Substitute Teachers

Substitute teachers are exceedingly high in demand now, regarding the fact that we do not have enough. At the school of Lakes High, teachers struggle to fill in for other teachers who could not show up to work. This means some teachers might be missing their lunch or planning period. With this knowledge, we appreciate the teachers attempts and challenging work to solve these issues, the larger problem is that the teachers filling the next position are not trained for that line of work, so for the classroom to be a successful as possible is unmanageable.

Substitute teachers are immensely important, schools need substitutes. Without substitutes, teachers would be over worked, and students would be undereducated. Substitutes do not have the same benefits that teachers have, meaning they are not as protected. During the student led walkout substitute teachers in the building were encouraged to stay inside, and not participate. The substitute teachers are not protected, and extremely easy to fire, with this in mind the substitute teachers do not have complete freedom. Not to mention the things they are missing, such as the student led walkout.

Substitutes that work 40+ hours a week, are not given benefits, sometimes they are even given half the amount a teacher would get. A substitute teacher is always left with irregular hours. Benefits of being a substitute is the experience of a partial teacher, without having to completely commit to being a full-time teacher.  A substitute can log into a website, and schedule a class, that will need a sub far ahead of time, but most of the time this is not the case. Lots of substitutes are usually offered last-minute subbing jobs, leaving them little to no time to prepare.

While substitutes do not always have the same benefits as teachers, they are still expected to meet the same requirements, and work just as hard, if not harder. Substitutes are given 20 to 90 percent of a teachers pay, while teachers are paid in full, and they are provided with dental insurance, life insurance, and long-term disability coverage. To even register as a teacher of substitute you must go through multiple background checks.

Substitute teachers are unappreciated. They do not get recognition, the main reason for this is because when you have a substitute teacher it is usually just for one day, so you do not get to know them or their name. Substitute teachers are the last thing in mind when thinking about the wellbeing of a school, but substitute teachers support many things. Statistically speaking, each teacher misses about 11 days of the school year. 50+ staff members in the building, if every teacher would miss 11 days of the school year that would be more days in the whole school year. Substitutes are immensely needed for the success of schools.