Well, the kids return to school tomorrow after a hurricane-induced hiatus.  Since September 11 we have been homebound, preparing for, riding out, cleaning up after, and adjusting to life in the wake of Ike.  I ,for one, am ready to go back!  However, that may not be true for all of the teachers in our district, especially one group in particular...  Are you curious?  Really, you've got to hear this! 

Although many of our schools are not "fully operational," all but one will be open to students tomorrow.  And the teachers at the one school that remains closed?  Brace yourselves, folks:  they are going to be the substitutes for the district tomorrow.  That's right, substitutes.  The automated system that usually phones our designated subs in the wee hours of the morning will remain silent; instead, those teachers who teach at the closed school will be shuttled off to different district locales.  Now if Miss Betty is reading this post, she probably thinks this is a great idea, but I can hear others of your groaning... 

I don't know how many of you have ever subbed, but I served a brief stint between student-teaching and being hired as a full-time employee.  As my student-teaching experience was with juniors and seniors, nothing prepared me for my first day's work as a substitute in kindergarten class.  Boy was I surprised when one little guy cut the sleeve off of his t-shirt with (supposed) safety scissors!  We were making Mother's Day cards, and I guess he got a little carried away... Anyway, lacking a better plan, I put his little sleeve in a zip-lock baggy and slipped it in his backpack at the day's end. 

I figured my career as a substitute was over, but guess what?  They asked me back the next day!  And so did other schools - elementary, middle, and high schools alike requested my services.  Well, actually they requested a warm body, and I was glad to comply.  The job offered invaluable experience and even oriented me in the direction of the alternative school where I would eventually teach for the first eight years of my career. 

No matter where we teach, we get used to our working conditions:  the kids, the principal, the building...  We understand how things operate.  So can you imagine how those teachers who are being pressed into service must feel? They normally work at a very upscale elementary school, and I can only presume that they will be sent all over our district.  Even to the "less desirable" locations. 

Can you imagine what that faculty meeting must have been like??  Yipes! 

Yeah, yeah:  I know it is "fair" that everyone should work, and I know that our district has lost somewhere in the neighborhood of 36 million dollars over the last three years due to the plan, and I know that teachers are free (I mean under contract) and that subs cost additional money, but really I feel so bad for them...

I'm curious to hear your responses.  Have any of you ever subbed?  What do you think of this idea? 

As always, I anxiously await your responses...

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