Some subs learn from others, some play games

We asked readers for their experiences with substitute teachers. Are they effective?

... My experience as a substitute teacher has given me great insight into the teaching profession. I have gotten some ideas, firsthand, of what spending every day in a classroom might be like. ... This is no easy job. I have had difficult days, now and then, when I have encountered a very difficult child . . . or group of children. I simply walk out the door at the end of the day. The regular classroom teacher does not. These dedicated, nurturing people have a very difficult job to do. And they are given little in monetary value or in appreciation for the WONDERFUL job they do.

Peggy Hansen, Apple Valley

I remember in sixth grade our sub telling us that there are five seasons: winter, spring, summer, Indian summer and fall. He was serious. Then in eighth grade ...our first sub was terrible. Even we eighth grade students knew it, were bored and wanted someone better. We played monopoly every day for a month! ... Our classroom was in the basement with windows that opened to ground level. One day he made us all climb out the windows to play monopoly outside. We used the windows because he "didn't want the principal to know he took us outside." I think he thought we liked him. One day we walked in the room and there was a new sub, one who actually wanted to teach us something. We were relieved and excited to finally learn. We liked this sub.

Theresa Lubke, Marshall

I am a theater artist, and do some occasional substitute teaching for extra money. Over 50 percent of the situations in which I find myself are difficult, at best, with the regular teacher leaving little in the way of work for the students, and no clear communication for the substitute. The Aesoponline website, which the Minneapolis schools uses to place substitutes, offers space for the regular teacher to leave notes for the substitute; most do not. Seating charts are useless, because I do not know the students. They change seats and laugh about it. A day with a substitute teacher is, to them, a day of play. If I'm not provided with a clearcut plan for the class, and I am not backed up by administration with regard to discipline (I often am not), the day is useless for all. And might I add, substitute pay is pathetically low: $15/hour, and I have to hold a teaching license for that!

Judy Cooper Lyle, Minneapolis