Substitute teachers — we get no respect, no respect at all!
Most of the time, subs are expected to put up with just about everything. Administrators can be a tricky, prickly bunch, leaders on campus who do not want to deal with discipline problems. I have met my share of principals who did support me, who expected their students to behave no matter who was teaching the class for the day. Sadly, that kind of leadership is rare, few and far between.
Students would pull just about anything to set off a substitute. If there were no lesson plans, the students usually could see through the busy work that a substitute would offer instead. Students will not do any work if they suspect that they will not be getting any credit for it. In some schools, students more often than not deal with a substitute, sometimes suffering through a rotation of long-term subs in the entire year. No wonder most students get jaded very easily!
Still, there were those students who would do just about anything to shake up a guest teacher.
The most intimidating taunt: "I'm gonna call my mom and get you in trouble." Certain students were more provocative: "I'm gonna call my Mom and get you fired."
A Spanish teacher two doors down from one class that I was covering long-term just laughed at such threats.
"Oh my goodness! You're going to call your parents?" Then she would feign mock paralysis. "I am so scared!" Then she changed her tone. "Please, call your parents! I would love to have a conference with them, and get them on my side!"
She saw student challenges as bread for the eating. I learned to change my attitude to those threats.
One young lady was a real piece of work. She was a brazen young one, who had no problem pushing people aside to make a point. Once, she exclaimed, "I'm gonna call my Mom and get you in trouble."
"Go ahead," I fire back. I stood my ground for the first time against that girl, and she did not know what to do. I succeeded! I passed the first challenge.
Of course, the real battle came for me in the French class that I covered at another school. One girl at the back of the room felt completely justified talking over me. She was a nuisance that day. She would make snide comments, too, like "I wish Ms. T. was here. She's a better teacher than you."
At that stage of my career, I refused to let kids throw such empty insults at me. When I held her to what she said, she fired back: "That's racist! I am gonna tell my mom and get you fired! I already got one sub suspended!"
For about two seconds, I froze in place. She put me on the spot, having already talked down to me, and then she felt entitled to talk back. I decided to risk whatever I had to lose, and I called security. She sat in the back, calm, cool, and pretending to seem collected, but I knew that she was stirred up on the inside.
Security finally showed up. I told him what was going on, and he was very conciliatory. "Hey, you did what you could!" Then she escorted the young lady out. I won!
The Spanish teacher had told me: "At the end of the day, the Teacher wins!"
I liked that! The teacher is in charge, no matter whether he is the full-time teacher or a substitute. I learned to work out this consummate grace in my final teaching days, believing that is was in the best interests of the class and the students that no one would get away with anything!
And as for that young lady who played the race card and threatened to call her mom on me. . . I came back to that class a few weeks later, and she kept her mouth shut the whole period. She did not challenge me again, since she did not follow through on the empty threat against me.
I grew in courage and strength after that encounter. Most students were indeed just pushing hot air, in fact insecure and unstable, looking for an easy target to set off. I refused to be one of those casualties.