So... would you let the principal of your school know that you don't appreciate how

[gateacher]

Denise, Thanks for clearing up that subs must have at least a BA degree in California. That makes me feel like the OP may have had a legitimate complaint. I have often wondered how other states handled acquiring substitutes. Our substitutes must at least have a GED and take a 2 hour course from the local school system. I hope I didn't offend anyone with my earlier post but I honestly feel that the general public has no idea how difficult the teaching profession has become. I would love to hear from some of the other teachers from other states about their requirements to substitute.

 

[DeniseM]

GAteacher - I can't speak for all of CA, but at least in our Dist. they do have to have a BA.

 

[Linda74]

You must have a BA or a BS in Connecticut to sub in public schools.

 

[NTHC]

It sounds to me as though there is a very lucrative business opportunity in CA to train and provide qualified subs to school systems. If a "warm body" is all that is needed, imagine if someone actually took people who are educated and gave them a format. There are so many people out there with so much to offer.

And I am very curious as to a business that offers 2 months off in the summer, two weeks at Xmas, Thanksgiving, Spring Break, all government holidays, snow days and then 10-12 days of personal leave. I mean that is 13-14 weeks of vacation per year.

If you look at this I think it is quite obvious where the shortfalls may be in the education system. This is not an attack on teachers by any means. I am simply asking why our education system is run so much different than other businesses. Why would our expectations be different?

JMHO,
Cindy

 

[M. Henley]

All About Your View of Life

After having taught 36 years in the Chemistry Department of a regional university (part of the time as department chair), never having taken a sick day, I retired with zero compensation for all the unused sick days. This was my choice, as I knew there was no compensation, but my view of life is that you don't take undue advantage of your circumstances. How fortunate I was to have gone 36 years without the necessity of taking a sick day!!

Several years ago in my son's elementary school, a fourth grade teacher was in her last year before retiring after many years in teaching. She got mad because the district would only compensate her for a small % of her sick leave accumulated through the years. So she called in sick every Monday and Friday for the entire school year. No one could do anything about it, but everyone was appalled. I wouldn't have believed it was possible, if I hadn't seen it myself.

nonutrix

 

[rapmarks]

Several years ago in my son's elementary school, a fourth grade teacher was in her last year before retiring after many years in teaching. She got mad because the district would only compensate her for a small % of her sick leave accumulated through the years. So she called in sick every Monday and Friday for the entire school year. No one could do anything about it, but everyone was appalled. I wouldn't have believed it was possible, if I hadn't seen it myself.

nonutrix

gee, I wish we had thought of that.
I retired with 223 unused sick days and my husband probably had close to 400. We got nothing for our unused sick days.

Any teacher who is really teaching hates to miss school. a sub can't teach what you intended, doesn't know the students, etc. etc. I always got the old guy sub who thought instead of teaching what i asked he would tell them all about himself. he didn't seem to get that they heard all about him in other classes when he subbed and they weren't intereeted anyhow.

 

[DeniseM]

It sounds to me as though there is a very lucrative business opportunity in CA to train and provide qualified subs to school systems. If a "warm body" is all that is needed, imagine if someone actually took people who are educated and gave them a format. There are so many people out there with so much to offer.

Not lucrative at all - Sub pay is very low and there are no benefits. Most of the good ones get full-time teaching jobs at a much higher salary and with good benefits. That's why there is a shortage of quality Subs.

Any teacher who is really teaching hates to miss school. a sub can't teach what you intended, doesn't know the students, etc. etc.

I once had a sub who asked a big-boned girl in my class if she wanted to wrestle.

Another Sub went through everything in my desk drawers.

Another Sub ignored my lesson plans, dug through my file cabinets, and choose other assignments for the students to do.

Another Sub took roll and then headed to the teacher's lounge - the students finally called the office to report that their Sub was MIA.

Most Subs show up with magazines, cross-word puzzles, or newspapers to read.

It is amazing...

 

[gateacher]

Georgia allows us to accumulate up to a year of unused sick leave to credit towards retirement. However, with 3 children and a husband who is self-employed, I am usually the person who must miss work due to illnesses and doctor's appointments. I would love to be able to accumulate those days and retire a year early. From everyone else's input, Georgia's retirement plan sounds pretty good. It sounds like I am in the minority but I just feel like that there could very well be justifiable reasons for the teacher's absences. However, I must say that I understand your dilemma. My middle child started kindergarten with a teacher who was out on maternity leave. I seriously debated requesting a transfer to a different class. However, I decided that there were students who were going to be in that classroom and my child was no better than anyone else's. Thank God there was a wonderful parapro in that kindergarten classroom.

