Hello blogosphere! I should briefly introduce myself: call me Mr. Benac. It's what my students call me. This is my first post in a blog that will go into great details on the ins and outs of being a substitute teacher, online freelance writer, failed musician and all around nice guy. I am going to use this blog to vent a little about some humorous and serious moments in my multiple careers. I hope to entertain and inform and maybe help some people feel a bit better about themselves.
The focus of this first post will be on the basics of substitute teaching. First thing first, I should admit I hold a master's degree in writing from Northern Michigan University. This degree gives me the ability to teach at community colleges. However, I need a teaching certificate to teach elementary or high school. In financial desperation, I began substitute teaching.
There are many things I can say about being a substitute teacher, both positive and negative. I'll focus on the negative first to get it out of the way. First, the pay isn't incredible. I make 80 dollars for a full day and 40 dollars for a half day. If I worked five full days a week, I could make 1,600 a month before taxes. There are districts that offer a pay rate, true but 1,600 a month is well below the poverty line. The grim truth is that I still make more money freelance writing online than I do subbing.
Inconsistency is another huge problem. Some weeks, I'll get multiple calls a day and I'm filled to the brim with days. Other weeks, I don't get calls for days. I am lucky to be a freelance writer. I can pick up the slack by writing for one of my websites and still make as much money as I'd like. However, this isn't an advantage every substitute teacher will have available.
Substitute teachers also get no respect from their students. I substitute teach in a small town, so many of the students know me well and respect me for that. However, going to a new school or class is always a crap shoot. You may get a great class that is very respectful and listens to what you say. The next day, you'll run into a wild class that assumes you are a complete idiot. They forget that you know their names and can write notes to the teacher, indicating poor behavior. They will try to get things past you, ridiculous things, such as "Mrs. Smith lets us make out in class!" Unfortunately, you can never really trust most of the students.
However, there are many positives to being a substitute teacher. For example, it's perfect training for budding teachers. You have to think on your feet constantly and get many opportunities to help students, if you can. You can find whether you are right for the teaching profession before jumping in wholeheartedly. I think I could pull it off, myself and I'm glad that I took the chance to try it out.
Another huge advantage is the ability to pick and choose when you work. Naturally, if you aren't getting calls you won't be working. However, I've found that low call days are pretty rare. I live in an area of the world that has less than 30,000 people in a hundred mile square area. However, I am substitute teaching four days this week. Become good friends with the secretaries of each school and you should be filled up with work. However, if you need to go out of town or want to take a break, simply don't take calls for the day. There are always subs to take your place.
Last, but not least the pay isn't nearly as low as it seems. At first I thought 80 dollars for seven and a half hours was really low but then I started subbing regularly. As a sub, you will have about five to five and a half hours of actual time with the students. The other times will be lunch periods, recess for elementary, prep periods for high school or special classes where you don't supervise the children such as art or library. This makes the pay much better. If I get a big break, I often go for a walk to get some exercise or work on my online writing job. I've also run errands, such as grocery shopping. The schools don't mind if you leave and generally assume you will.
Think of these pros and cons carefully before you consider a substitute teaching position. These are just some of the major pros and cons available. My next post will focus on the pros and cons of freelance writing, which is still my main bread winner. Subsequent posts will focus on either of my jobs or on the ways I keep myself entertained. Thanks for reading!
Mr. Benac
No comments:
Post a Comment