Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The Blind Trap of Last Minute Coverage

09/23/2009

Things I learned from covering for a secondary Math teacher for 45 minutes

Don't agree to cover a high school or middle school class for a teacher for any length of time without being equipped with the following things in place:

1. Knowing what grades the kids are in (the secretary won't always be able to tell you if the school is huge and the special ed. dept. has recently been reorganized)
2. Having a seating chart (you need to know their names, because sometimes a snarky boy might not want to tell you his name)
3. Having a written lesson plan from the teacher (the kids sometimes pretend not to know what they are supposed to be doing, even though the teacher says they know what they are supposed to do with the rest of their time, and the teacher neglects to tell you so you know for sure)
4. Knowing which kids have IEPs in the class and what their accommodations are (who is allowed to stand up at their desk, go to the library, go to see their special ed teacher, do fewer problems etc. If you don't have access to that information, everybody gets frustrated fast. "I HATE subs. They suck!")
5. Knowing the names of their special ed teachers and their phone numbers (so you can call them to tell them you are sending a student to them who says he is allowed to do so. Call ahead to make sure the teacher is there to receive the student)
6. Asking the teacher who your discipline problem kids might be (so you know who to believe and who you need to watch like a hawk)
7. Knowing the name and extension of the nearest teacher to ask for help
8. Having the phone numbers of the nurse, office, and security readily available
9. Having a transfer of power from the teacher who is leaving to the teacher who is taking over and consequences for a poor report. "Class...this is Mrs. so and so. She will be teaching the class for (time period). You are to give her your respect, the same as you would give to me. If she gives me a poor report, writes your name down, you will automatically receive (2) detention(s). Is this understood? Good. Mrs. so and so, the class is yours. Have a great afternoon!"
10. Remembering to have discipline reports at your fingertips and to fill out that sub report at the end of the day (sometimes you aren't given those when you are just covering)

Try and remember that each experience will make you a better teacher for the next class you have. If you choose to learn from your experiences and to look for how you would do things differently the next go 'round, each sub job will be better than the last.

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