolates, but also with Valentines Day eye candy. While elementary age kids swap cards, middle and high school students raid Walgreens, CVS, and Publix for commercial sentiments such as balloons, stuffed animals, flowers, cookies, and sweets.

75 minutes of fresh air is a rarity during a teacher's day

Festive KD 6 Christmas Nikes

As far as substitute teaching went, a triple threat hampered quality work. First, the parade of hearty hoopla and flow of sugary products made for constant distraction. Second, a 75-minute evacuation due to a suspicious phone call took us (roughly 2,000 people) to the football field where we sat in the bleachers and practiced our wave on a glorious sunny day. Third, it was Friday and somehow Friday afternoons are confused with Saturdays.

TALES OF A SUBSTITUTE TEACHER: MEET MR. DICK PAGE

Discovered in a 7th grade English textbook during first period, I took the book away to prevent an eternity of laughter over "Dick Page" in each subsequent class.

Only slightly less monumental than the cave paintings at Lascaux are the human phallus likenesses found anywhere pen-toting adolescents roam. They are rampant in middle and upper school, appearing randomly in books, on class notes, and ingrained on bus seats. These sketches of a sexual nature, that broach vandalism and self-expression, have inspired me to create two characters -- Mr. Dick Page and Mr. Dick Doodles -- who may at one point appear in the titillating screenplay I've been plotting.

At my request, my daughter captured this image "in the field" otherwise known as "the school bus."

My good friend, Deborah Grayson, is a revered clinical psychotherapist and professor who doses out sexual therapy as as some might recall recipes.  The soon-to-be Dr. Grayson provided professional insight on this growing adolescent art form, "For as long as the world has been spinning, penises have been at the heart of a boy's universe. It's handy (wink, wink) and fascinating!" For this very reason, Grayson explains as I strain to hear her at a cousin's rock concert, you don't see many vagina drawings. The vagina, tucked away, largely remains a mystery even to those who have one.

11th grade boys in the back of the room created "Dick Doodles" during an in-class assignment.

As Grayson mulled this over some more in a pre-caffeinated state one morning, she suggested, "The equivalent for a girl would be breasts. I think girls would be more apt to draw them for the same reason boys draw dicks. It's their own personal calling card." To date, I have not, when playing substitute teacher, found any boob drawings in my class, but you know, my eyes are pealed!

UPDATES:

Discoverdd at Forest Glen Middle, Social Studies Book (2.24.2014)

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Hey teachers, parents, and others: While de-facing a book or bus seat with any kind of drawing is wrong and would require discipline, how do you handle random sex-themed sketches on notepaper?

TALES OF A SUBSTITUTE TEACHER: Living Things Garland

Taxonomy Tags by Lyons Creek Middle School 7th graders

One of the perks of being a substitute teacher is that I get to re-learn cool stuff and then use this resuscitated knowledge to fascinate my friends during parties and such.  One of the perks of being booked ahead for a substitute teaching job (most sub jobs are assigned the morning of) is that I can find out what I will be teaching, refresh my brain accordingly, and arrive to the classroom well-prepared. 

Some teachers believe (like my older daughter does) "you're only a sub" but Ms. Scanga, a 7th grade science teacher at Lyons Creek Middle, appreciates my dedication to life-long learning and sincere interest in actually teaching. I subbed for her recently and did a Friday/Monday combo. I booked the job weeks in advance and studied-up the night before on The Classification of Living Things. I was inspired to propose an extra credit project.

I love the fact that all the random books I collect for my collages are also filled with useful information.

On Friday, I came to class with a bunch of plain manila tags. Five minutes before the end of each class, I pitched the idea of making Taxonomy Tags - featuring a species from the animal or plant kingdoms, the common name for that species, fancy genus species name, a drawing or photo, and a couple of characteristics. I told them I would use them to make something for their teacher. The kids' first thought wasn't "Oh isn't that sweet!" or "Wow, we love extra credit projects!"  but rather "What do we get if we do it?" Candy...duh. 

i collected about 40 tags on Monday and strung the garland with ribbon on Wednesday night while watching Nashville.

I collected some excellent drawings.

Clown Fish (Amphiprion percale) were extremely popular.

different color ribbon made it festive and quirky.

Ms. Scanga loved her present and hung it proudly in her room. It looks really good!

NOTE: (if Taxonomy or evolution interests you personally or if you have a child who is presently studying it in school, I recommend checking out the Linnaen Society - a fascinating, hip website devoted to a classification system that started in the early 1700's and continues to evolve today.)

TALES OF A SUBSTITUTE TEACHER: The Vocabulary Lesson

When I sub, I give my all. And I usually like to get a little something back.

This past Friday I reserved the last 5 minutes of each class for my own education. And the 11th graders in English Honors and AP were happy to teach me some relevant vocabulary. I asked the students to imagine that I was 17 and had just awoke after being frozen for 20 years, that I was headed to a party, and needed some relevant words so that i could communicate with my peers and not be totally uncool. "Without using curse words or words related to sex and drugs, what are important words for me to know?" I asked.

A sample of what I collected.

They fed me about 20 words many of which require, or are best understood, with hand gestures and a certain tone of voice. I asked them for spelling and context. But as we all know, you don't ever get everything you ask for. Below is a partial list of what I got.

BRUH - the newest incarnation of "brother" and "bro",  not to be confused with actual sibling.

EXTRA - annoying, over the top. "Look at her yelling. She is so extra!"

FLAW- not good;  "That's so flaw!"

FOH - stop right there; get out of my face (put hand up to emphasize)

GUCCI - something that is really cool and stylish; "That's so Gucci."

JIT - an insult to call someone when they are being immature, whiny, like a little kid

RACHET - bad, yucky, ugly; "You're so ratchet!"

SALTY - angry, bitter; "Why do you have to be so salty?"

THIRSTY - hungry, greedy

TURN UP - Let's party; "Let's turn up."

YOLO - you only live once

For your entertainment (definitely) and comprehension (perhaps), my daughter Sammi has acted out some of these words.