09/07/2001

Be Kind to the Subs

Another group of adults heading back to class this month is substitute teachers, many of whom have outstanding credentials. As a parent myself, I greatly appreciate their service to students and remind my children to help them out rather than give them a hard time. Good subs are tough to find, even in lean economic times. Recent letters reflect their diversity, commitment to excellence, and hope for higher pay and better benefits.

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Dear Beth:

I have been a substitute teacher for three years. I make sixty-five dollars per day and work three days a week, if I'm lucky. I love the kids and try and give them a sense of opportunity and hope. I only work for one school, so I'll be there if they need a sub that day.

Before I was a sub I was in sales, so I know how to sell the material to the kids so they find it interesting. There is nothing worse than kids who sleep in class. I find everything interesting, so I'm awake, and the kids better be also.

My full-time job is taking care of my two beautiful daughters. My ten-year-old gets many academic awards. I spend the time with her and her five-year-old sister who is in kindergarten.

There are huge problems in our schools due to peer pressure from kids doing drugs and piercing everything they can. I wish we could talk more about wrong and right and good versus evil because once they cross the other side into drugs, sex, hard rock and tattoos, it's hard to get them back. They start believing lies and start hating their parents; in a sense they live the lie and defend it to the death.

Teen suicide is up, and so are hard drugs and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. There is a battle going on for the souls of our kids. I am there in the classroom to offer love and understanding to any kid who needs it.

I also coach basketball during the winter months. Good people need to be involved in substitute teaching. Otherwise we will lose yet another generation to the beast. I'm strong as an ox and the kids respect me, because I am sincerely interested in them, but they know that they have to be responsible on all levels, including to themselves.

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In most communities, salaries for substitute teachers should be raised to a more reasonable hourly rate, so more qualified people would apply. However, I don't think that student teachers should "intern" in a school by acting as free substitutes. Dropping student teachers into unsupervised classrooms and requiring them to hop from class to class is not the kind of apprenticeship young, developing teachers need.

Connecticut certification requires a ten-week hands-on, supervised student teaching program, in which specially trained and experienced cooperating teachers and university supervisors in the student's field of study work together to provide the kind of apprenticeship that is needed. In addition, student teachers are required to spend time observing in a public school classroom the year prior to that student teaching experience. Teacher training is demanding enough without adding a year of unpaid labor to interrupt the course work and student teaching already required for certification.

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So they want me to go to college, get a bachelor's degree, get certified and apply to sub. Then they want to pay me at the maximum, $60 X 180= $10,810 a year to teach? The average starting salary for a first-year teacher is around $30,000 and they have some leverage with the students as far as discipline and grades are concerned.

No thank you. I think I'll apply at McDonald's, work the same hours and days and get MORE money.

When the boards of education start paying college graduates a respectful, fair per diem is when they'll solve their substituting problem. The wisest solution I've seen is a few permanent subs at commensurate teachers' salary and benefits and an increase of sub pay to at least a hundred dollars a day.

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In Connecticut, subs are required to have a bachelor's degree, but that requirement can be waived if the district can prove hardship. My district did just that and now we have moms (looking for a job with convenient hours) subbing for us on a regular basis. As you can guess, some are wonderful, but some are not. The good ones stay and accept the challenge, however.

We are also close to UCONN, so we can usually get students to sign up as subs. It is very difficult, however, to work with a sub shortage. Many of us have had to forego continuing education opportunities because we can't find enough subs to cover our classes if several teachers opt to be out on the same day. Pay for substitutes needs to be increased to attract better and more numerous candidates. I subbed for three years while working on my certification and can vouch for how difficult a position it is!

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Later this month I will begin my sixth year as a substitute. I have an expired Connecticut teachers certificate, but have never gone back to school for a renewal program or an advanced degree.

At a meeting of substitutes last year, I expressed to some of my colleagues that substituting is my current "chosen profession." Because I have a school age child, and would prefer not to have to work every single day, substituting is ideal for me.

While the pay is low, there are so many others advantages! It does put a few extra dollars in my family's budget, and allows for an occasional "treat" for myself. I can have a day at home whenever I want to. If my child is sick, I don't have to deal with a huge hassle that might occur with a "regular" job.

I have chosen to work only in the local school district, or at schools close by, so that I am home when my daughter (entering grade 7) leaves in the morning, and when she gets home in the afternoon. If I am substituting at the school she attends, we often have lunch together. I am on a first-name basis with all the teachers and administrators at the schools in which I work. I have all kinds of information available to me that can enhance my daughter's education.

I always talk to people I meet about what I do, and encourage them to consider it for themselves. It is certainly not for everyone, but it does have advantages for those who would like to supplement their family income, while working with children and/or young adults. I love what I do and plan on doing it for a long time.

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In 1970, when my oldest daughter was an infant, I decided to substitute, mainly for the flexibility. I received $50 per day for teaching a special education class at the middle school level. When one student tried to kill another, I decided to resign from subbing.

What amazes me is that thirty years later, daily rates for subs have gone up $10 or $15 dollars a day, while teachers' pay has increased 500% from an average of $8,000 in 1970 to an average of $40,000 today. While I believe teachers earn the salaries they receive, I do think that it would not be unreasonable to pay subs $100 per day. Hiring permanent subs is an even better idea. Then kids would think of them as regular staff and not easy marks!

I now have a master's degree in education and prepare proposals for school systems that want to implement new programs. But my heart still goes out to those people who sub with too little pay and too much grief.

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In Connecticut, a substitute teacher is required to have a B.A. or a B.S. However, due to the shortage of substitute teachers in the state, each district may apply to the state for a waiver that will allow a person with an associate's degree to substitute. The district must fill out the necessary forms for each individual wishing to substitute without the proper credentials. It is not a blanket waiver.

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I have been working as a paraprofessional since 1982. I am underpaid but keep working because I love to help with the educational process. I have been hoping for a decent pension plan to be put in place so that when I retire I can live comfortably. Presently, when I am ready to retire, the educational system I work for will be giving me a one time payment of approximately $900.00. That is not a monthly payment. It is a one-time payment.

Can you imagine how cheated I feel? I have worked for the system since 1982. I have worked with special needs students in all areas. I have been asked to substitute in all classes many times. The paraprofessionals I work with are part of a Union CSEA, but we do not receive the benefits offered by that Union. We could use some help. I hope things change soon. The job of substituting classes and aiding in education is very important. Why should this group be treated differently than any other educational position?

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Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.