 

[Gerie]

Another teacher here. I am a reading specialist in an elementary school.

I am perhaps in a better situation than some. We seem to have some really good subs in our district. This is probably because there are many more teachers out there than there are teaching positions, so there are lots of young recent grads who are willing and able to sub. Our subs also get close to $100 per day, but then I live in an area where teachers salaries are good.

If I have to be out and find I've had a substitute who is below par, I report that to my principal. Often, after he checks it out, that sub will not be called again. On the other hand, all subs have to fill out a form letting the principal know whether or not we've left adequate plans and information about the students.

If I know I'm going to be absent in advance I leave very detailed plans, maintaining continuity for the students. If it's an emergency I have a folder of generic sub plans that contain lessons that are still valuable and can be taught in isolation of our on-going instruction/learning. This is a lot easier for me to do as a teacher who sees small groups for short periods of time each day. Much harder for a classroom teacher.

My suggestion to the original poster with complaints about the subs is to discuss it with the teacher in the spirit of both of you wanting what is best for the children. You might even mention that several parents have been discussing this. If she agrees the subs have been less than adequate then she can take it to the principal. If this is not the case, the she is put on alert that parents are aware that her absences are having a major negative impact on student learning. This might cause her to ensure that better plans are left or she might monitor her frequent absences.

Upon retirement we are allowed to cash in unused sick time after 20 years of in-district service. I will, hopefully, have close to 200 days of it when I retire. Unfortunately, I will only have 18 years in the district. I will not be using it up, burning it, as you will, before retirement. I rarely use more than a day or two a year.

What does get me annoyed is the amount of district directed days out of class. We are taken from our classes for test administration, test scoring training, test scoring, in-service training, and whatever else the district deems necessary other than teaching. If I were a parent this is something I would be screaming about.

 

[pjrose]

If there was no success, I would spend the energy you might spend worrying about this by supplementing your child's social studies and science education.

Even if you DO have success, this is important.
Travel, plays, concerts, science museum, living history exhibits, PBS, planetarium, quality books/movies ...

Also, I always buy at-home copies of my kids' textbooks. There are many great sites for finding them used (e.g. amazon.com, or check DealOz.com) - helps you reinforce what was done at school, insures a text is always available for studying or HW, and saves some of the weight in the backpack.

 

[3kids4me]

This thread just inspired me to e-mail my youngest daughter's principal to let him know what an excellent sub she had last week.

 

[Twinkstarr]

Not lucrative at all - Sub pay is very low and there are no benefits. Most of the good ones get full-time teaching jobs at a much higher salary and with good benefits. That's why there is a shortage of quality Subs.



I once had a sub who asked a big-boned girl in my class if she wanted to wrestle.

Another Sub went through everything in my desk drawers.

Another Sub ignored my lesson plans, dug through my file cabinets, and choose other assignments for the students to do.

Another Sub took roll and then headed to the teacher's lounge - the students finally called the office to report that their Sub was MIA.

Most Subs show up with magazines, cross-word puzzles, or newspapers to read.

It is amazing...

Our elementary gym teacher is out until 12/1/09 with cardiovascular problems(if you saw the size of him you wouldn't be surprised). The sub is a younger female who is actually making them move instead of just stand around and chat.

My 1st grader thinks she's great, but boy you should hear the other kids at the bus stop. "We actually have to do gym class now!"

 

[mas]

After having taught 36 years in the Chemistry Department of a regional university (part of the time as department chair), never having taken a sick day, I retired with zero compensation for all the unused sick days. This was my choice, as I knew there was no compensation, but my view of life is that you don't take undue advantage of your circumstances. How fortunate I was to have gone 36 years without the necessity of taking a sick day!!

I wish more people had your attitude! I fail to understand why people feel they are being cheated when they can't/don't use all of their available sick time. IMHO, it is not the same as vacation or holiday pay. It is there to be able to allow people who are sick, to STAY HOME and not communicate their illnesses to everyone they work with. If you haven't used all of your sick time, instead of complaining, be thankful for your good health.

Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now...

 

[pjrose]

After having taught 36 years in the Chemistry Department of a regional university (part of the time as department chair), never having taken a sick day, I retired with zero compensation for all the unused sick days. This was my choice, as I knew there was no compensation, but my view of life is that you don't take undue advantage of your circumstances. How fortunate I was to have gone 36 years without the necessity of taking a sick day!!

I'm also a college prof, and I have missed a few classes over the years when I simply couldn't make it (flu or snow and once when DD was life-lined to the trauma center after a car accident). We don't have a sub option, but twice I asked colleagues to fill in, and a couple of times I just emailed students and cancelled. It is my responsibility to teach the classes, and if I have to miss a day, then I have to somehow fit that day's topic in later. It never occurred to me until reading your post that I get sick days - and the knowledge that I probably do doesn't change anything in my mind.

 

[M. Henley]

Post-Secondary

Most people do not realize that, unlike elementary and secondary school, there are no substitutes, other than colleagues, to cover classes that you miss. Getting someone to sub for quantum mechanics, kinetics, or thermodynamics would not be an easy task.

I'm also a college prof, and I have missed a few classes over the years when I simply couldn't make it (flu or snow and once when DD was life-lined to the trauma center after a car accident). We don't have a sub option, but twice I asked colleagues to fill in, and a couple of times I just emailed students and cancelled. It is my responsibility to teach the classes, and if I have to miss a day, then I have to somehow fit that day's topic in later. It never occurred to me until reading your post that I get sick days - and the knowledge that I probably do doesn't change anything in my mind.

 

[mamiecarter]

Retired school nurse who sees it differently

After working many years as a school nurse I got used to teaching staff bringing their concerns to me. You don't know what your child's teacher is going through. Could be cancer, migraines,a divorce that has undermined her immune system (Stress doe that to all of us.) Ten days is not that much. If the teacher is good of course you miss her when she is out. Tell the principle what a great teacher she is and you might get more of a hearing. Principles want to keep experienced staff.

The real problem is California subs get paid very little, zero training for a particular assignment, no Sub coordinator to help bridge the gap between the regular lesson plans. It is that way in most states but a friend of mine tried it in California and decided it wasn't worth the few bucks they paid him. California spends far too little on public education in proportion to its overall wealth.

 

[summervaca]

"And I am very curious as to a business that offers 2 months off in the summer, two weeks at Xmas, Thanksgiving, Spring Break, all government holidays, snow days and then 10-12 days of personal leave. I mean that is 13-14 weeks of vacation per year"

Our education system was conceived when we were an agricultural society. Hence, the schedule. Please remember though, with the exception of sick time, and possibly 2 - 3 days of personal leave, teachers do NOT get paid for those days off. People refer to this as vacation. It is not.

 

[pjrose]

"And I am very curious as to a business that offers 2 months off in the summer, two weeks at Xmas, Thanksgiving, Spring Break, all government holidays, snow days and then 10-12 days of personal leave. I mean that is 13-14 weeks of vacation per year"

Our education system was conceived when we were an agricultural society. Hence, the schedule. Please remember though, with the exception of sick time, and possibly 2 - 3 days of personal leave, teachers do NOT get paid for those days off. People refer to this as vacation. It is not.

During much of those "vacation" weeks teachers are grading, planning, studying, going to workshops, learning. Even when school is in session, a teacher's day does not end at 3PM nor does the week end on Friday - developing classes, activities, assignments, and exams, as well as grading, takes a LOT of time, and the hours generally add up to far more than 40/week. Then there are meetings, IEPs, lunch or hall duty, coaching, advising, answering emails from parents.......

Yes, there is often a lot of flexibility, and there are many rewards, but there isn't as much vacation as many people believe!

 

[Linda74]

I rarely left school before 5, many nights 6pm....and was in at 7 AM......
I had 20 minutes for lunch after walking kids to the cafeteria and picking them up.......My prep period was usually taken up in meetings....which meant a good 2 hours or more of work at home each night......
With a doctorate degree and 36 years of experience I made half of what my 26 year old daughter does in business......Yes, teachers have summers off...but a good 2 to 3 weeks were always spent at workshops, grad courses, or curriculum work. Teachers are easy targets.....and I am sure the bad teachers are responsible for this....but I can tell you that I steered both of my children away from teaching. You are never done.....no matter how hard you work, you always feel guilty because you could not get to all that you should have.....I don't regret being a teacher....in fact I loved it....but it is not the easy job people think it is....and new mandates have made teaching for the test the core of public school curriculum.....Huge Mistake.....

