Every time a teacher misses school because of illness or other reasons, substitute teachers are called in. Being a substitute leaves many advantages and lots of free time, but at the same time, they have to be ready to come in within the hour of being called in.

Being a substitute has many benefits over being a teacher. “I get to work with the kids, and I don’t have to do all the administrative things that the teachers do, like grades and conferences,” said building substitute Mr. Rob Nelson. “I still get to work with the computer programs, I get a computer to work with, and I really enjoy working with the teachers.”

Substitutes don’t always know what days they will be called in, but BSM has their own in-school substitute, Mr. Nelson, who is at school everyday. “I usually know my teaching assignment before I get to school, and in my case, it is usually more than one teacher. Sometimes it can be two or three, and when I get to school I hit base with the teachers after reviewing their lesson plans and I find out what they want,” said Mr. Nelson.

Other substitutes can know their assignment a week or two in advance, but in some cases they get called in at the last minute to come in for a sick teacher. “They usually call you for certain area, for me it’s usually French or Spanish. Once they learned I went to school for engineering, they called me in for physics and math too,” said Mr. Warren Clyborne, another common BSM substitute.

If a substitute is notified of the assignment in advance it gives them a better chance to prepare for the class. Having a substitute who knows what they are doing makes the day run smoother and doesn’t leave the students worried that they are not prepared for the next day. “I have been here long enough that I usually know what a teacher wants when I walk through the door,” said Mr. Nelson