I went on my first shift as a substitute teacher at Sullivan Middle School back in February of this year. I was subbing various 7th grade classes while their regular teachers took the 6th graders to JA BizTown, a field trip experience in a simulated town, taking on roles such as mayor and shop owner, or CEO of an International Company (my daughter was assigned that one through the process of elimination, but she said she would have much preferred to be a Doctor). This was the school’s first time going to BizTown. My day began with a mellow robotics class with only 4 students and ramped up from there. Second was a mostly quiet and friendly math class of 7 and then third was larger, more rambunctious and defiant math class. The day finally ended with two very large classes that were way beyond the capacity of this new sub. The first was a social studies, with a long work sheet to read and answer the questions, I only marginally had their attention. And my final group of the day was 7th grade language arts. I was told there was a special education aid that would be in the room with me but he took one student out near the beginning of class and never returned. From its very beginning this was your iconic image of a out of control class, with students climbing the walls and paper airplanes flying across the room, one student was curled up on the floor, others were rearranging their seats, and during this all, a student followed me around, stroking my hair and telling me how great I was. The best I could do was laugh, shake my head, and ask her to please sit down.
I began the process of becoming a sub year ago, after deciding that going into schools was a way I could support Minneapolis’ public school system and its teachers, as they were really short on subs. I figured it would also allow me to stay connected to young people, and unlike many of the past positions I had taken on at schools, I would get paid for doing it. First step was to apply for a short call teaching license, which was a fee and an application and fingerprints for a background check. It took a couple months to be approved for a temporary teaching license, and once I was, I could apply to MPS with a resume and a cover letter. Then I was invited to an orientation to learn more about what the job entailed. If I was still interested there was a final waiting period as the background check was verified and my badge created. By the time I was ready to go it was the end of February.
I pledged that I would try one school a week while I was getting my feet wet.
And I paused things around here.
Frontline is the name of the website program where teachers list their absences and subs pick them up. As my hand hovers over the curser and I’m about to click the “accept job” button, there is a flurry of nervous activity around my heart. The unknowns far outweigh the knowns and I feel as if with a single click, I will plunge into the abyss. Schools are full of terms and titles that are obtuse to the lay person, and I consider myself one of those. I stare at a list of available jobs with limited information at my disposal. I can choose by a list of school names. Many I must take to google maps and see where they are in my city. Usually I can see what subject or role the teacher holds; special ed, building subs, media, gym, music and art, just to name a few. Sometimes the posting teacher or administrator will share a description of the day, where lesson plans are, and other pertinent info. Last February when I first started accepting the shifts, each entry would list grade, but at some point the listings dropped that detail, and now that is a guessing game, unless I reach out to the school or email the teacher to ask for more information. But lately I have been seeking out shifts by duration, more on this later.
After that first foray into seventh grade, I decided maybe I’d be better off with elementary for a while. The second job I accepted was labeled SERT, special education resource teacher, and it was at Jenny Lind elementary school in North Minneapolis. The school is named after a Swedish opera singer. The teacher whose position I was filling had moved on for another opportunity. He served the kindergarten through 2nd grade classes and pushed in to support students or pulled students out of classes to work one on one with their reading, math, or SEL (social emotional learning) skills.
Most of all I loved pushing into the classrooms. I could learn a lot from how the teacher managed the class, and I loved supporting the student in how and where they were paying attention. Seeing what was hard for them to follow or understand, and how to redirect and find the thread of learning.
I supported one teacher in each of kindergarten, first, and second grade classrooms. All the teachers were so different and I loved their styles and their classrooms, more on this someday. As this position was unfilled, I had my choice of days and times. And found that I hated saying no when I was asked to sub. In the end, for that one month I was at Jenny Lind, I worked far more days than the one school a week intention I had set. And as it was often a more flexible position, I got pulled into many other things in the school. I discovered that although I don’t get to interact much with kids out there, I do love supervising recess on the playground. Watching them became my superpower and I had insights into what made them tick. Despite my trepidation, I enjoyed my day in the fifth grade classroom. The kids responded to me, but I found their challenges sooo difficult. I spent a few different days with a 3rd grade class, whom I came to really love. They had been challenged by their teacher’s maternity leave, and had some difficulties with routines, especially when you added in an inexperienced classroom manager such as I, but I loved inviting the meditation bell with them, and sharing our rose and thorn at the end of the day.
And I loved being there on X day, where they had X-tra recess.
All this to say, last spring, I had the pleasure of getting to know one school very well.
Before the school year finished up, I had only tried one other school. I took a media teachers job at Bancroft Elementary. After seeing what they do at Jenny Lind, I thought I knew what to expect. Unlike at Jenny Lind, I was filling a specialist position, so the day was a revolving door of classes, so it was a wild ride. But I will save that story for another time.
This year has only just begun and I am back at my plan of visiting one school a week.
The beginning of school is all about routines. Where and how to hang up your back pack and what you need to take out of it for class. How to walk in the hall, how to participate in morning meeting, all that jazz. And because, as a sub, I am not around to support routines, or even know what they are. And, as a new sub, I am still just developing my own. I have committed to just taking a few hours here and there. I have been to 4 different schools in the past 3 weeks, and I’m signed up for a 5th next week, just as we head into a new lunation.
As hard as this job has been and will be, I know what a privilege it is to be in this position, to have access to these students and schools. There is a lot of amazing going on out there. It has been a trial by fire, but I am welcoming fire into my life of late and I am ready to burn a few things down. This is about honing the energy of resilience and creating a better future for everyone.