Side Hustles

September 14, 2023 08:54PM

@Mum wrote:

@Shop-et-al..You can do 3 hours, I guess. I do half days that are 3.5 hours. I always get 1 hour free somewhere in between as students go for gym, PE, music, or recess depending on the time of the day. Today, I worked a half day from 9 to 12:30. I was done at 11:30 since they went our for special classes. I even came home early since their teacher came back and said that I could leave. The office has no problem with me leaving early if the teacher is back.

@Madetoshop..I agree, students are a bit rowdy when they know a sub is there. I generally try to be nice but when things go, let's say beyond my comfort level, I have to be assertive and that usually works.

@Mum...confession time..I was an honor student in HS. But we had a sub in science class and the class was definitely a little rowdy. The VP spoke to us and we ALL had to stay in the library "for detention?" later in the day. Sorry! I swear I didn't do anything. Guilt by association your honor.

Oh, and there's that one time I skipped Health class. I had a license now and went to McDonald's. But I brought back a cheese danish for the teacher and all was good with her.

Okay, I'm done...

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/14/2023 09:01PM by maverick1.

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September 15, 2023 02:32AM

My class was so bad. I was in a class with the same kids with exception of PE for so many years as we were considered advanced. Ha! So BAD. Spitballs, out of control. Poor subs did not have a chance. My friend's Mom subbed once and she had to callon the phone for help. Well behaved in elementary and mature in upper school. Those were crazy years in so many other ways.
DH is a teacher and prefers upper school and then middle. He has had many options to teach lower grades and prefers not to. Lucky that he has his choice.

My lovely Aunt taught K for 35 years. She had to teach 2nd grade for 3 years and detested it. She had her reasons.

@prince wrote:

@Madetoshop

I don't remember ever misbehaving in middle school. My friends have different memories ¯?\?_?(???)?_?/?¯

I rarely sub for middle school/highschool as I taught elementary. I'm not on the list for those schools. But most schools in this rural area are K to 12. So, those teachers do call me sometimes.

I like half days @Shop-et-al, but they aren't that common.

September 15, 2023 04:15AM

I was a substitute teacher for Grades 6, 7, and 8 during breaks from college. That was in the early 70s, so discipline was less of an issue. It was NEVER an issue for me because a rumor got started that I had been a Marine Drill instructor. I never said yes, but I never said no. The rumor persisted, and I never had a problem with any of the classes. It was the school system where I had been a student and the teachers were generally the same and remembered me. Since I was getting a degree in Chemistry and had a double major in History, had studied Spanish through Spanish 5 in high school, and had 12 college credits in German, I could actually meaningfully teach any subject other than French. Due to liability issues, I could only babysit Shop, Home Ec, and gym classes. And I got paid $22 per day the first year, rising to $25 the third year. Not bad daily pay at that time.

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008

September 15, 2023 06:49PM

@maverick1..On behalf of the secret sub society that we have...(wink, wink)..I now declare you not guilty!
Today, I actually did see a teacher cry because she had a hard day. And then, I remembered yesterday's post from @Madetoshop. I felt bad for her. She had a bilingual class where students took advantage of her not knowing the language. Oh my, I had one class like that yesterday and I used a Google Translator when I had to. Luckily, had no problems.
All in all, at the end of the day..I can walk off and say, I did my best and hand them to their regular teacher.

September 16, 2023 01:36AM

@Mum wrote:

@maverick1..On behalf of the secret sub society that we have...(wink, wink)..I now declare you not guilty!
Today, I actually did see a teacher cry because she had a hard day. And then, I remembered yesterday's post from @Madetoshop. I felt bad for her. She had a bilingual class where students took advantage of her not knowing the language. Oh my, I had one class like that yesterday and I used a Google Translator when I had to. Luckily, had no problems.
All in all, at the end of the day..I can walk off and say, I did my best and hand them to their regular teacher.

YEAH! Years, well decades later...and I'm found not guilty. Woo-hoo! Actually, I'm sure the statute of limitations has run out. (Not that I had any favoritism from a prosecutor or father or sweetheart deal brokered...okay mixing in some current events here.)

