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Not all sub teachers
deserve more pay

There has been talk about substitute teacher pay, but local media have not yet turned to the most obvious source for an opinion that matters. They should ask the people who have the first-hand experience with substitute teachers -- the students.

According to news reports, many substitute teachers say they feel like they're taken for granted and treated like second-class citizens. Students would say that this is justifiable for some substitutes, and that they are stereotyped as such because many of them are not meeting the expectations of students and teachers.

Substitutes get paid a lot, but they are complaining about expenses for obligatory training sessions and a 7 percent pay cut. Although the cut will take $8.39 out of a sub's daily pay, the pay is still pretty high, at $111.41 per day.

For the amount of money they get, substitute teachers should have the skills to execute the job at a satisfactory and deserving level. Many of them have been able to do their jobs well, handling the classes that can get rowdy. It's true that students can be uncooperative, or a teacher's absence was unexpected, but the substitute teacher should learn how to cope with those conditions.

The substandard performance of some substitute teachers lately has disconcerted students and teachers alike. Substitutes are sometimes late, clueless, argumentative, ignorant and unprofessional. In many situations, students are confused and classes sink into a stagnant, unproductive state, with teachers returning the next day having to right the madness. The substitutes don't deserve all the blame, but a lot of it hangs on how they do their jobs.

Students feel like nothing really gets done on the days when their teacher is gone and normal instruction is interrupted. Progress is slowed down and would grind to a halt if no responsible students are willing to speak up to tell the sub what should be happening.

One common problem that teachers have noticed is that the substitute did not fully follow the directions that they gave to them. The directions that teachers leave for subs to carry out are fairly simple, and if the substitute was not clear on what to do, he or she could ask the class what they should be doing. There's nothing better to do to eliminate confusion than by communicating effectively.

Those substitutes who are not up to par should step up their game because their poor performances are tainting the good name of substitutes who are fulfilling their duties.

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