Netizens went down a trip down memory lane when Redditor Dragon_King-88 asked teachers to open up about the worst things that subs did with students in their absence. The tumultuous response was not just from fellow teachers but students, too. While some instances are downright hilarious, others will leave you scratching your head and questioning the sanity of these individuals. Just scroll down and check them out for yourself!
More info: Reddit
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I had a Grade 1/2 class last year and one student had diabetes. Let’s call him Adam. So Adam had a cell phone that beeps when his blood sugar is too low/high. It’s connected to the monitor in his arm/hip. The cell phone has no other uses, no apps, no data, not connected to the school wifi. The substitute saw his phone on his desk and promptly took it away as per the “no devices” rule. During gym class an EA comes in to make sure everything is ok, and Adam is visibly ill. Pale/sweating the whole works. Luckily this EA knows Adams medical plan, instantly asks the Adam for the phone and he explains that the substitute took it away in the morning. The EA then LOSES IT on the substitute demanding the phone. The substitute calls in the principal to reprimand the EA, then get reprimanded herself as obviously she did not read the students safety plans. She was asked to leave and the principal taught the class the rest of the day. Adam was fine, drank a couple juice boxes and had a granola bar. Mom picked him up shortly after.
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Teachers hold great power in influencing students, and even a substitute teacher can have an impact on them. “A 'bad' teacher can cause hell to break loose upon a student, and a bad substitute teacher can cause even worse! The instability, confusion, and frustration resulting from a poor experience with a sub can impact a student's mental equilibrium,” said Maryam Shaikh–a teacher and education researcher for the past 6 years–in an interview for Bored Panda.
She even stressed, “Adolescent learners feel a threat to their personhood, with the presence of a new figure and feel the need to reassert themselves, while dealing with a million other physical, emotional, and intellectual changes. These factors may sometimes translate to students complaining about going to school.” Now we know why kids don’t want to go to school when a sub is teaching.
“I am sure these can be nullified by a good peer circle, though. We often overlook the fact that a classroom consists of several dynamic social groups, and students can band together in case of a bad sub!” mentioned Maryam. So, parents, if your kid has good peers, don't be too stressed by a weird substitute teacher.
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TLDR: Sub demanded I turn over my heart monitor in front of the class.
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"Due to the temporary nature of a substitute teacher, students fail to create an emotional bond, which stops them from sharing their feelings or thoughts with the teacher, thinking that they won’t be understood. This way, the class becomes a little unorganized, chaotic, and also lacks discipline, when all they wanted was a listening ear and an understanding mindset," shared Madhura Ghan, another teacher that we interviewed.
Substitute teachers often complain of being mistreated by kids, but when the kids themselves are caught in conflict, it becomes difficult for them to be on their best behavior. According to Madhura, "Subs have an impact on the learning ability of the students in a huge way. In a regular course, if the students are supposed to showcase a learning inclination they instead show stagnancy in their learning."
Students attend school for the primary purpose of learning; if that itself is taken away from them, then brings into question the institution's substitute management.
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As per Madhura, "The substitute teacher is there to just teach a lesson and go, which also kind of hinders in a conducive learning environment." While Maryam is of the opinion, "A sub can break the 'flow' of learning that students may have got accustomed to. But I do think a change of routine, in moderation, is always beneficial and refreshing. It invites new possibilities!"
Although substitute teachers are necessary, schools need to thoroughly check their qualifications and teaching methods in the same rigorous way that they do when hiring a permanent teacher. Otherwise, it's the students who have to suffer from bad subs.
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"Learning is not something that is passively done by students reading a textbook, in isolation. Much of learning stems from our social interaction with teachers and mentors, or the Zone of Proximal Development that Vygotsky talks about. When this social aspect of learning is missing, students may struggle to articulate their problems, understand concepts, evaluate phenomena, and fail to apply new learnings to their lives," claims Maryam.
To overcome this issue, she suggests, "A substitution mechanism, with a permanent primary teacher and permanent substitute or assistant teacher, for the grade and the subject should be implemented." This does sound quite fair and it would definitely put the school in a good light for making efforts to look after the students' well-being, rather than let a bad sub ruin things for them.
Do you have any other suggestions for this particular issue? You must've had a bad sub at least once, so, go on, and share your experience with us in the comments. We are sure it will definitely be relatable to someone out there!
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I went to talk to my AP and was informed that the sub had called in sick for her job for that day, due to food poisoning.
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One girl decided to get smart with her one day and she walks over and slaps the girl, hard across the face, which of course sends the girl into a hysterical sobbing fit. and says "that's what your w***e of a mother should be doing more often"
being tiny, adorable 4th graders, we were all too afraid to tell anyone. We had to deal with that for 3 weeks until the main teacher came back.
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2. When I was in 6th grade I fractured my wrist but it was my dominant hand so I had to poorly write with my right. Teacher forced me to write with my left while I had a cast. I couldn't even grasp the pencil. Cried a lot. Then a couple months go by and got my cast off, sub told me to suck it up and write with my left hours after getting my cast off. I felt like jelly and intense pain. Teacher was fired at the end of 7th grade because of "unnecessary complaints"
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