Yes, I would not want to be a teacher in the crazy, mentally ill crisis society we have at the moment. Just going to the bathroom and choosing a door has somehow become a problem in a binary world. Or allowing parents to maintain parental rights becomes a debate. Or the bias in the media / publications as my students seek factual information during research. No thanks to that job!

Having said that, I appreciate those teachers who can keep their sanity and maintain a stable learning environment where students WANT to learn. I know I still enjoy every day I learn something new.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2023 01:38AM by maverick1.

September 16, 2023 04:54PM

One kid in particular along with its [I never knew its preferences] backers drove me out of teaching before I really began to teach. The craziness of that was beyond the pale. I subbed for awhile, just to be certain that I had made a correct choice. I had. Now, I take pleasure in what I personally gained from the various degrees and what I can do with it. But I was fortunate due to extracurricular activities and little jobs. Away from schools, I learned how US education was changing for the worse and hurtling toward disaster and how to be in charge of something, even if it was not a classroom. I missed nothing, as it turns out. It was just an odd working life. Now, back and legs demand consideration as never before. I could be a para, maybe, for a few hours once in a great while. Gigs are the preferred method of work, but I would also consider another directing job. Maybe.

Lovelovelove the responses here. You all are so interesting!

My garden in England is full of eating-out places, for heat waves, warm September evenings, or lunch on a chilly Christmas morning. (Mary Quant)

September 16, 2023 05:28PM

Never subbed, but ran an after school program of one hour of play and switched to one hour of study. Two groups.

This was 20 years ago so things might have changed. Most of the kids lived in a trailer park.

What I found was no adult had actually cared/helped them with their studies, perhaps their parents weren't educated enough to help.

And just the fact that an adult was paying attention to them made a big difference. Acting out caused attention negative or otherwise with the parents. Once they realized we were there for them the acting out stopped.

My niece teaches special ed or whatever the politically correct term is today. She said her main thing is to get the kids to focus on the work.

September 16, 2023 05:32PM

Shop-et-all,

Apparently you're "woke" as you refer to a child as "its".

Sorry but to me it's he or she and no wonder we have a generation without a clue.

September 16, 2023 08:44PM

All the way back when, in the way back machine, it was not a big deal to be male or female (and keep a lid on anything else-- if only to make things flow smoothly and permit useful teachings to occur). Our enlightened system does not permit us to declare that we are people, persons, or humans who are free of a need to declare or even blare a preference. Noooooooo. We must express out individuality as along as it fits within three proscribed cookie cutter molds. So, I am not "woke." I just have to poke fun of the absolute wrongness of the mandated correctness in the world today.

This intrusion has adversely affected my work life. When I got sick last year, I realized that I would not return to one job. I will no longer participate in gathering information for research projects in which it is mandatory to ask about sex, gender, and related matters. Even though answering the questions is optional, I choose not to be involved with that.

@wrosie wrote:

Shop-et-all,

Apparently you're "woke" as you refer to a child as "its".

Sorry but to me it's he or she and no wonder we have a generation without a clue.

My garden in England is full of eating-out places, for heat waves, warm September evenings, or lunch on a chilly Christmas morning. (Mary Quant)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2023 08:47PM by Shop-et-al.

September 16, 2023 08:56PM

I am tempted to SUB but I worry about Covid, being high risk, and haven't had it.

September 16, 2023 09:50PM

So can we agree on "they"?

September 16, 2023 10:19PM

I'll rein it in a bit...I hope

I fondly remember the days when I would take my bicycle to elementary school (there was no bussing as school was in my development). I'd have my books in an elastic strap under my arm. Sometimes on the way home I'd stop at the creek and play in the water with a stick. Just me and nature. No parents driving car pool unless it was raining and then a neighbor would drive as they had a station wagon.

Today it's rare to see kids alone on bikes going to school.

If you were to go to Germany today you would not find school buses. Kids walk or ride bikes like I did here in America decades ago. In the city they take public transit. German kids have freedom today like I did.

