NWR: Substitute Notes to Teacher

If I know I'm going to be out I talk with my students before hand about my expectations of them while I'm out. I also want detailed notes from the sub otherwise I come in and am like what on earth happened? And you've got evey kid ready to tattle and never know what really happened. I'd much rather be able to say "hey you had a bad day yesterday, what happened? Why? How could we have behaved differently?"

It's always good to hear honest feedback for the day.

Leave detailed notes. I've been told by multiple teachers that my notes are one of the reasons they request me first, because they know that in addition to keeping students on task and the day going as smoothly as possible, if there are any issues I will leave notes detailed enough that they can write disciplinary forms should they need to. I often leave a full front and another partial page of notes that covers each hour in detail and names both students who caused trouble and those who excelled.

I sub mainly in the middle/high school, and the alternative schools. They just lifted the hour restriction on how many hours we can work a week, and I'm damn near full time every week now because of teachers requesting me.

Something else to remember: a sub's job is more or less to maintain the status quo above all: keep the kids from killing each other and burning the place done, and try to accomplish what you can out of the plans. Sometimes a day goes well and you get it all done. Sometimes it goes to shit and you hang on and pray the clock hits 3 quickly before you run away screaming or choke someone (not really, but you know what I mean!).

I don't have the patience for elementary kids, and I did a half day at preschool and literally told the Director never again. Lol. It takes a certain type of person to work with small children, and I am not that person. Many of the compliance techniques I learned in training for working as a corrections officer works beautifully on older kids, so I do very well with them.

I also have zero issues sending a kid to the office if they cause issues. That usually cuts right through the crap.

I am a teacher and when I'm out, I'm constantly thinking about how the kids are doing with the sub. I feel for the sub who gets my kids in April/May during wedding/honeymoon time. I want to know honestly how they did so I can follow through with appropriate rewards and consequences. I appreciate a sub who lays down the law and keeps order. Keeping them safe and fed is priority but a close second is keeping some semblance of control. Otherwise it's a terribly long day!

Teacher here. Just dealt with this a couple days ago. I was out 3 afternoons in a row for medical issues (2 days were covered by a fellow teacher and were fine, one was covered by a sub). Got a bad report about my 8th period from the day with the regular sub. I ended up writing those two students up, gave the whole class new seats, and read them the riot act when I got back. I teacher juniors so by that point I expect them to know how to act like a person and not a douche. Personally, I like getting feedback from subs, good or bad. It drove me nuts when I was out 2 weeks for surgery and literally got not one single piece of feedback from my long term sub.

Most substitutes I had left very detailed note with our teachers. When I start teaching myself, I'll want a detailed note about how my class went and how my students behaved while I was out.

As a teacher, I really appreciate when subs leave me notes about the day. Students will rarely tell their teachers if it was a good or bad day so it's nice to have something from the sub!

I want to know how my kids are when I'm gone. When I come back, a run down from the sub is one of the first things I look for.

As a teacher- ABSOLUTELY ALWAYS leave an honest note! I need to know how students behaved so I can issue discipline/consequences if necessary to hold them accountable for their behavior. For practical purposes, I need to know how far you got in the lesson/activities, if some things weren't finished, if something was to be finished for homework, etc. Students are not always honest and I always trust the sub's word. I tell students that too - "I always go with what the adult says so don't do something that makes the sub write down your name in a negative way!"

This is my 18th year, and ironically, I am out of the classroom tomorrow. I left detailed notes for my sub and I expect the same in return. I actually choose my subs and whether or not to use them again based on the accuracy and detail of the notes they leave me. I hate it when I get a note that says "wonderful day" and nothing else, especially when things clearly didn't go as planned. It sends the message to the kids that they can walk on that sub, get nothing accomplished, and I won't know or care. I much prefer to hear when a class has been great, but...so-and-so struggled with talking or whatever. I have gotten notes that blew my mind about how terrible the kids were, but I was able to handle it and do some extra front-loading the day before next time (if I knew I would be gone). When it is truly horrible for the sub, there is usually an assembly schedule, fire drill, or some other thing that throws them off their game as well. It isn't too often that it is just behavior for that sub because they were horrible for no reason.

Often, the kids will tell me how the day went in casual conversation, and I always hope that their words echo what was left in the notes. Granted, I have juniors in high school, and often they get irritated with kids being rotten to a sub, too.

Best to leave notes about how the day really went, rather than blow sunshine up the teacher's butt. He/She will know the kids well enough to likely have predicted how things were going to go anyway. Trust that the if they students were bad, it will be fixed by the classroom teacher and your next experience will be better.

I do need to note that the classroom management of the regular teacher, and his/her expectations on a daily basis, can greatly influence how the kids are with a sub. Students will always push limits, but if a classroom is very loosely run to start with, it will result in some pretty terrible behavior when a sub is there and trying to ask for order that isn't required regularly.

I love details, I hang onto those notes so I can show them to parents and the principal if needed. I hate getting notes that simply say it was a great day. I know my kids and I know you had issues along the way please be specific with me. Last time I was out I got emails from two different people about issues with my kids, two were fighting and one got sent to the office by the custodian. My sub did not tell me any of that so if it had not been for the email I wouldn't have known.

I also try to remind students of what I expect when I'm gone. I will be out of the room Friday. Yesterday I started reminding them of what I expect and the consequences if they act up. I try not to be gone without telling the kiddos ahead of time.

I hate when subs DON'T tell me what happened! Kids can act worse with a sub and usually try to act out. I always appreciate the note!

Im a teacher and I always appreciate feedback : )

Thanks, guys! After some reflection, I guess I just felt a little incompetent with them unwilling to listen to me. I just keep telling myself I tried and if I'm in there again, I'll just keep trying with them.

I'm glad there's teachers here who appreciate detailed notes! I always feel a little silly writing long notes, but (a) I have quirky handwriting and it takes some arranging for it to read smoothly and (b) as I said before, were it my classroom, I'd like to know specifically what happened.

As a teacher, I always want to know what happens to my class when I'm not there, both good and bad. You did the right thing. I'm sure the teacher will appreciate the note. I know i would if I was in that situation

I always did this after subbing for a teacher, and they appreciate it!

I definitely want to know what happened while I was gone. I had a sub earlier this year who didn't leave me notes letting me know that they totally skipped around in the list of activities I had planned. It really threw off my next day because all my classes were in a different place!

I'd also want to know if certain kids were causing problems. I have clear expectations for their behavior with a sub, and consequences for not meeting those expectations. If a kid was causing problems, I need to know so I can follow through with that kid.

I think you did a great job. As a 5th grade teacher, I usually know my troublemakers, but there are always close clowns than show off when I have a sub. I appreciate the fat truth, bad and all. I also appreciate a list of the good ones so I can reward them as well.

I always appreciate when a sub leaves me notes - especially when something happens where my plans aren't able to be followed. I hate coming back and finding out that nothing I had prepared was done, but there is no explanation of why. All of my colleagues feel the same way - we get that our kids will act differently when we aren't there, but if you don't tell us why our plans weren't followed we get mad at the sub. And if we don't find out who was causing a problem, there's no way we can address it with the student(s) and prepare for the next time we are out. I feel like I would be in HEAVEN if you were my sub!