I survived as a middle school substitute teacher

I got a text from my friend, Mecca. She asked me if I would write about what it’s like answering the call to be a substitute teacher in Madison City Schools. I told her today would be a terrible day for me to write about walking into a middle school classroom, but she replied with a laughing emoji, and I accepted the challenge.

Let’s go back about 20 years. I have a degree in elementary education with a minor in math from Furman University. I taught for three years at a private Christian school in Atlanta and then taught one year in Seattle. I didn’t last long as a teacher. I loved teaching. I did not love being a teacher. Turns out a teacher has to wear so many hats and actual teaching time was minimal in my experience.

Since the beginning of the year, local schools have been begging for parents to come in as substitute teachers. My other job was slow, and I felt the need to get out of the house. I thought, “OK, I’ll answer the call and get out of the house.” Win-Win! It took less than a day to get approved, and I was on the sub list for middle school, 6th-8th grades, the next week.

I thought, ‘I love middle school kids. this will be fun.’ I was so excited and packed my bag to be the best sub anyone had ever seen. My first assignment was PE, and honestly, I was less than thrilled. But, luckily for me, four classes meet in the gym at once so there is more than one teacher in the gym. It was very organized, and there were no big issues. After taking roll, I was basically in charge of rolling kick balls back inbounds. It was a pretty fun, easy day.

Today, I am a 7th grade English teacher. Luckily, there was another teacher in the classroom with me for the first class so I could see how to do it. We started with seven minutes of free reading and then discussed Greek and Latin roots. Then for 25 minutes, they worked on ACAP practice and then worked on literary analysis. Since we have masks on, I chose not to wear my glasses for fogging reasons. Unfortunately, I can’t even read the worksheet because my contacts are for distance.

Most of the children were very polite when I spoke to them in the hall. One thing I did notice was that none of the kids were disrespectful to me, the substitute teacher. But when you get a group together that struggles with behavior, it can be challenging.

I just finished a class with at least five kids I couldn’t get quiet. One or two might have been doable, but one in every corner and one in the middle, I had no chance. They are the students you want to just take out in the hall and tell them how much you care and hug them until they feel loved. But, alas, there are 20 other kids in the room who need monitoring.

Subbing is not always the most fun, but that’s not why I do it. I do it for the big bucks I’m getting. Just kidding, it’s a whole $75 before taxes. No one subs for the money. I have so much respect for teachers. Because I’m trying to fill a need my community has, I will continue to sub. I will start with a good attitude each morning and hope that I survive the day.

Beth Crocker has lived in Madison City for 16 years with her husband and her two children.  She is a world-traveler, full-time Health Coach and Girl Scout leader.