Why are we overprotecting kids? Do we not trust them? No wonder kids grow up to live in parent's basements and have difficulty forming relationships when younger. Do you believe we can change this in society?

September 17, 2023 01:18AM

I taught and had a retirement date of 2021. I began to want out due to changes and changes that have arrived and I could see coming. The 2007-09 financial crisis helped me retired earlier. I made deals with the school system at the time to give me more retirement money and service credits. I got to keep the retirement allocation system while others in my state were switched to annuities. I subbed for a number of years and taught 5 years at a US accredited school in Costa Rica.

I opened a resale business both in the US and Costa Rica. Ran it from 2006-2012 down there, and up to 2021 here. My inventory stored at the Walmart Fulfillment Center went up in smoke when the distribution center burned down. It was a fire sale, but I lost my main supplier of merchandise. Now I'm retired and doing merchandising and mystery shopping. Thinking of doing Uber Eats and Door Dash.

Do not read so much, look about you and think of what you see there.
Richard Feynman-- letter to Ashok Arora, 4 January 1967, published in Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track (2005) p. 230

September 18, 2023 06:52PM

kids are bad all over and they were bad when my grandparents were teachers. its a part of the definition of "children" to be "immature". they are especially bad to substitute teachers because there is no rapport or familiarity. they lack the ability to quickly call home. its not for the faint of heart. in my area there is a reason the pay was more than doubled. however there is no other job that will pay me $214 a day for 175 days out of the year with just a bachelors in ministry so i will take it.

shopping north west PA and south west ny

September 20, 2023 02:11PM

I taught in several communities over the course of my teaching career. I taught in an affluent community where the little ones were bussed from 1-2 blocks away from the school. This was in the community where the unibomber killed a gentleman, so it's not that they don't trust the kids. They don't trust the society we live in, which is very sad. The kids were also coddled terribly by parents and school admin. It's too bad we can't just let the kids be kids anymore. Trial and error, bad tumbles, scraps and boo-boos, learn from mistakes etc. Now, parents seem to want everything to be planned and ultra safe.

I sub occasionally. Pay is pretty good for a day. I enjoy seeing my former co-workers and the kids are always a pleasure.

*****************************************************************************
The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

Mark Twain

September 20, 2023 03:19PM

Here, we have to have a Bachelor of Education to sub. The pay is quite good, and if I sub for the same Teacher for a week, I'm paid my salary. But I don't enjoy that any more.

@cooldude581 wrote:

kids are bad all over and they were bad when my grandparents were teachers. its a part of the definition of "children" to be "immature". they are especially bad to substitute teachers because there is no rapport or familiarity. they lack the ability to quickly call home. its not for the faint of heart. in my area there is a reason the pay was more than doubled. however there is no other job that will pay me $214 a day for 175 days out of the year with just a bachelors in ministry so i will take it.

When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.
Alexander Den Heijer

September 23, 2023 01:44AM

Just got my first paycheck a few days ago. Turns out my district is paying a full day's pay even for half days! So, that was quite a surprise. I asked payroll and I was told that no one takes half days and they are struggling to fill up those days and hence, the full day pay.
Tomorrow, we have been invited for dinner at a friend's house. TGIF after the day I had today with 6th grade. I had no idea how brutal kids can be. I had to complain when their teacher came back. Never, ever going back to any 6th grade!

September 23, 2023 03:21AM

@Mum, sorry you got a tough class. All grade 6 isn't like that.
But, I prefer to sub for the grades I taught. 1-4.

Pretty great they are paying for a full day, like that.
Here, if someone needs a half day off, they tend to book the full day and the rest of the day we give teacher's prep time.

I'd rather work the half day.

When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.
Alexander Den Heijer

September 23, 2023 04:23PM

Thinking back.... all kids and classrooms were not created equal. Some were just fabulous! Others, not so much. I would never want more than a half-day para gig, and only during fair weather. I so admire those who can consistently teach and sub!

