Substitute Teaching — FAQ

August 20, 2015 Walter 1 Comment

When announcements of the Substitute Teacher Training Course are made, I always get a few calls and emails with questions. I occasionally joke in classes that “It depends…” is rarely a wrong answer, so before I try to answer a few, I’ll make a general disclaimer: Individual school districts set policy and procedure–including the required qualifications for substitutes, amount of pay, etc. That said, here are some questions I hear often and general answers.

Am I required to take this course before I apply or substitute teach?

No!

What are the requirements for being hired as a substitute teacher?

It depends! In general, you’ll need a minimum of a high school education. You’ll also be required to be fingerprinted and pass a background check. The fingerprinting and background check is universal–districts may vary in terms of educational level and other requirements.

Does this course include help getting a job?

The course will briefly review the general process, including information regarding fingerprinting. We cannot, obviously, guarantee you’ll be hired.

Will this course qualify me to be an ed tech (also sometimes referred to as “para professional)?

Given the topics covered, this course will likely be helpful to an ed tech, but is not an “approved course of study.” Unlike substitute teacher, there are very specific state requirements. For more specific information, see the Department of Education’s website.

What topics does the course include?

A lot! Some of the topic headings are: Expectations of stakeholders, a “typical” day, classroom management techniques, teaching strategies, legal aspects, and special education. Of necessity, some topics are handled as an overview.

How will I be paid as a sub?

This may vary by district, but in our area the most common schedule seems to be bi-weekly (every two weeks).

I’m already a working substitute–will this course be of any benefit to me?

Some districts offer a slightly higher pay rate for substitutes who’ve attended this training. That aside, subs who’ve taken the course have often found the course beneficial either because they’ve learned new techniques or because laws and rules have changed since they started.

What’s the easiest grade level to sub for?

Do you like chocolate or vanilla ice cream? Seriously, this is truly a matter of personal preference based somewhat on the age/grade the sub is most confident with.

If you have a question, please send it along… or better yet, bring it to class! I encourage class participation and questions–and we try to have fun learning!

Just for Fun, Personal Growth

Stress Relief in a Box?

August 17, 2015 Walter Leave a comment

Feeling stressed? Grab your crayons!

I’ve often used crayons… myself, with adults, and as a way to occupy children who are visiting. So I wasn’t surprised when I learned recently that the New Canaan, CT Library has colored pencils and coloring sheets for adults to “check out” and use to relieve stress and even help with writer’s block. What a great idea!

Of course it’s not just crayons and coloring. Art therapy is accepted method of reducing stress and increasing creativity. The experts tell us that activities like coloring help us by serving as a distraction–even if only for a few minutes. Even coloring a picture means thinking about color choice and concentrating on “staying inside the lines.” When we become completely engaged in an activity we achieve a state of “flow” that can be almost meditative. Consider the “runner’s high” as another form of this.

Personally, I think coloring is even more fun if you can do it with a kid. When my nieces and nephews were younger, holiday visits often meant finding a quiet corner and engaging in coloring marathons. At the time, I thought we were playing, In retrospect, we may have been practicing a little stress management. Holidays with the family aren’t always easy.

But coloring can be useful with adults. When I was doing lots of organization design and development programs, I would often have the conference room table set up with boxes of crayons and art paper. The president and vice president would arrive and, while waiting for our session to begin, many would open the crayons and smell them, smiling with evoked childhood memories. The activity itself might be “draw a picture of how you see this organization…” It always took a while to get them started–unfortunately our childhood art skills and courage get surpressed as we “grow up.” But there were always some great and often revealing results.

I was a little disappointed recently when a friend who is very artistically talented said that she’d never call herself an artist because that is not a career choice she’ll be making. We are all artists, really. Art is about many things such as creativity and expression. We can see and use art in different ways. We don’t have to make a living with art, but art can help us make a life.

So I salute the Canaan Library for the reminder. Drawing and coloring are good. In fact, I think I’ll start keeping a box of crayons on my desk.

