# Some subbing observations...



## pheasantplucker (Feb 20, 2007)

I've taken a subbing job for the past couple of weeks and have a bit more to go. This is an assignment that has me work with four sections of middle schoolers. Three of the sections are "regular" students and one is an honors class. The honors class is motivated and willing to work. It's no shocker that the other groups are pretty unmotivated, and actually seem to delight in causing any obstruction to learning they can think of. Lots of screaming hormones kicking in...kinda like when (in the movie Bambi) at the beginning,,,all the animals are cute, and come spring, their voices are changing and not so cuddly, and adorable any more! Some of them have been working on reading the book by SE Hinton, The Outsiders. That is not a super deep book, but I couldn't believe how many references go right over the students' heads. Keep in mind, these are 7th graders...today we referred to the book Gone With the Wind. None of them had ever heard of it. I said, "What about the movie? Have any of you seen the movie?" Nope. Not a one. In another part of the book they refer to a church pew. I asked, "Who can tell me what a pew is?" Not one knew. So sad that these kids must get no outside stimulation from their parents about anything cerebral. Bet they're content to sit and veg in front of a video screen and play video shootout or act like a thug or play air guitar...makes me really grateful I'm not a kid anymore. Sorry I needed to vent. It's just that as a teacher of thirty years, I retired only 5 years ago, and I have seen a huge decline even since then. The latest thing I heard on the news last night is public schools recruiting kids from China...all for the dollar$ that they would receive. I'm sorry, but I think monies for education should be spent on American students. In another article I read of a principal somewhere who without anyone knowing it, disenrolled about a dozen students (for the duration of the statewide tests...and then reenrolled them after the tests, because she thought their performance would bring down her school's status!) People are often quick to blame the schools, but we're so busy teaching to tests...all they're after is scores...that real learning, practical problem solving, enhanced thinking and creating, and personal expression, enrichment through the arts... seem to have flown out the window. To those of you who take the time to follow through with your children, to make certain they are responsible for turning in high quality work, who teach them to be kind to people who are different from them, to not judge by physical appearance, to treat others with respect...I applaud you. I think, though, you are rapidly becoming more and more of a minority. Despite all that, I am still a strong proponent of public education...but gosh there is certainly some room for improvement...not just by the schools themselves, but by parents, lawmakers, and the students themselves. Well...gotta go and get things ready for the eager students for tomorrow. thanks for letting me vent!


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## shanzone2001 (Dec 3, 2009)

It is not good situation for anyone, but be prepared to hear it is all your fault! You should have some amazing superpower that makes them want to learn and care about their education!


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## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

Yea, I have a friend who is student teaching in a school with affluent kids who know they are going to college - public school. Her student teaching program places students all over the area, not just in the school in which she is student teaching. She couldn't figure out why the other student-teachers teaching at other districts were saying that the program was "easy" and she was hardly sleeping to get her program work, plus lesson planning, and grading for the student teaching done. (It's an accellerated masters program done in a year, so you do both your academics and the student teaching at one time.) Anyway, some of the other student teachers were saying that they don't really have to grade a lot of homework because in their districts, "We're lucky if we get the kids to come to school." The student teachers in the low income areas grade in one week what her students produce in one day. Also, they teach out of the text book, in the low income schools, where her affluent school requires the teachers to teach from source documents and use technology to present relevant ideas, (which means making a presentation with pictures and video for *every* lesson they teach). 
I guess it is good for her to learn to teach where she is, because she is learning to be a really good teacher, but the disparity between the low income and high income schools, literally just 30 miles apart, is startling! I couldn't believe it. They weren't worried about how to teach. They were just trying to get the kids to come to school! A !!majority!! of kids in those other districts just don't bother. 
The kids that try, the kids that show up, and the kids that don't bother- and the economics behind all of that... my hat is off to all of you public school teachers and parents! It is definately a struggling system, but I see the dedication and passion of those who are in it trying to make it work. 

Cindyc.


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## Louisiana Mom (Oct 15, 2004)

I totally understand. I was a part-time sub when my son was in 3-4 grades at public school. Let's just say that after 4th grade was over we began homeschooling & it's been about 7 years now!


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## thesedays (Feb 25, 2011)

My dad used his teaching degree for one semester, and left education and joined the fire department. He moonlighted as a sub from 1961 until a few years ago (he's 77 years old) and one thing he told us that NEVER changed was that the wealthiest schools had the worst discipline problems. The lower income schools' problems were out in the open; the high income areas covered them up better.

Other kids would tell me, "Your dad's pretty cool, but we can't get away with any funny stuff when he's the sub." Yeah, you got my dad pegged pretty well! He could discipline us without hitting us or yelling at us, and the last few years, the district would assign him to the Behavioral Disorder classes for this reason - they knew he wouldn't put up with any crap from those kids. He had some real horror stories about some of those kids, too. One can only imagine what was done (or not done) to them for them to end up that way. :stars: The kids would often call him "Grandpa" which he found offensive until he actually became one. 

As for "The Outsiders", I understand many of the references in that book are quite dated (they were when I read it, about 10 years after it was published!) and as for GWTW, the only reason I knew about it when I was 12 years old is because it was finally airing on network TV, to much fanfare. This was in the mid 1970s.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

I happen to think the Outsiders was a fairly deep book! Particularly for middle schoolers. I vividly remember reading it back in my 6th grade honors English class. 

That said, I agree with most of the OP. Having taught full time (and having been an _excellent_ teacher, if I do say so myself), I'm far happier as a sub. There are _entirely_ too many people that need to be kept happy and usually the quality of the students' education is pushed to the bottom of the list!  

But it was really hard to go into a classroom during the couple of years my kids were homeschooling. The disparity between what _we_ were doing in a day, and what a class of 25, in a well-run classroom with a good, seasoned teacher were accomplishing, was startling!

Now back in public school, that disparity has been noted by my 3rd and 5th graders. They're constantly begging to do science experiments at home. Go on nature walks. Go to the museum. Read books together and discuss. And so on. "We don't _do_ much in school, Mom..." lol
It doesn't bother them enough that either is willing to go back to homeschooling (we're pretty isolated), but I'm glad to see they feel the need to feed their brains! 

Personally, I don't think education has changed a whole lot over the years. A child's success has always been determined by how involved his parents are. I just think there are less and less parents who understand that fact.


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## thesedays (Feb 25, 2011)

One post-Katrina story I heard over and over again was that finding old school records for the relocated families was challenging, because so many of the parents didn't even know what school their kids attended! :bored: School attendance for that district averaged less than 40% each day. I just cannot comprehend that.


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