My garden in England is full of eating-out places, for heat waves, warm September evenings, or lunch on a chilly Christmas morning. (Mary Quant)

September 23, 2023 04:35PM

@prince..Yes, I did teach another 6th grade and they were respectful. The other 6th grade in the same school, the behavior was appalling. They just laughed at me when I tried to get them to quiet down. I was so pissed with a boy who didn't listen that I had to ask him to go the principal's office and he said NO. Not only that, when I asked his name, he said he was Aladdin and asked if I had said my prayers today!! The whole class kept laughing and no one would tell me his name. Finally, I saw his name on the back of his Chromebook and complained to his teacher. He stared at me in disbelief as if he was hoping I would let this behavior slide by. I was teaching them how to figure out the volume of cubes and they just kept tossing things at each other. I was shocked by their lack of respect and discipline.

September 24, 2023 02:16AM

Sadly @Mum, I know what you're talking about.

When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.
Alexander Den Heijer

September 25, 2023 02:09PM

i have enough ptsd from my own experience of middle school. i dont need any more as an adult. my brother is in his 4th year as a building sub for what is often viewed as the worst one in our area. i dont have the patience or kindness he does

shopping north west PA and south west ny

September 26, 2023 04:32AM

A time in my life I would rather forget but I taught MS Word and Excel classes to adults at night for 2 years, 2 nights/week. The money was excellent but adult students were the worst. I don't enjoy saying this about my own gender but the ladies were horrible. The few gentleman were a pleasure. Now I will have nightmares tonight, lol.

September 26, 2023 04:36AM

All that subs need here is any BA or BS degree. You apply. The district calls you. Teachers do not call personally for subs.

September 26, 2023 04:52AM

@Madetoshop wrote:

A time in my life I would rather forget but I taught MS Word and Excel classes to adults at night for 2 years, 2 nights/week. The money was excellent but adult students were the worst. I don't enjoy saying this about my own gender but the ladies were horrible. The few gentleman were a pleasure. Now I will have nightmares tonight, lol.

That worries me. I'm just now looking into doing "computer" classes for adults over 50.

My observations, and I could be way off base with this, is adults over 65, the man ruled until he retired and then the wife took over.

My Mom told me about Uncle Stan, around 65 at the time, stopping at a stop sign and just sitting there. My Mom says "Stan go ahead!" and he replies "I can't, Jeannie (my mom's sister) hasn't told me which way to go!". True story.

September 26, 2023 08:38AM

@Madetoshop, I feel bad for teachers calling a list of subs when they are sick.
There's an automated system , but I think it's only for posting jobs when they know ahead.
Sometimes, the principal will do it. Right now there's a mass e-mail to all the subs from one principal.

When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.
Alexander Den Heijer

September 26, 2023 08:49PM

Vending machines and claw machines. I'll even tell you how to get started with no BS. Go to vending.com and get your first coke machine financed for $40/month. You can put it in a barbershop and pay it off in a couple of years. Get your supplies from Dollar General on Saturday when you can double up on the savings by using their $5 off $25 and their 3 12 packs for $14. As far as a claw machjne goes, go on over to candymachines.com . Finance you one for $100/month through Affirm. You can put it in either a barbershop or laundry.

September 26, 2023 10:20PM

@prince. We have an app where teachers post their absence, reason, time, grade, and school. We can either accept or reject the job. Here, no one calls us. We just show up after accepting a job. If I need to cancel due to an emergency, there is an option for that as well on the app. The system is very flexible and after the sub's job is done, they can leave feedback for the teacher on the app itself. Maybe, in Canada it's different.

If a teacher has an emergency at the last minute, they have either a permanent building sub or librarian to cover a class. If there is even a minute to spare, they post it on the app.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/2023 10:23PM by Mum.

September 27, 2023 02:38AM

@Mum,
It varies from one district to another. One school division I sub for, has no automated system at all.
They could post every job but they're not required to. Teachers prefer booking someone they know, and they have the choice.

When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.
Alexander Den Heijer

September 27, 2023 04:01AM

@wrosie, are you going to take a class or teach one?

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