Causes and Friends, Maine Life

Your Chance to Help…

July 2, 2015 Walter Leave a comment

“We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.”

–Dorothy Day

This page is meant to provide information and an opportunity for those who would like to provide some financial support to the Ginn/Gebo children. If you know of additional opportunities or needs that should be posted here, please let me know. Please share the link to this page so those who want to help these kids can!

A GoFundMe Account has been established called Gebo Children’s School Fund. “We all know the cost of raising children today and though the children’s’ lives will never be the same without their mother… friends want to be sure both children can grow up as normally as possible and have the opportunity for a good life and a future education. Please help make that happen.”

An account to benefit the kids has also been established at Maine Highlands Credit Union.

One major local fundraiser is the 61 Day Raffle–many prizes have been donated. Tickets are $5 and can be ordered by mail. Continue reading Your Chance to Help… →

Just for Fun, Personal Growth

Wait, I have to ask…

June 27, 2015 Walter Leave a comment

20120208_9_28 — This vehicle has GPS–the horse usually knows the way home.

We have a large population of people in America who cannot go anywhere without their GPS–even to places in their own town that they truly were able to find, on their own, just four or five years ago. But now they must take their mobile performance support system with them. They have become completely dependent on the box. I can’t help but think they are in danger of losing the skill of thinking their way through a route by, say, using a map. Or perhaps they have never even learned to read a map!

I’m a huge fan of technology, make no mistake. Even on a short trip to Bangor I’ll often “fire up” Greta (Garmin). She helps me keep a sense of my progress and estimated arrival time. She reminds me occasionally to make a turn and sometimes annoys me when I deviate slightly to stop for coffee with her constant recalculating. I confess I somewhat enjoy taking a shortcut that she doesn’t have in her data bank.

We have a tenuous relationship because I refuse to yield my independent thought and directional capabilities to the support system she represents. I gently remind her that she has, more than once, let me down. I like to think I can still get myself out of a lost situation when she leads me astray. I’m discovering that the only time I can’t get myself out is when I’ve been blindly following her commands without thinking or paying some attention to where she’s sending me.

Developing a dependency on her not only may dull the senses, I get concerned it might even reduce my sense of adventure. (I am rarely lost, but have been known to have some adventures.) A few years ago I had a great deal of trouble locating a hotel where I had a reservation. My repeated attempts took me past a visitor information center so I decided to get Greta some help. After briefly stating my problem, the staffer said, “Well, the first thing you have to do is turn off the GPS.” I chuckled at this suggestion as he grabbed a pen and unfolded a paper map, and we ultimately had an interesting conversation covering topics such as “sense of direction,” conflicting messages, and self-reliance in a world that’s increasingly driven by technology.

“Getting lost” may be more about losing a sense of place than about finding things. I learned years ago when hiking in the woods that’s it’s important to turn around frequently–the world is going to look differently on the return trip. We become lost when we aren’t feeling oriented or connected to our surroundings. “This doesn’t look right! Where am I?”

As vacation travel season approaches I usually rethink my relationship with Greta. I remind myself she’s pretty good when it comes to goal orientation, but she’s not likely to say things like, “Did you notice…” or “You know, you could try…” Perhaps some day technology will develop sufficiently for Greta to say things like “Nice lane change!” and “you noticed that before I did…” It would reinforce the fact that she’s working for me, it’s not the other way around. I think she should give me a little more credit than she does.

But for now, it’s going to be up to me to be aware of my surroundings–the way it should be. Better yet, it’s my trip and my vacation. Since I gave her the goal, I can change it. For that matter, since it’s vacation, there will be mornings when there is no goal. She’ll spend a lot of time in “map only” mode as we meander. In the kindest way possible, I’ll let her know, “If I need your help today, I’ll ask for it. Let me see what I can find on my own.”

Walter Boomsma (“Mr. Boomsma”) writes on a wide array of topics including personal development, teaching and learning. Course information is also available here!