Training teachers

Workshop for substitutes offers helpful hints

For many people, facing a roomful of unfamiliar students is the equivalent of marching into the arena to face the lions. But for the 274,000 substitute teachers who work in America's classrooms on any given day, it's all in a day's work.

That doesn't mean they don't experience butterflies, but Eliza Sorte has a few tips for those brave souls:

Be flexible.

Be professional.

And never, ever let them see you sweat.

Sorte, director of the Northwest Montana Educational Cooperative, included the tips as part of a substitute-teacher training at Linderman Educational Center in Kalispell. Thirty-five people with a wide range of professional backgrounds attended the workshop.

In Montana, substitute teachers must have at least a high-school education and pass a fingerprint-based background check. People without a teaching certificate must complete training approved by the school district in which they hope to substitute teach.

The co-op's workshop fulfilled the state's requirement that nonlicensed substitutes complete a minimum of three hours' training - but its real purpose went well beyond complying with the law, Sorte said.

"The real intention is to help substitute teachers feel more comfortable," she said, "and to make their time with kiddos meaningful and instructionally sound."

Sorte has a decade of experience in education. She began her career at West Valley School, then taught in Bangladesh and Colorado before moving back to the Flathead Valley.

While most of that time was spent as a full-time teacher, Sorte does have some experience as a substitute. She returned from Bangladesh in January, too late in the school year to get a job in a classroom. Instead, she worked as a "guest teacher" for a semester - an experience that gave her a new appreciation for substitutes.

Even though she was armed with tricks and activities she'd learned as a teacher, walking into a classroom full of unfamiliar students was a challenge, Sorte said.

"I'm glad I had the opportunity to be a classroom teacher first," she said. "I think that's why I really admire substitutes who don't have a lot of teaching background."

Her experience as a substitute never left her after she went back to full-time teaching.

"I left copious substitute notes," she said. "I just thought, I don't want anyone to experience feeling unprepared.

"As a teacher, you go in prepared every day, but as a substitute, you're going in facing the unknown."

Preparing for a substitute does mean extra work for teachers, Sorte acknowledged. Most teachers, however, genuinely care about their students and the people who will be substituting for them. They're glad to put in the time necessary to ensure guest teachers can follow a normal lesson plan.

"Most people don't think about the prep time that goes into that," she said. "Sometimes, honestly, it was easier to go in sick as a dog than to try to explain things to someone else."

Following the teacher's lesson plans should be a substitute teacher's primary aim, Sorte said.

"The overall goal is to help them carry on the instructional intentions of the teacher," she said, "so the day is as valuable a day as it can be when the regular classroom teacher is there."

While that includes following the lesson plans and adhering to classroom rules, it doesn't mean mimicking the regular teacher, Sorte said.

During the training, she encouraged the substitute teachers to establish norms as soon as they enter the classroom. Substitutes should demonstrate their preferred attention-getting method, whether it's flicking the lights or, like Sorte, shaking a large, plastic hand-clapper.

Not everyone can get away with using toys like the clapper, Sorte said. Guest teachers should use techniques they feel comfortable with, she added, and they shouldn't check their personalities at the classroom door.

Incorporating individual personality into teaching helps put students at ease, she explained.

"Bringing who you are helps establish … familiarity from the very beginning," she said.

Substitute teachers also should alleviate students' apprehensions by outlining what they'll be doing that day, Sorte said.

"Nothing strikes fear like the unknown," she said. "A laid-out agenda gives them comfort and reliability."

Other tips from the training included dressing professionally and conservatively (something especially important for young-looking substitutes, Sorte said) and avoiding sitting behind the desk all day.

"You can't get into trouble if you're moving around the room, because they can't get away with anything," she said.

Sorte also stressed the importance of never leaving a class unsupervised, even for a minute.

"It is unbelievable what they can accomplish in just seconds," she said.

Keeping students safe should be a guest teacher's first priority, she said. Every action and activity should be done with safety in mind.

"If you can prove an action you took was for safety's sake, you're golden," she said. "If you do something recklessly, look out."

Substitutes should be aware, however, of the legalities involved with interacting with students, Sorte warned.

"There are things to be aware of - like don't give a student medicine - things a guest teacher might not know," she said. "As a parent, your gut reaction might be to do some of those things, but as a guest teacher, it might be a little bit different of a role."

In addition to discussing legal issues and classroom management techniques, Sorte shared games and activities from her bag of tricks. While substitutes should strive first and foremost to follow the plans the teacher left, good guest teachers are prepared in case there are no plans or if students finish early.

"A good substitute always has to have some plan B's," she said. "To have some of those bags of tricks can alleviate some classroom-management issues."

The curriculum co-op's next substitute-teacher training takes place from 5 to 8 p.m. Oct. 25 at the Linderman Educational Center. The workshop is free and open to all who substitute in any local district. To register, call the co-op at 752-3302.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com