We all want the permanent teacher to like us, so how can we make that happen when we have limited interaction with him/her? One way to do this is to leave an excellent substitute teacher report.
A substitute teacher report is a necessary communication tool between the substitute and permanent teachers. At the end of each teaching assignment, a substitute teacher should fill out a substitute teacher report for the permanent teacher.
This report should include:
The substitute teacher report is the only impression (besides what the students say about you and the condition of the classroom) that the permanent teacher will have of you as the substitute teacher. Make sure you leave a really positive and capable impression.
Lee,
A great of piece advice from you(and the teacher too) indeed. I read your post and I'll try to keep it in mind always to avoid any negative responses/interaction from the permanent teacher.Also, it shows that we, substitute teachers are willing and also capable of handling behavioral problems like permanent teachers.
I politely disagree. Wow. In my experience, the children who are in rooms where teachers follow up on discipline problems, have LESS discipline problems in the future for subs. If kids think they can get away with misbehavior or doing things intentionally disruptive - why would they ever stop ? I ignore as much "trivial" behavior as I can - but I let the kids know up front I will be leaving a note about the good AND the bad in the day. I guess it's my opinion, that what a teacher does with my note is up to him or her. But I have always felt it's my responsibility to leave it. I also think it is a sort of "protection" for me to document the day. If there are problems - they are in my note - so the teacher gets MY version before she hears anyone else's. And this can make a BIG difference if there is ever a child who decides he or she wants to cause trouble for you because you didn't let him or her have their way at some point during the day. Document - document - document !!!!
Well said. As a substitute teacher from grades K-11, I routinely deal with 4-5 different types/strategies of behavior plans. (Ever heard of the Make Your Day system?) At the high school level, few schools leave detention slips for misbehaving students in the Sub Folder anymore, and one of my former favorite schools discontinued cell phone slips. Subs are instructed to note positive and non-compliant behaviors and the returning teachers will deal with the students...this has worked so well that I've treatened to call security or a vice prin. several times, and twice have done so in order to maintain classroom order. I always praise on-task and polite behaviors, and of course, let some of the trivial stuff go, too, or pretend not to see an off-task student if he/she is being quiet. With younger students, I praise and use student examples and privately give some misbehaving kiddos the choice of working in a buddy classroom vs. my sub note recommendation of lunch/recess detention for the following day. I get a lot of call-backs for various schools and teachers...I think any regular teacher who tells the substitute to 'deal with it' hasn't had much/any subbing experience since many of the schools I've visited over the last 5 years expect their students to behave perfectly for the substitute since she/he is a guest in their class and the substitute isn't expected to have to deal with numerous or out of line behavior issues. That being said, a substitute is in the precarious position of outsider in a classroom/school, so must use her best judgement regarding the student(s) behavior and her understanding of behavior policies at a school. So,as Cynthia wrote, document and document - and always ask the teacher next door if you can send a student over, if needed, so he/she can "be more successful with someone he knows" : )
I once had a permanent teacher leave me a rather terse note: "Deal with discipline problems on your own. Do not leave me a note that someone misbehaved and expect me to take care of a problem you should have handled." I have tried to take that advice in all my classes ever since.