 

[Liz Wolf-Spada]

Very few teachers still remember what it was like to plan your year's curriculum, integrating concepts and subjects, adding in teachable moments, art and music etc. That was before pacing plans and high stakes testing.
Liz

 

[beejaybee]

Teaching is the only profession

in which you have to pay money in order to get a raise. By this I mean, to move up on the salary schedule you must accrue more university hours-at least here in Ohio. So if you wish to earn more money, an educator must shell out college tuition to obtain masters, masters +, phd., etc. My advice to young teachers is to get those advanced degrees & extra hours ASAP as college credit costs rise yearly.

My son, who never finished his BA, was in a friendly competition with me to see who earned more. At the close of my career, me with a masters + 40 additional hours, didn't come close to him 7 years into his in the business world.

 

[MRSFUSSY]

2 teachers, 2nd grade

Hello...last year our grandson, 2nd grader, had 2 teachers. Both teachers had had a baby the year before and each wanted to work only part time. So the school decided to have them split the week. This was in southern California. I (grandma, N.Y.) didn't think that it was such a good idea, but said nothing. Our grandson seemed to make out ok.:ignore:

 

[pranas]

My teacher friends plan vacations around their sick days. I have been invited along but always decline the invitations - week long cruises in March, etc. I teach at the university level and would be fired for doing something like this if I was unethical enough to do something like this. I will also be losing my accumulated sick days when I leave the university. Sorry, but I do not know of any other profession where one can behave this way and then have the union back you when caught,

 

[jlr10]

Hello...last year our grandson, 2nd grader, had 2 teachers. Both teachers had had a baby the year before and each wanted to work only part time. So the school decided to have them split the week. This was in southern California. I (grandma, N.Y.) didn't think that it was such a good idea, but said nothing. Our grandson seemed to make out ok.:ignore:

I have several teacher friends who job share. They were also in schools where the students rotated between grades for various subjects. It worked out well for the teacher and the students in their schools. The teachers select which subjects they teach and then they learn them very well, and then would teach them to 2 groups of students. Because they picked the subjects they taught them with a knowledge and enthusiams which the students seemed to like.

The only drawback was this year when my friend was not able to jobshare and had to teach all subjects. She found she had lost her math skills since she had not used them in 7 years. Oops!


My son had a job-shared class for half a year. He liked the variety that having 2 teachers provided. That was that it was discovered that he had a learning disability. Having 2 teachers witness the same problems helped bring the issue to light so it could be addressed.

 

[wackymother]

As my name implies, I am a teacher in Georgia. I have been absent 3 days this year. All were sick days. We are entitled to 12 1/2 days per year. At this time, I have 30 days built up to use. I have three children and can use these days for their doctor's appointments or illnesses. I can also use them for illnesses or deaths in my family. There have been years when I used a lot less than 12 days and there have been years when I have used more than the days I built up. The year that my youngest son was born, my mother became ill with encephalitis and I ran out of days. I simply was not paid for those days. As far as subs are concerned, we must find our own sub. I will never forget when I went into labor with my first child three weeks early and called about 20 subs and couldn't find anyone to substitute for me. I finally called one of my co-workers whom I knew was taking a personal day. She came to school that day and allowed her substitute to cover my class. I honestly have a difficult time with non-educators passing judgment on those of us who are in the classroom. I have often said that every parent should have to substitute for a week before their children are allowed to attend public school. Also, if the problem is with the substitute, you should know that our subs only are required to have a GED and are paid a whopping $50 per day. We are glad to have a warm body in our classroom if we are absent for the day. I'm sorry to get on my soapbox but this is one of my pet peeves. There is no other occupation where you can wake up deathly ill and have to call 20 people to find someone to do your job and THEN still have to go to school to leave lesson plans.

I've never heard of a plan like this! Do you mean you can just call anybody to come in and sub? Like if you can't do it, but your friend with a GED and a police record as long as your arm is free for the day, then your friend can come in and sub???