by P. Payne

Created on: April 27, 2009

The phone rings between 6 and 6:30 a.m., rousing me from a peaceful sleep. Through half-open eyes, I look to see which one of the school districts is calling for a substitute and decide whether I want to get up.

Therein lies one advantage, and one disadvantage, to the substitute position. There usually is no advance scheduling, so you are at the mercy of an early morning call. It makes planning your life difficult, so flexibility is a necessary attribute for a substitute. Flexibility, in fact, may be one of the most important elements of success as a substitute teacher.

It is a perfect job for a college student who has free days to work, or for someone who does not need to rely on a specific amount of income to pay living expenses. There are substitutes who work almost every day, but that is not the norm. Most substitute for more than one school district just to work several days a month. I am on the list for five area school districts, and seldom work all the days I would prefer to work.

Although it isn't necessarily verifiable, I believe former teachers on the list are called first, or favorite substitutes. The people who call for substitutes aren't required to use a call list to give all subs a turn to work. Also, teachers sometimes request a certain substitute if they have been happy with they way the class previously was handled in their absence. Certain substitutes may be requested if they have experience or knowledge in a particular area. There are times I get calls because I am a certified special education teacher, and some substitutes will not work with special education students.

In my area, substitute teachers are required to have at least 60 hours of college credit. A background check and fingerprinting is standard procedure. The pay varies from $75 to $80 per day. Depending on where you live, the amount could be more, or less.

In addition to scheduling and salary, consider how you feel about the various age levels of students you may teach. Most districts will ask you to list your preferences for elementary, middle, junior high, or high school. If you love small children, but detest disrespectful, rap-loving teenagers, you probably should elect to work in the lower grades you will run into situations where you must deal with unruly students.

When I first began substituting, I was used to working with high school students. However, I decided to see whether I would like working with younger children. It soon became apparent that my preference is third

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