The Perils Of Substitute Teaching 2 missing children and a bladder infecti

[Totalwar 0]

Ok, this is my first vent post and hopefully my last but we?ll see. I am a certified teacher who can?t find a job in Michigan (but that?s a vent for another time). I am currently substitute teaching in the Saginaw area which, no offence to anyone who lives there, is a ghetto. 90% of the students are African American or Hispanic (but there is also white trash just to cover the skin rainbow). Everyone is under the poverty level which is no excuse since I claimed $12,000 on my last tax return and the poverty line is $14,000. Now I love my job and I really enjoy working with these young students. Too many of them I am the only stable male figure in their lives. That having been said I put up with a lot of?junk for lack of a better word. Last week I was substitute teaching for the afternoon in a 1st grade room. Attendence is taken in the morning so I had no idea which students were absent or otherwise. I just knew who was coming back from lunch. The afternoon went fine since I have good classroom management. I even took the children outside for an afternoon recess because they were well behaves. Once again I have no problem with the students. Now at the end of the day (which is notorious for poor instructions..?3:15 dissmisal? ok where do I dismiss them, do I wait for them to go, who picks them up!). Any who I actually was told which door to take them out of and to watch them get picked up but not to worry too much about it. So I walk the kids down and all is well until this mom comes up and asks ?Where is John?? (I?ve changed the name). Well I recognized the name as a child from a kindergarten room I had subbed in last year and pointed him out. ?Not that John? She said. ?John G.?Now at this point I think, well I knew one John and I took my time learning the other children?s names so I would probably have remembered if there where two students with the same name but I?ll give her the benefit of the doubt. We spent 45 minutes looking for this child, who fit a description that I didn?t recognize. But hay I?m just the substitute what do I know. Finally I go back up to the room to see if John G. went up there for some reason. John G. never came to school that afternoon?he never even came to school that morning. He slept over at a friends house and they never woke him up for school. I spent 45 minutes searching the school for a child that never even came to school that day!That?s not the worst of it. Two days later the same thing happens. Only this time the real teacher had been in the building testing. He had dismissed them and HE had been outside watching them get picked up. Well then along comes mom and she?s like ?where is Lily? (again a different name). So we start looking and ask her is there any one else who might have picked her up (grandma, sister, cousin) and she said no. So once again we spend 45 minutes looking for this child. Keep in mind that as a substitute teacher I make $80 a day or $40 for half a day. I am not paid hourly so if I stay 45 minutes after school, its on my own time. Now I don?t mind looking for a child who is really missing. Or even for a child who could logically have the potential to be missing. But when after 45 minutes of searching the mom finally checks back at her house to see if Lily walked home, oh?she walked home with her cousin. Ok?ok last rant. I?m at a different school on Thursday and this little girl says she has to go to the bathroom. Now Saginaw schools are not the best in the world, and lately the state has been cracking down on them. As a result all classes K-3 must spend 2 hours of uninterrupted time in the morning reading or writing. That means that for two hours the students may not go to the bathroom. I have been scolded many times for sending students to the bathroom and I have been told that I am not to send the child out of the room unless they are crying. So I tell the girl no. She holds it for an impressive 15 minutes and then begins to cry. ?Ok you can go? I tell her. Well she goes and when she gets back the sits down for about a minute and asks to go again. ?Yes?wait no, you just went? I tell her. So she holds it until lunch. Now I am strict about a lot of things when I sub, but when students need to go to the bathroom I generally let them. So that afternoon this same girl goes to the bathroom 3 more times. Finally I tell her no. I figure she is just playing games with me and trying to get out of class. So first she cries, then she screams, then she yells ?I HATE YOU!? but whatever I figure she is just one of those spoiled kids that usually gets what she wants. Keep in mind this child has gone to the bathroom 5 times in an 8 hour period. So apparently she wets her self, but I don?t find this out until later. That?s why she?s freaking out, understandable. She dries off and becomes a happy child for the rest of the afternoon. Keep in mind she could have just told me she wet herself, I don?t spend my day looking at second grader?s crotches, but oh well. At the end of the day I?m lining every one up go home and she urinates like a geyser all over the floor. She bursts into tears and I tell her to run down to the office. Her parents sent her to school with a bladder infection. They knew, they just sent her anyway. Way to make may day horrible. Well thanks for letting me vent, maybe next time I?ll talk about how I actually taught this little second grader how to add.

[Saint_Michael 3]

dude that does blow some bad stuff it like you where reincarniated into a bad teaching experiances.but i blame the parent mostly especially the last one, really i think taken care of a child's health is more important yeah you can make up the school work but with something like that it could kill someone if not taking care of, to be mean or anything those parent deserve that.Makes me think why i didn't becom a teacher and now i know why. stick with somethign good should come out of this.

