I received this story from a teacher at the high school I'm going to be working at for the rest of the year. MSNBC ran it this week, and it discusses how having substitute teachers in the classroom can damage teaching progress and can set students back rather than help them progress forward. Although the teacher that sent it pointed out that things are much different north of the border, she thought it was interesting. In an attempt to protet my TOC brethren, I'll respond...
I'll begin by saying that qualifications in Canada to be a subsitute teacher (known here as a teacher-on-call, or TOC) are the same as those of a regular teacher. We are subject to the same background checks, the same interview processes, and the same guidelines and expectations laid out by the provincial college of teachers (and this goes for most, if not every province in the country). We are not underqualified baby-sitters, and we are not unintelligent pylons.
It is true that in some districts and in some situtations, a TOC will have to teach outside of their particular subject area training. Sometimes this is because of a clerical error, and other times it is simply because of a shortage of TOC's on a given day. I, for one, have taught Junior math and science. Still, I have a degree in English lit with a second concentration in history, so I'm certified to teach Social Studies and English. However, I also have coverage areas in Phys-Ed (due to my coaching and athletics background) and in Foods (a few months working in a kitchen and I took a mini-contract in Foods at the end of last year). I am a full member of the college of teachers and a certified member of the local teachers union as well.
The reason I point these things out is that I believe that when I come in to a class, I'm definitely not responsible for setting students back in any way unless, of course, I'm outside of my subject area or a teacher leaves insufficient instructions. To date, I have only taught outside of my subject area a total of 3 times (for no more than one day at a time) and is quite uncommon. When I come in to teach a class for another teacher, I follow the directions as closely as is possible and am as thorough as possible when it comes to teaching various concepts with the kids. The same goes for any other TOC's I know... we are trained teachers who know our stuff... sure, many of us may have limited experience (I only graduated last year), but we are doing the best we can with what's available.
In most districts in Canada now, a person must apply to get on the TOC list before they are allowed to apply for contract jobs within the district. They must have a teacher-education program (which is almost univerally a minimum of 4 years), and related training in their subject area if they are to teach high school. That is definitely the case here in BC... you have to be on the TOC list before you can even apply for any teaching position. It is the TOC's that are used to fill vacancies... this is not a problem, though, since all the TOC's are qualified to take on the jobs they are hired for.
I fully agree with the article when it says that sometimes it's simply a holding pattern when it comes to behavioural challenges and classroom routines, but one of the things a TOC has to develop is their own expectations that can translate almost universally to any class they come into. Also, and maybe this is strange, but there is enough support in our schools that if, in fact I run into a serious behaviour issue, there are people at the school to help solve any conflict.
It seems to me that many of the symptoms and issues related to the U.S. issues relating to ineffective substitute teaching is directed related to adminstration problems/requirements, and a complete lack of funding for the schools. I've heard a lot of talk about this issue in the news it seems like it's a huge philosophical issue as well. How are teachers valued? What kind of standards are expected? At what point is education going to become the top priority of government? Even though many experienced teachers and administrators may disagree, I'd say that Canadian governments in general value education much more than governments south of the border.
This seems like a terrifying fact:
"...states with the fewest standards for substitutes also rely most on subs. Principals in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Washington, D.C., are most likely to identify teacher absenteeism as a big problem, according to Education Department survey data from 2003-04, the most recent available.
Among those places, only Washington requires all substitutes to have some college. And even there, principals sometimes ignore that requirement when faced with teacher absences, according to a district review."
- from MSNBC.com via the AP
Only one state requires subs to have SOME college? Obviously this needs to be addressed. Again, the administration and the lawmakers/governmetns providing funding need to give their head a shake.
It is this sort of article that makes me thankful that I am working in a district/province that does, in fact, provide a somewhat reasonable amount of support for TOC's and teachers in general. Sure, it can always get better (wages, support funding, etc.), but when looking at what goes on elsewhere, it's kinda nice to look at our job and say, "Geeez... it could be SO much worse".
T
No comments:
Post a Comment