ALT-1 How to be a Substitute Teacher
For those of you who think that being a substitute teacher is hard, please stop worrying because it's really easy. If you are planning on becoming a substitute teacher or have just started, I am going to give you some substitute survival tips. As a previous substitute teacher for five years, I know exactly how it feels to walk into a classroom for the very first time. There will be feelings of nervousness, fear, uncertainty, uselessness, being unlikable, and the list can go on and on.First, I am going to start with arriving to the school and entering the classroom. When you arrive at the school, you would want to arrive to the school 20-30 minutes before school begins. Once you arrive at the school, go to the office to sign in and get any information about the school such as a map, name tag, etc. When you arrive to the classroom, look for the lesson plans. The lesson plans are usually on the teacher's desk. Once you are familiar with the plans, make sure that you familiarize yourself with the room. Some things that you would want to know is where the call button to the office is located, the helper and behavior chart if there is one present in the room, etc. If you still have some time before the children arrive, introduce yourself to the teachers who are near your classroom. Once you have familiarized yourself with the lesson plans and your surroundings, you will be 75% ready for the students.Now that you are 75% ready, the other 25% is easy because it is all about your attitude. One attitude that you will need to have is confidence. When you have confidence in yourself and that you will do a great job teaching the students, you will not be afraid; when you are afraid the students can sense it. Not only are you to be confident, you are also to be stern and not let any children "run over you." What I mean about "run over you" is to not let any students that want to be silly trick you. You also do not want any students who are disrespectful disrespect you and interrupt the class.If you have a student that wants to be disrespectful and you have given them a warning, have that student removed from the classroom. You can either send the student to another with work, or call the office and have the principal or an administrator come to the classroom to remove the student. Another thing that you can do to help yourself throughout the day is to pick students who are on their best behavior to be helpers. Now if the teacher already has a helper chart then use the helper chart. If the teacher does not have a helper chart then you can list some jobs on the board, like the line leader and teacher's helpers, and then pick students who are respectful and responsible to fill the positions.At the end of the day when the students leave school to go home, make sure you straighten up the room if you did not get the students to clean up. Also you would want to leave the teacher a detailed note about your experience in their classroom. Make sure you list any students who misbehaved as well as any students who were on their best behavior. By leaving the teacher a note, this will help the teacher know who and how to chastise the student and will let the students know that you mean business. Or should I say education.
