Substitute Teachers Lounge
Substitute Teachers Lounge
Top 5 Unexpected Perks of Being a Substitute Teacher
Ever wondered what the life of a substitute teacher is like? Join me as I reveal the top 5 unexpected perks of substitute teaching that have continued to inspire and motivate me in this rewarding profession. From providing emotional support and making students feel important, to becoming a more creative person, I've experienced immense personal growth and satisfaction through my substitute teaching journey.
This week we continue with my top 10 list, the top 10 things that I didn't really expect to have happen when I became a substitute teacher, and all of those 10 things keep me coming back. Last week we did 10 through 6. This week, here's the top 5. Greg Collins, substitute teacher's lounge.
Speaker 1:Alright, guys, i have a confession to make. As you might expect, i recorded the last two episodes back to back. Of course, it was out of convenience, but if you're listening to this, on the Sunday it's released. We are actually spending our last day of an Alaskan cruise and we get back tomorrow. I'm sure we had fun. We're doing well watching. We're doing a small boat that picks us up from the cruise ship and takes us further into the glaciers. In fact, we meet up with the cruise ship later in the day. It's kind of that. I'm really looking forward to that. It costs me a little bit, but you know how often do you get to go to the Alaska? This is our second time. We're trying some things that we didn't do the first time.
Speaker 1:This is part two of the episode about top 10 list, the way I described it last week. I would encourage you to go back and listen to that episode because we did 10 through 6. I would call those maybe the more superficial things, but there are things, all of these top 10. I never expected them to happen. So if you're thinking about substitute teaching, listen to all of them. If you're already a substitute teacher, i would challenge you. What things keep you coming back to substitute teaching and how can you even make those better? real, quickly Recap I won't go into details because you can hear the details in the last episode.
Speaker 1:Number 10 had to do with the English language. Number nine phrases that don't work in the classroom. Number eight practicing this discipline in a restrained way. Number seven little things matter. Number six I have a new audience. What does that mean? If you didn't go listen to it, go back and listen to it. You can listen to these out of order. Just go back and listen to them.
Speaker 1:After you finish this one, if you like, or if you're typing like me, you have to listen to 10 through 6, or, for you here, 5 through 1. So now, 5 through 1. I didn't really aim for it to be this way. 5 through 1 are much more. They're all important, but much more I don't know. Mind, personality, changing events, changing some of my beliefs, things that I didn't expect to happen, that have to do with me more on a personal basis. Maybe the first 10 were more physical in nature. These are now more personal in nature and it's what makes me keep coming back.
Speaker 1:Number five I didn't realize that I could actually be important in the lives of the students. You know, it's going to be kind of funny because the first eighth graders I taught four years ago just graduated. Now they tell me that they always enjoyed when I was a substitute teacher. I am going to look forward to hearing about four or five years to hear how they did in college or whatever route they chose. And just if I pass them in the town I live, i hope they remember me. Now they tell me they do They. Some of them tell me I'm their favorite teacher. Some of them don't say substitute teacher, they just say favorite teacher. Now, that might not be a good thing. Maybe they don't say they know I don't make them work hard enough. Maybe that's why they're saying that.
Speaker 1:But I really came out of that really both substitute teaching and referring volleyball, when I can do it on a club. More personal level, players come up to me and talk to me all the time. Students come up to me, talk to me all the time. I'm glad they feel that way, even the students. If you forced me to list five troublemaker students, i would even say those five will say hello, mr Collins, to me in the hallway. So the most, the fifth best thing about being a substitute teacher is that you get to make those students feel important. You get to share your lives with them and you get to. If they're feeling down, you don't have to ask them a personal question, maybe just say you know you don't seem like you're the same chipper person today. Is there anything I can do for you? Even saying something like that, and even if they don't tell you that much, you've already affected that child's life because they know you mean what you say And they know they can be comfortable in sharing things with you.
Speaker 1:Number four I have told you this before I'm a type A person. I don't have a creative bone in my body, but I'm good at logical math related things. Well, i've gotten better. Substitute teaching has taught me to be more creative. All right, get in my mindset What or maybe the correct word is how, how can I make the class more interesting today And before I knew it, over these four years I was finding new and creative ways to present the class, especially if you're long term on occasion and have some freedom to come up with things on your own. Teachers love that. Teachers tell me all the time Greg, you've been here enough. Here's the lesson planned for today. As long as they accomplish this in some fashion, you don't have to do it exactly the way I wrote it down here. Be creative, come up with your own ideas.
Speaker 1:At first I loved Kahoot. That was creative to me. Then I still use it from time to time. But since I use so do so much high school, it doesn't quite come as cry. It seems a little bit more. I don't want to say childish, that is the wrong word and I apologize to the Kahoot people. I still love it. I use it for testing. that In fact, that's usually how I use it in high school is for testing.
Speaker 1:I have found instead that the most bizarre and unusual and unique ways that you can come up with to teach them something in that class, that's what they really like to do. I learned a little bit like that in church camp The crazier, the game you had those kids play when you were running a camp, the more they liked it. Sure, they'll play baseball, they'll play soccer, but a unique game Maybe a balloon game, maybe some kind of relay that you'd never thought of before. Saw a great one at the volleyball club practice that we had last week, where they put mats on the floor and had a relay. It was teaching the volleyball players how to slide properly with their knee pads and all that good stuff. But sliding on exercise mats and seeing how far you could push them on the floor and then keep I didn't come up with that when somebody else did but keeping them moving until you got past the finish line as a team, those are cool.
