- Home
- Substitute Teacher Tips
- Basic Personality Substitute Teacher Qualifications
Basic Personality Substitute Teacher Qualifications
- By Super Admin
- Published 09/22/2007
- Substitute Teacher Tips
- Unrated
The substitute teacher’s day often begins as early as 5:00 a.m. Monday through Friday. You are on call every day, whether or not, you actually receive a teaching assignment. Therefore, one of the first qualifications a substitute teacher must possess is the ability to be ready for duty every day. It is best to develop a routine as if you will be working that day. Unless you eat at the school (and sometimes this is not a good choice at all as some schools seem to serve worse meals than what you can find in a frozen T.V. dinner), prepare yourself a bag lunch or at least some healthy snacks to take along in case you are called for duty.
If you are an experienced substitute teacher and well known to the schools you serve, you can expect to receive calls with choices of where you want to sub for that day. You can also expect “ahead of time” schedules. If you are just beginning, you most likely will be last on the list to call and your choices will be fewer as well. I think the ability to be patient in the event you are new to substitute teaching is another basic qualification.
If you live in one of the larger cities in the United States, the ability to find your way around is also helpful. A good rule to follow may be to map out the directions to each school in which you apply and take the drive well in advance of the day you are a substitute teacher.
A pleasant voice and affect is also somewhat basic to the personality qualifications of a substitute teacher. You will need to communicate with school and office personnel as well as the students. The first groups of people you will most likely see are those in the main office where you will receive key and essential instructions for the assignment that day. You will probably need to sign in and sign out here as well.
Make it a point to arrive early. You definitely want to be in the classroom before the students arrive. Therefore, punctuality is essential.
Each school system is different and each regular teacher is different in how they present lesson plans for you to follow. The ability to follow instructions is essential.
It is always better to follow the lesson plans the regular teacher leaves behind. Remember to bring your special and unique bag of tricks for those times the regular teacher did not prepare a day of lesson plans or you complete what is left for you and there is time left you must decide in which how to keep the students occupied. I call this qualification somewhat the ability to be a “packrat,” as you will be adding to your bag of tricks continually and will have to pack it around with you wherever you go.
I prefer pretty tote bags; however, you can store and carry your extra tools in an elaborate leather briefcase if you wish. The briefcase may be just the accessory to help you appear more professional in your role as the substitute teacher. There are times when I feel the leather briefcase is more suitable, and this will also depend upon the location in
which you substitute teach. Choosing the carrying case is part of the fun of being the substitute teacher packrat!
When you arrive at the location in which you are assigned for the day, it is probably a good idea to lock the door behind you until students actually arrive. Each school will have their own safety protocol in place, which will require you to be basically alert to any kind of adverse activity that might occur during the school day. Be sure to drink some extra coffee or bring along a thermos to drink a cup of coffee to help perk you up with extra alertness while you look over the lesson plans left for you, the student grade book, and the classroom in general.
Also, be sure to look for the emergency exit route from the classroom and the school in general during the time you wait for the school day to begin. Do you have cafeteria duty or some other special duty? If this has not been given you before now, look for the instructions on the regular teacher’s desk or find another regular teacher for these answers. It is better to do this now than after the students arrive. You will most likely not be able to leave the immediate room if you wait until later to ask for these instructions.
If you forget to find out about recess or cafeteria duty, however, it is most likely “someone” will be alerting you to this information at the appropriate time. However, it is best to be as prepared and independent about these matters as you can. Therefore, the ability to stand and work independently is probably also a basic personality qualification for the substitute teacher.
A bell or buzzer may ring to indicate the start of the day and when all students should be in their proper classrooms. Hopefully, you will have at least one student who can become your helper that day. Try to identify he or she as soon as possible…….start your day by taking row call and identifying those who are tardy or absent and prepare this report for the school promptly.
You might think about creating some business cards to leave behind in those classrooms you particularly like to enhance the probability that this particular regular teacher will ask for you. Teachers sometimes take a dislike to certain substitute teachers and can request you not be placed back in their classroom. A business card left behind may help your chances of receiving another assignment in that particular classroom and the school in general. Business cards also help to create a more serious and professional image of you as a substitute teacher. Since you are not directly employed by any one school system, you are actually as if in business for yourself. You may need the ability to market yourself as well.
