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I must be going about this wrong, then, because I've been on the emergency sub list for about three years, and, if anything, it is hurting my chances of being hired, not helping.
What hurts you is a couple things.
One is your soon to be Master's. You're more expensive than other prospective teachers with only the BS. The second is that most teaching disciplines have a surplus. Third is that where there are openings the schools are usually "challenged" and most teachers stay away from them.
An example or two:
Where I live is considered one of the top 3 systems in Maryland. They will have less than 100 openings a year but will have close to 1000 applications.
Where I teach is 2nd (from the bottom "WE'RE NUMBER TWO") in the state. We'll have several 100 to over 1000 openings a year. We will also start the year with over 1/2 of them filled by permanent subs (the only requirements for them are HS graduate, over 21 and no recent felonies) or people with Provisional/Emergency Certificates. We can't even get Filipino teachers any longer because the system violated several immigration laws getting some several years ago.
I have to ask who is telling you Ed graduates to get a Master's before you get a teaching job?
Something I have noticed in your threads is that you feel unprepared, are uncertain about teaching, lack confidence in the classroom/with kids, and don't like frequent interactions with coworkers. It seems that teachers are picking up on these feelings. Coming across as disengaged or like you don't really want to be there is definitely going to hurt your chances of being hired or recommended for a position. It sounds like you're introverted, in which case it can be difficult to express enthusiasm, especially when you are not feeling confident. You are going to need to learn to come across as enthusiastic and eager and "fake it 'til you make it" while proactively asking questions. A teacher mentor is not going to know what you do and don't know; she is going to wait for you to ask questions and let her know what you need help with. You are responsible for getting what you need out of the mentorship relationship.
I guess that seems like common sense to other people, but I'm really still trying to figure some of this out. I guess I'm just not used to interacting with a lot with people I'm not already familiar with.
I'm a straight A student in the master's program for Education, and I've only been able to find work as a substitute teacher! I've gone to several interviews and failed the interview questions miserably, because the questions were actually geared toward people who actually have classroom teaching experience. I feel lost in the classroom, but I tell myself it is because I haven't worked there. Everything I've been trained and taught to do I do well. Substitute teaching, though, the only paying job that has been offered to me, is killing my enthusiasm for the whole profession. I'm so tired of failing. Why can't I do anything right?
Although I've been able to go to school and make good grades, I haven't been able to hold down a job, any job. I was fired from my position as a food service worker before I started college; I was unable to find anything in work-study, even though plenty of people were hiring, and now, even with almost a master's degree, I struggle to find a job that will actually pay anything. What on earth am I doing wrong? Why is it so hard for me to find work? To put this into perspective, I know someone who has no college education and an okay personality but suffers from bi-polar disorder, and she has an easier time finding paying work than I do. What is wrong? I didn't do all of this work to sit around unemployed my entire life. I have dreams and aspirations, too. Why can't I find a path toward fulfilling them?
Have you taken any of the advice given to you on your previous threads? Can you tell us what steps, actual concrete action steps, you have taken to find out what you've been doing wrong and to improve your skills since your last thread?
Have you taken any of the advice given to you on your previous threads? Can you tell us what steps, actual concrete action steps, you have taken to find out what you've been doing wrong and to improve your skills since your last thread?
I've been going to counseling, and I've sort of changed my projected career path. I don't want to be a classroom teacher anymore, maybe a tutor or a supplementary instructor, but not really a classroom teacher. Substitute teaching, which is what I do mostly to pay the bills, has given me the idea that being a classroom teacher is not a desirable profession. I'm sick of dealing with little brats who think they know more than a well-meaning educated adult, and I'm tired of feeling guilty for not being "their kind of teacher." What kind of improvement could I make to make them happy? I don't even think I should ask myself that question anymore. They won't be happy with me; they've made up their minds that I'm not to be taken seriously and am to be ignored and walked over. To add insult to injury, the schools will not give me access to technology or any of the resources I think I need to successfully teach. They've made it clear that I'm just there to babysit. I don't care anymore. I'm grown and do not deserve to subject myself to that kind of treatment.
It's high time I try something else, and I'm taking steps to make a transition. Right now, substitute teaching is just a source of income. I plan to leave as soon as I find something better. If I really want to make a difference in the education field, maybe I should just stick to volunteer work. I need to find something else to pay the bills, but what should it be? My confidence is so shattered by me trying to do things I may not be suited for that I wonder if I can really do anything.
I've been going to counseling, and I've sort of changed my projected career path. I don't want to be a classroom teacher anymore, maybe a tutor or a supplementary instructor, but not really a classroom teacher. Substitute teaching, which is what I do mostly to pay the bills, has given me the idea that being a classroom teacher is not a desirable profession. I'm sick of dealing with little brats who think they know more than a well-meaning educated adult, and I'm tired of feeling guilty for not being "their kind of teacher." What kind of improvement could I make to make them happy? I don't even think I should ask myself that question anymore. They won't be happy with me; they've made up their minds that I'm not to be taken seriously and am to be ignored and walked over. To add insult to injury, the schools will not give me access to technology or any of the resources I think I need to successfully teach. They've made it clear that I'm just there to babysit. I don't care anymore. I'm grown and do not deserve to subject myself to that kind of treatment. It's high time I try something else, and I'm taking steps to make a transition. Right now, substitute teaching is just a source of income. I plan to leave as soon as I find something better. If I really want to make a difference in the Education field, maybe I should just stick to volunteer work. I need to find something else to pay the bills, but what should it be?