Speaker 1:Substitute teaching has helped me to become more creative. I'm glad of that. I used to be 90% right brain. I probably still am, but maybe I'll test myself and see if I'm down in the 80s now because I want to be a little bit more creative and a little bit less logical. That sounds like an insult to the logical people. I would like to be able to understand things in the students eyes rather than just saying this is how it is. Learn to use it correctly, all right. So that was number four. Number three has nothing to do with the students. Guess what It has to do with the teachers and administration. Wish your hearts, guys, if any of you are listening to this. Thank you so much for what you've done for me.
Speaker 1:My first day of substitute teaching, i already had teachers ask me if I was available to teach for them. They didn't know me and that way at that time they were probably in the mode of I'll take anybody I can get because we're that desperate. That's probably why they asked me. But as months and years went on, they were asking me because I had gained their respect and they had gained respect from me. Now, the teachers that I teach most often for and you know who you are. There's just something about you that I look forward to teaching your classes more than some of the other teachers.
Speaker 1:I don't dislike teaching any of the classes, but I kind of now be more selective than I used to be and I teach for my favorite teachers. I teach for my favorite situations That's even a better way to say it. But regardless, gaining the respect of teachers and administration was important to me. I'm so glad that you made me feel like I was needed. Even I didn't know if that feeling would ever happen, i would thought maybe teachers would just look down on substitute teachers like they're inferior or something. If you're in that situation, i feel bad for you, but I have never felt that way. In fact, just the opposite. They've asked me to do so much that when I actually backed out of a partial completion of a long term role I felt bad about it. I didn't in any way. They still speak to me in the hallway. They're still friendly. They were probably. I can't imagine them not being a little frustrated that I was leaving in the middle of my assignment, but they sure didn't show it to me. Feel free to talk about me behind my back, about that, because I probably deserved it. So that was number three. Number two is similar, but living the life of a teacher. You know people are just people. It doesn't matter.
Speaker 1:Sometimes the type of job you're in influences the way you feel like you have to act. I've told you before I was an accountant. I didn't realize how much I disliked it. I started substitute teaching and did it for 38 years, but every place I went, everybody was pretty much the same. In accounting You felt like you had to please the higher ups. And I'll say all that to say this The people that I thought were a little snotty to me. Maybe they felt like they had to be that way because of what their boss was telling them. When I see them in social situations now, they are the nicest people in the world and they they've always been nice people, but sometimes that industry made them at times be unnice people.
Speaker 1:Teachers Teachers are just helpful people. I hate to say it this way, but you teach for the love of teaching. You usually don't get rich teaching or substitute teaching. You do it because you love those kids. I'm glad I got to learn what it felt like to actually be a teacher. If you're just substitute teaching a day at a time, you probably won't ever have this feeling unless you go back to the same teacher over and over and you end up helping that person. Sometimes, whether they're supposed to or not, they'll let you go ahead and have their password so that you can enter the attendance on the computer.
Speaker 1:When I was long time, long term no, i didn't only get to get on the computer and do attendance, i got to design test. I got to enter grades ahead to. I was there for nine weeks, lots of interaction from the teacher. But I purposely ask her if I could integrate. She said yes, great, i converted some of her handwritten test to test that they could take automatically so that they knew what their grade was immediately And it loaded into infinite campus immediately. I loved that part about being a teacher.
Speaker 1:When I started substitute teaching I never thought I'd do that Teachings hard. My wife she's retired now too but when we both had to teach from home during COVID and I would, my breaks were just slightly different than hers because she was teaching elementary and I was teaching high school. I was amazed how good she was at it, just such a pleasant personality. I don't know how good she is at history because I'm not in a spot enough to challenge her on that, but just the way that she handled those kids. So number two is getting to, getting to feel the life of a teacher. I'm glad I had the opportunity to do that.
Speaker 1:Number one I'm going to jokingly call it Becoming popular for no apparent reason. It's okay to be like. That is preferable, right? You want to be like in high school? I'll tell you right now and I don't think you're listening if you follow this category, because this doesn't seem to me Somebody that would be listening to a podcast that's supposed to improve substitute teachers. But right now, if you're not the kind of substitute teacher that wants To be popular or at least once the students to once you back, i don't know. I mean, are you gonna sit there and tell me I don't care about that? I'm just there to make sure they do their lessons. That's all I'm there for. Well, not me. I Want to not only make sure they do their lessons But joke around with them. Let them know that I'm there to help them walk around and say It's a good job on that one. That wasn't a particularly easy question and you got it right. So I Will have students tell me they don't often say you're, you're my. I guess they say you're my favorite. They don't off. I don't often let me word it this way. I've actually said this in a podcast before.
Speaker 1:When I was in high school, i had a lot of friends, but I wouldn't categorize categorize myself as saying I Was one of the most popular students in school. I wasn't. I feel now that Just by being myself and Making those students feel comfortable with me in the room, they like having me come back. I am a popular substitute teacher In their eyes when I'm in the classroom. I love to hear them tell me that. I've never heard any Students say they didn't like me in the classroom. I Think the age group I'm teaching I would know because other students would tell me right.
Speaker 1:So, number one, i had no idea I could become a popular substitute teacher, really, just for being myself or the way I worded it, for no apparent reason. Okay, so strive for that. It is a wonderful feeling to walk into the classroom and on occasion I've actually heard the classes cheer because I. They saw me in the hallway. So that is the best feeling in the world and that's why it's number one. You know you got all summer. If your top 10 list is different, let's back up right down your top 10 list, see how it compares to mine and see if Substitute teaching if you realize how much Substitute teaching means to you.