These are just a few of the basic personality qualities a person should possess when being a substitute teacher.
Written by: Connie Limon For more information about the career of Substitute Teacher visit http://smalldogs2.com/SubstituteTeacherTips For a variety of FREE reprint articles and special topic articles visit Camelot Articles at http://www.camelotarticles.com
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
If you are an experienced substitute teacher and well known to the schools you serve, you can expect to receive calls with choices of where you want to sub for that day. You can also expect “ahead of time” schedules. If you are just beginning, you most likely will be last on the list to call and your choices will be fewer as well. I think the ability to be patient in the event you are new to substitute teaching is another basic qualification.
If you live in one of the larger cities in the United States, the ability to find your way around is also helpful. A good rule to follow may be to map out the directions to each school in which you apply and take the drive well in advance of the day you are a substitute teacher.
A pleasant voice and affect is also somewhat basic to the personality qualifications of a substitute teacher. You will need to communicate with school and office personnel as well as the students. The first groups of people you will most likely see are those in the main office where you will receive key and essential instructions for the assignment that day. You will probably need to sign in and sign out here as well.
Make it a point to arrive early. You definitely want to be in the classroom before the students arrive. Therefore, punctuality is essential.
Each school system is different and each regular teacher is different in how they present lesson plans for you to follow. The ability to follow instructions is essential.
It is always better to follow the lesson plans the regular teacher leaves behind. Remember to bring your special and unique bag of tricks for those times the regular teacher did not prepare a day of lesson plans or you complete what is left for you and there is time left you must decide in which how to keep the students occupied. I call this qualification somewhat the ability to be a “packrat,” as you will be adding to your bag of tricks continually and will have to pack it around with you wherever you go.
I prefer pretty tote bags; however, you can store and carry your extra tools in an elaborate leather briefcase if you wish. The briefcase may be just the accessory to help you appear more professional in your role as the substitute teacher. There are times when I feel the leather briefcase is more suitable, and this will also depend upon the location in
When you arrive at the location in which you are assigned for the day, it is probably a good idea to lock the door behind you until students actually arrive. Each school will have their own safety protocol in place, which will require you to be basically alert to any kind of adverse activity that might occur during the school day. Be sure to drink some extra coffee or bring along a thermos to drink a cup of coffee to help perk you up with extra alertness while you look over the lesson plans left for you, the student grade book, and the classroom in general.
Also, be sure to look for the emergency exit route from the classroom and the school in general during the time you wait for the school day to begin. Do you have cafeteria duty or some other special duty? If this has not been given you before now, look for the instructions on the regular teacher’s desk or find another regular teacher for these answers. It is better to do this now than after the students arrive. You will most likely not be able to leave the immediate room if you wait until later to ask for these instructions.
If you forget to find out about recess or cafeteria duty, however, it is most likely “someone” will be alerting you to this information at the appropriate time. However, it is best to be as prepared and independent about these matters as you can. Therefore, the ability to stand and work independently is probably also a basic personality qualification for the substitute teacher.
A bell or buzzer may ring to indicate the start of the day and when all students should be in their proper classrooms. Hopefully, you will have at least one student who can become your helper that day. Try to identify he or she as soon as possible…….start your day by taking row call and identifying those who are tardy or absent and prepare this report for the school promptly.
You might think about creating some business cards to leave behind in those classrooms you particularly like to enhance the probability that this particular regular teacher will ask for you. Teachers sometimes take a dislike to certain substitute teachers and can request you not be placed back in their classroom. A business card left behind may help your chances of receiving another assignment in that particular classroom and the school in general. Business cards also help to create a more serious and professional image of you as a substitute teacher. Since you are not directly employed by any one school system, you are actually as if in business for yourself. You may need the ability to market yourself as well.
These are just a few of the basic personality qualities a person should possess when being a substitute teacher.
Written by: Connie Limon For more information about the career of Substitute Teacher visit http://smalldogs2.com/SubstituteTeacherTips For a variety of FREE reprint articles and special topic articles visit Camelot Articles at http://www.camelotarticles.com
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.