T’was The Night Before Subbing
For the past few months I’ve been trying to get my Local Substitute teaching license for Lincoln Public Schools in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. I attended New York University Shanghai and double majored in Interactive Media Arts and Social Science with a focus in Urban Studies. The past four years I’ve spent in Shanghai with brief interludes in Berlin and New York. I grew up in Nebraska and attended Lincoln Public Schools. My main interests are in philosophy of technology and the way technology such as AI, Blockchain, and VR are being introduced publicly. Additionally, my broad career goal is to connect seemingly disparate disciplines and different kinds of information, specifically in regards to technology and society.
Once I returned home after a semester of moving around trying to avoid COVID-19, I got a few different random temp jobs, but this fall learned about an opportunity to sub. Two of my very best friends and a few of my family members are teachers. In Nebraska, school went mostly back in person starting in August and has remained in-person ever since. Teachers are essential workers and many people did not realize the hardships they were facing, even those working in administration within the Lincoln district. This fall, my friend shared a few different ways everyone could help teachers and one of them was to become a sub. My friends and family were having to cover multiple classrooms because of the amount of subs having to stay home because of the coronavirus. When I learned that all you need is a bachelor’s degree, I immediately began the process of applying.
Unfortunately, it took multiple months to get approved, but I am finally about to start. The first, second, and third days I was signed up to teach have all been snow days, however I’m hoping I will finally teach my first class the day after tomorrow. Middle school art! Eek! I’m so excited. I was supposed to teach Family and Consumer Science at my former high school on Monday. FCS is a class where typically students learn to cook and/or sew. I was shocked to learn that it still existed as an appropriate course in 2021, but nevertheless was thrilled to be teaching anything. Then today and tomorrow I was supposed to teach 8th grade Math which was mainly Pre-Algebra. I was pretty pumped, but Art is the subject I’m most excited about teaching besides Social Science. I hope to teach as many subjects as possible at every level.
There are a few reasons I decided to substitute teach. Primarily, I knew that schools were desperate for subs because there are both more teachers having to stay home and fewer subs due to the risk of exposing yourself to hundreds of children per day. Being young, healthy, and able, it seemed natural for me to apply for the job. In addition, I wanted to support my friends and family in the field during this time. I also wanted to show my support for them by simply trying out the job they do. I find it to be really strange that, for the most part, we go our whole lives having not been to the workplace of our loved ones. We spend most of our lives at work, so why wouldn’t we see what the day-to-day is like for those closest to us? I hope to use this time to put myself in the shoes of some of my closest friends. Not only because I’m curious, but this is also where my friends thrive and change kids’ lives. This is their passion, and to understand their work, I’m hoping will help me understand them as people as well.
My expectations based on the stories I’ve heard from friends and family over the years is that this will be hard as hell. Teaching is truly one of the most admirable careers one can have, and I believe it to be extremely difficult. In high school I worked at a Montessori Preschool and Kindergarten as well as babysat and in college I tutored English and taught small group English classes. Though I have plenty of experience working with children, I think working with individuals, small groups, and at a school that lets kids choose their individual work, I know that teaching in a public school will be completely different. I think the only thing my experience will help with is understanding that a different method of communication is required with children. However, getting a whole class to listen to a young substitute teacher sounds like an impossible task. But I am beyond excited to try it out and do the best that I can. I hope to share some insight on what it is like to be a fish out of water in the world of education.