The other substitute

I met another substitute the other day. My current assignment has me helping students in various classes and yesterday one of the teachers whose class I'm in was out. (Actually, yesterday was my last day there, but that's beside the point.) Oddly enough, I'd never had a full conversation with a substitute I didn't know personally before. It really made me realize how many different situations substitutes are in.

For me, substituting is a way to be in a classroom and teach while I'm looking for a more permanent teaching job. I have a teaching certificate and have even had my own classroom for a year. Subbing is pretty easy for me and can even get boring from time to time. It's not really what I want to be doing but it's better than nothing.

This other substitute is not a teacher - she is just working as a substitute. Her family has a business that she works at part time as well. So substituting is the thing that she does to fill in her time off. Her husband was a teacher and he got her into this grand teaching-like thing.

I realize that I'm starting to say this about a lot of things, but one of the things that I really dislike about subbing is not knowing where I'll be going or what I'll be doing when I wake up in the morning. My husband and anyone who knows me well can tell you that I'm what is commonly referred to as a "planner." I had all the details of my wedding pulled together way before the actual day. I decided what classes I was going to take my senior year in high school before my freshman year was over. I have to restrain myself from creating a detailed itinerary for every vacation I take. All that considered, I was baffled when this other substitute told me that she loves, loves, not knowing what she'll be doing until the morning of. It's been a couple days and I still can't wrap my head around this.

With this, albeit rather obvious, realization that people sub for reasons that differ from my own, I have started to pay more attention to the other substitutes I encounter. In the past, I always viewed them as competition. Oh no! Another aspiring English teacher! Must perform superiorly! (Stupid spell check. That is totally a word - trust me, I'm an English teacher!) But I now realize that all that might have been in vain. Some people are content with just substituting.

I also started to think about how maybe in a bazillion years, I might want to substitute like that myself. I'll teach for about 30 years and retire, and then I could start working as a substitute. It is kind of cool that if you don't feel like working for any reason, you can just not take an assignment. If the pay were better and there was actually some respect from the students and staff, it would almost be the perfect job. All I have to do now is find a job to have for the 30 years prior to retiring.