Lora Schwacke has been a substitute teacher in New Jersey school
districts since 2004. She has been in many classrooms, taught many
subjects, and dealt with many different students with many different
learning styles and needs. She currently works with ESL and special
needs students as a long-term substitute at Waldwick High School in
Waldwick, New Jersey. Here are a few ways to be an effective substitute
teacher every time you take over a strange classroom:
- Get help any way you can. As a substitute teacher, you’ll need help to run the classroom. You have to find the necessary resources you need as soon as you can. In an ideal situation, the regular teacher has prepared the students to help you teach them, and has prepared a detailed lesson plan with notes about all the individual students. That isn’t always the case, and some school administrations are more supportive of substitute teachers than others. Sometimes you’ll need the help of the security guard, the secretary, or even a few of the students themselves to get through a class or a day.
- Make the students aware that you’ll report their behavior to their normal teacher. This will hold all of the students accountable for their behavior and provide an incentive to follow your instructions.
- Study school policies. Most school policies are straightforward, but there can be some differences in expectations for students between schools.
