After substitute teaching the past few weeks, I have realized more than ever how flawed the public school system and the family system have become.
When I first started, I assumed there would be some semblance of an orientation for new "subbers" and boy was I wrong! As long as you fill the required paperwork, get a TB test , and wait for the "ok" on the background check, you are good to go!
I felt such a lack of support within this job and felt less confident as time went by because there is no training whatsoever! I made Dan explain how he used to handle being a substitute , which helped immensely! He reassured me that it is rare for a teacher to not leave back- up materials for the sub . In my findings, I have learned the opposite. Most teachers have not even left a single note for me and I am left to figure out what to do before things get out of hand. I try to bring handouts from home such as word searches and crossword puzzles. Despite the amount of work brought from home or provided at the school, the students thinks it is "free time". They walk around the class causing trouble for other students , refuse to listen, and refuse to work . Once in a while there seems to be a student who wants to do the right thing , though this is rare. The middle school does not seem to be any better than the high school! The middle school students cuss just as much as the high school students and have the tendency to scream .
I am faced with two choices in a classroom:
1. Ignore the talking, screaming, cussing, and the refusals to focus on schoolwork. Just make sure they don't become violent or leave the classroom
Or
2. Plead for students to do their schoolwork and become utterly frustrated and angry. Students will ignore pleas and simply argue with me for the rest of the period. Write up said student and send student to the principal. Later the principal will become frustrated with me for sending the student to him/her and he/she will not be recommending any sub jobs to me in the future because he/she knows I will fill his day with multiple bad students.
It's a lose/ lose situation. I can wear myself out trying to make students do what they are supposed to do ( though they won't). Or I can relax and let the students hang out, talk amongst themselves, and let them run around the classroom.
The terrible behavior of the students leads me to think that many parents are not doing their job any better than the public schools! I am sick of people thinking that the school should raise their children for them. Parents should be responsible through teaching their own children how to be good people and how to think for themselves. The public school system is already indoctrinating their children to be peer dependant liberal sheep who rely on MTV for current world events. It is enough to make me sick!
When I am blessed enough to have children of my own, I am homeschooling! :)
