The Math Teacher Toolbox: Long Term Subbing

Consistent blogging still hasn't happened yet, but I figured I still want to record and reflect on my growth and learning as I begin my career.

I graduated December 2016 and took a long term 7th grade math substitute teaching job January through the end of the school year in a rural community. The teacher I took over for resigned as he was completing classes to become an accountant after 10 years of teaching. I had two sections of 7th grade math, two sections of advanced 7th grade math and one section of an elective course. It was a challenging situation to step into and a more difficult semester than I could foresee, but I definitely feel at an advantage for beginning in my own classroom this fall.

The school staff tended to be older and set in the ways they had always done everything. While everyone was kind and gracious, it was harder to get connected and feel like I belonged. There were not consistently enforced expectations for behavior across the school which was in complete contrast to my student teaching experience. I also entered at a time of the year where there was significant animosity and disrespect towards the administration from staff which got pretty awkward for me.

Although parts of the semester weren't ideal, I definitely gained valuable experience and insight from my time there.

Teaching Style: I am more self-aware of how I teach and what needs to be improved. In example, I often speak way too fast and skip important details in my explanations. In the future, I need to be confident in my understanding of the material and make sure I give clear explanations. And formative assessments give me that needed feedback!
Parent Communication: ahhhh. bahhh. I got a lot of practice in this. I had some tricky situations where I couldn't believe the parents were acting a certain way or weren't acting in a situation. I even got referenced in an upset facebook post from a parent! I am now much more prepared to do all I can on my side of the equation, but realize people have choices too on how they respond and know that I don't need to justify or be content with inappropriate responses from parents or students.
Curriculum: Textbook curriculum carry loads of resources. I gained practice in realizing I don't need to use them all and I can supplement and change instruction how I see fit. The math department at the school used multiple choice assessments for practically everything and it drove me bonkers. It's a lot more challenging to see students' thinking when all they need to do is select A, B, C or D.
Routines: I did a lot of experimenting and flip-flopping things not for good. My poor students didn't know what they should be doing or when they should be doing it. I have a much better handle on the importance of teaching routines and the million things for which I need to have explicit procedures and routines designed.
Classroom Management: This is where my pride gets hurt. I'm not innately good at this at all and my feeling of self-doubt made a lot of days discouraging and a couple of days even caused me to consider switching careers. However, I gained a greater understanding that when I'm teaching this is my classroom and I am in charge. What I say goes, even if it's not how someone else operates their classroom. I learned that I need to implement a consistent response to behavior and the more specific consequences are for me right now, the better. I learned that kids that I have a harder time working with in my classroom need to be seated closer to me. I learned to wait for silence before proceeding with instructions.
Relationship Building: Although I'm still working on finding the line between friend and teacher, I did a good job really getting to know my students and show them I cared about them. Two students in particular lifted my spirits on so many of the challenging days. One student I had was always cheerful and would skip down the halls. Sometimes he would start singing Christmas carols during work time which would bug the other students, but he was so cute I always had a hard time stopping him. He wants to be a pilot when he grows up. Another student with learning disabilities always stayed after class to talk with me. He was super passionate about drawing and put a lot of effort in understanding class material. He was funny too and would sometime say the oddest things. Near the end of my time at this building I was complemented by the principal on my relationship building skills and that he received some positive feedback from parents in that regard. I was encouraged by that.

Overall, I don't regret my experience long-term subbing, but I'm so excited for the ownership that will come with having my own classroom and to be in a school that has a very defined behavior management system and expectations. It was also reinforced that I do want to teach in a high needs diverse area, which long term subbing was not.