[BordaForx 0]

Ok, this is my first vent post and hopefully my last but well see. I am a certified teacher who cant find a job in Michigan (but thats a vent for another time). I am currently substitute teaching in the Saginaw area which, no offence to anyone who lives there, is a ghetto. 90% of the students are African American or Hispanic (but there is also white trash just to cover the skin rainbow). Everyone is under the poverty level which is no excuse since I claimed $12,000 on my last tax return and the poverty line is $14,000. Now I love my job and I really enjoy working with these young students. Too many of them I am the only stable male figure in their lives. That having been said I put up with a lot ofjunk for lack of a better word.
Last week I was substitute teaching for the afternoon in a 1st grade room. Attendence is taken in the morning so I had no idea which students were absent or otherwise. I just knew who was coming back from lunch. The afternoon went fine since I have good classroom management. I even took the children outside for an afternoon recess because they were well behaves. Once again I have no problem with the students. Now at the end of the day (which is notorious for poor instructions..3:15 dissmisal ok where do I dismiss them, do I wait for them to go, who picks them up!). Any who I actually was told which door to take them out of and to watch them get picked up but not to worry too much about it. So I walk the kids down and all is well until this mom comes up and asks Where is John? (Ive changed the name). Well I recognized the name as a child from a kindergarten room I had subbed in last year and pointed him out. Not that John She said. John G.

Now at this point I think, well I knew one John and I took my time learning the other childrens names so I would probably have remembered if there where two students with the same name but Ill give her the benefit of the doubt. We spent 45 minutes looking for this child, who fit a description that I didnt recognize. But hay Im just the substitute what do I know. Finally I go back up to the room to see if John G. went up there for some reason. John G. never came to school that afternoonhe never even came to school that morning. He slept over at a friends house and they never woke him up for school. I spent 45 minutes searching the school for a child that never even came to school that day!

Thats not the worst of it. Two days later the same thing happens. Only this time the real teacher had been in the building testing. He had dismissed them and HE had been outside watching them get picked up. Well then along comes mom and shes like where is Lily (again a different name). So we start looking and ask her is there any one else who might have picked her up (grandma, sister, cousin) and she said no. So once again we spend 45 minutes looking for this child. Keep in mind that as a substitute teacher I make $80 a day or $40 for half a day. I am not paid hourly so if I stay 45 minutes after school, its on my own time. Now I dont mind looking for a child who is really missing. Or even for a child who could logically have the potential to be missing. But when after 45 minutes of searching the mom finally checks back at her house to see if Lily walked home, ohshe walked home with her cousin.

Okok last rant. Im at a different school on Thursday and this little girl says she has to go to the bathroom. Now Saginaw schools are not the best in the world, and lately the state has been cracking down on them. As a result all classes K-3 must spend 2 hours of uninterrupted time in the morning reading or writing. That means that for two hours the students may not go to the bathroom. I have been scolded many times for sending students to the bathroom and I have been told that I am not to send the child out of the room unless they are crying. So I tell the girl no. She holds it for an impressive 15 minutes and then begins to cry. Ok you can go I tell her. Well she goes and when she gets back the sits down for about a minute and asks to go again. Yeswait no, you just went I tell her. So she holds it until lunch. Now I am strict about a lot of things when I sub, but when students need to go to the bathroom I generally let them. So that afternoon this same girl goes to the bathroom 3 more times. Finally I tell her no. I figure she is just playing games with me and trying to get out of class. So first she cries, then she screams, then she yells I HATE YOU! but whatever I figure she is just one of those spoiled kids that usually gets what she wants. Keep in mind this child has gone to the bathroom 5 times in an 8 hour period. So apparently she wets her self, but I dont find this out until later. Thats why shes freaking out, understandable. She dries off and becomes a happy child for the rest of the afternoon. Keep in mind she could have just told me she wet herself, I dont spend my day looking at second graders crotches, but oh well. At the end of the day Im lining every one up go home and she urinates like a geyser all over the floor. She bursts into tears and I tell her to run down to the office. Her parents sent her to school with a bladder infection. They knew, they just sent her anyway. Way to make may day horrible. Well thanks for letting me vent, maybe next time Ill talk about how I actually taught this little second grader how to add.

What a bad day. Isn't it hard being a teacher? Tiring, "eh"?

[rejected 0]

Whoa..maybe you should relocate?Talk about irresponsible parents, I wouldn't be able to stand being a sub and having to do things like that.. Do things like that happen often?Hehe, I live in Saginaw, Texas

[SlvrDragon50 0]

Wow... That life must suck! Just look on the brightside! You dont have to go through this every day. or do you...

[sangdukseo 0]

umm, is there any possible way to move out and go somewhere else to teach? Doesn't sound like a very, uh, teacher friendly town. How come you can't find a regular teaching schedule? I thought America has a lack of teachers at the moment or something like that. I know in my area, (Maryland), we're short on teachers by far. Tons of complaints and stuff like that from the suburban community.

[BordaForx 0]

It should be very easy for a teacher to locate a job. I thought there was a lack of teachers in the USA because of the low payment. Well, hard being a sub, "eh"?

[psychiccyberfreak 0]

hey, I don't blame you for what you did, but dude, you have to lighten up. All the popular teachers at my school are usually young, and they are loose with rules, but still are reasonable. They basically just "play along" with jokes and stuff. Lighten up, and I think you might find your job more rewarding. Plus, some parents can be itiots, like "oh where's bobby? What did you do to my kid?" you know. Anyways, the teachers that are you know, funny, or whatever are awsome, cuz when you can laugh while you learn, it's fun, and I remember things better. (look at my what is... topic about targeted advertizing, I remembered what my sfr teacher said exactly) so, that's what I say, give it a try, but still be reasonable, like have rules and all. One more example... My science teacher was obsessed with airplanes. He turned the classroom into an "airplane" and had a fasten seatbelts sign and everything. It was funny how he had that airplane theme and kept with it all along. He made boarding gate signs for every room, it was great. Now he's retired, but the signes still hang...anyways, good luck with your teaching degree!