You said yourself though that it only seems to be you that has problems with them, and that when other subs are there they do fine. Doesn't that say anything to indicate to you that there may be some wrong impression or need some help learning better communication and or social skills? Not to beat you up, but to just blame it on the kids and not look at what you can actually change, the same lack of people skills is going to haunt you regardless of profession, unless you're in a cubical all day with no human interaction.
What kind of guidance is your counselor giving you in regard to your social skills and what improvements you can make?
I don't care anymore. I'm grown and do not deserve to subject myself to that kind of treatment.
No matter what career path you choose, you have to pay your dues. We all do.
Every adult, even those with a Masters degree and 10+ years of experience, has to put up with BS at their job. (Well, unless they are self-employed, but that is really just "paying your dues" in a different way.) This is ESPECIALLY true when you are just starting out, no matter how smart you are, how educated you are, etc. In some fields, like nursing, that means that you have to work in long-term care and/or overnights for a year or two before applying for a better position, environment, or schedule. For accountants - those who are fortunate enough to be recruited by a public firm - that means working 60+ hours a week for mediocre pay for 2-4 years before being able to get a better schedule and more pay in industry. Doctors pay their dues in med school and residency. The list goes on and on. You will have to pay your dues no matter what job you aspire to.
You said yourself though that it only seems to be you that has problems with them, and that when other subs are there they do fine. Doesn't that say anything to indicate to you that there may be some wrong impression or need some help learning better communication and or social skills? Not to beat you up, but to just blame it on the kids and not look at what you can actually change, the same lack of people skills is going to haunt you regardless of profession, unless you're in a cubical all day with no human interaction.
What kind of guidance is your counselor giving you in regard to your social skills and what improvements you can make?
Yes, I said that it feels like I'm the only one with these problems, but many of the other subs are much older than me. Most of the successful ones are retired teachers and have a lot more actual classroom experience than I do. I've been told by many that the missing piece of the puzzle for me is the relationship; the kids don't know me, so they don't respect me. Apparently, every day I come in is like they are seeing me for the first time. It's possible that I only see one particular group of students only one or two times per year, but it certainly doesn't feel like that; the classrooms all feel the same, full of naughty kids who don't seem to care about anyone and engage in outlandish behavior because it seems like they almost have some kind of personal vendetta against me. I'm so tired of it that I don't want to see any one group more frequently. If they hurt me that much as a stranger, imagine what they would probably do if they got to know me.
I didn't touch on this much with my counselor, but we both agree that substitute teaching isn't something I was planning to make into a career, and it's just something I do temporarily until I can find something better. I'm beginning to believe that maybe I'm more a thinking /logical personality type than an emotive / feeling type. It's just hard for me to relate to people. I still need to put myself out there, but maybe I'm asking for abuse if I'm working in a situation where I have to show empathy for the kids, not that I don't have it, but showing it is a different issue.
From my perspective, though, I just lack the skills a good educator needs to possess. Retired teachers thrive as subs, because they know the procedures the kids need to follow. If I could figure out which procedures the kids need to follow and how to get them to follow those procedures with little protest, I could do just as well. I've noticed that most of the older subs know the kids and their parents, so they have more leverage. They can call parents, because they know them personally. I, on the other hand, am a stranger and am only allowed to do what the school's rules say that I can do. I have no relationship with the kids outside of the school, so I cannot call their parents or threaten to tell Aunt Bessie when I see them at church, for instance.
As a former teacher, I can tell you that subbing is VERY difficult and not really anything like being a regular classroom teacher. I'm not surprised that you don't like it.
It is a job that depends much more on personality than skills and experience because it is like the first day of school EVERY day. You have to be very adaptable to new situations and various personalities.
Not only do you NOT command the respect that a regular classroom teacher does, but you have to carefully walk the line between circus ringmaster and prison warden. So I wouldn't want you to base your view of the teaching profession on subbing.
Having said that, though, I have read some of your other threads, and based on the feedback you've written about and the feelings you've expressed, I don't think teaching is for you. Working as a tutor will depend SOLELY on your ability to drum up business, and that requires a network of connections.
I encourage you to look for an office job in a school or university.
Having said that, though, I have read some of your other threads, and based on the feedback you've written about and the feelings you've expressed, I don't think teaching is for you. Working as a tutor will depend SOLELY on your ability to drum up business, and that requires a network of connections.
I encourage you to look for an office job in a school or university.
I almost feel like I'm being punished just for trying this. What kind of sane profession gives its trainees virtually no real training and expects them to be able to thrive or even perform adequately? There is a lot the teacher training program left out, including the idea that you need a certain kind of personality to even succeed in the profession. I know why I like teaching. I like interacting with kids and explaining things, but I don't know how to effectively lead discussions, assign projects, match student names with faces, grade writing assignments, etc., things I expected to learn in school.
I almost feel like I'm being punished just for trying this. What kind of sane profession gives its trainees virtually no real training and expects them to be able to thrive or even perform adequately? There is a lot the teacher training program left out, including the idea that you need a certain kind of personality to even succeed in the profession. I know why I like teaching. I like interacting with kids and explaining things, but I don't know how to effectively lead discussions, assign projects, match student names with faces, grade writing assignments, etc., things I expected to learn in school.
Maybe you should look for a teaching position in a rural area? I find that rural areas are a little more laid back and kids might not be quite as bad, although I guess it depends on where. Here in the South, for instance, respect is a very important part of our culture, especially in the country areas. Also you could try for private schools. They pay less but it might be a way to get a foot in the door.
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