I have two days this week that I will be out of the classroom for different reasons. One on Tuesday and one on Friday. It got me thinking and wondering how others around the world work out being out of the classroom. In the states, there is usually a pool of people that have been hired as substitute teachers. They are called upon, now by automated services, to accept the "job" of taking over the class for the time needed. They rotate to various schools throughout the school district and accept as much or as little work as they desire. I do have the option to request people who have been great in my classroom, which is great if they are available. Who takes over for you if you have to be out of the classroom?
When I was in the classroom I was fortunate enough to have a full time classroom assistant. My assistant, though not a qualified teacher, was exceptionally capable and picked up exactly where I left off if I was out of the classroom for a few minutes or a few days. This is, however, an extremely fortunate and uncommon set-up. Most schools in South Africa also rely on substitute teachers...and some even make use of willing parents to "hold the fort" for a day or two here and there if necessary.
ReplyDeleteI teach at a really small school, but we are only one of 3 English speaking schools, so there is no pool of substitutes to pull from. Instead, we have a full time sub who is on staff, which works out great until more than one person has to be out on the same day. Then, they have assistants, the counselor, or even the head of school step in.
ReplyDeleteIn Spain it's completely different. When you are out the other teachers of the school go to your classroom by turns during their specials. If you are out for a week your students can have 20 different teachers!
ReplyDeleteIf you are out for a long time the state sends a substitute teacher.
At my son's school - a "real" Moroccan school - there are about 28-30 students per grade level. They split the classes so that half are in French while the other half are in Arabic. But, if one teacher is out, then the other teacher gets all of the kids for the day.
ReplyDelete