Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Just another reason to hate subbing

I was subbing a good class today. It was a bilingual classroom but almost every student was really fluent in English. The one real behavioral problem also did not like speaking English but he thought he was the class clown in Spanish.
Part of the lesson plan said that I was to take the class to the computer lab. The teacher said that she had emailed the woman who runs the lab and told her I would be coming with the students. The teacher further warned that subs weren't usually allowed in the computer lab. OKAY!! So I get there and a snotty woman told me that there was no email and further more SHE wasn't letting a sub in her computer lab. I had to bite my tongue in front of the kids. We walked back to their classroom and one of the girls said to me,"Ms. Dean, why is she so mean to you? Aren't you a teacher? Why doesn't she like subs?" I had no answers for her.
Now I know that the computer lab position is just a aide position. You do not have to have a degree in our district to run the labs. No other labs in the elementary schools in our district have the rule that subs aren't allowed.
So I wanted to say to her, "Hmmmm, so I am not allowed in the lab, tell me where did you get your BA degree. You see I have a BS from the University of Southern California's Business School. I was working on computers when you still had to have punch cards. Oh and what is your Master's Degree in? Mine is in Elementary Education and I did all my classes on the Internet. So please tell me what you are afraid I would do to your precious computers?"
I was so angry. I wanted to call my boss and really yell about it but since I am leaving, it doesn't matter does it? My screaming at my boss won't change anything. I also thought of yelling at the principal but that wouldn't help either.
You know I feel so sorry for subs. As a group, we are treated like shit from both the students and the staff. Funny, they complain when there aren't enough subs to fill all the openings. You would think that they would be nice to us.
When they have Christmas stuff we are left out.
When they have special things for National Teacher's Day, we don't count.
When we show up for work, we are not greeted by name, instead we are asked, "Who are you today?" I have been known to answer, "I am Nina just like I am every day."
These teachers crack me up. They refer to us as guest teachers and then treat us like we are pieces of crap. Hmmm, I would hate to be a guest in their home.
Do I sound bitter? I am.

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