Subbing

I lost my job teaching due to budget cuts and with so many teachers looking for jobs, I didn't find another job teaching. So, I decided to sub in the district I was in last year. I got my first sub job for yesterday and today in a SPED class at the high school I was in last year.

I had a good two days. The kids were well behaved and polite and hard working. What more could a teacher ask for? Plus, several were very excited to see me because they were in my Earth Science class last year, science is the only class that students are completely integrated into and not pulled out for any reason (at that school). It was nice to see them again too, its amazing how much they grow over a summer, even in high school.

When I signed up to sub I was asked if I minded working with SPED students and I said I didn't mind at all. The woman in charge of subs sighed and said most people didn't want to work with them. I really don't understand why. There are of course severe SPED students, but we are usually only asked to work in rooms with mild to moderate students. This means that they are slow learners, learning disabled, and/or further behind than most high school students. There is nothing scary about these kids!

I will say it takes a special, patient person to work in a SPED department because there are so many things they have to do for their kids that regular ed teachers don't. To all those wonderful people, I would say thank you for the job you do.