The Importance of Getting Your Own Substitutes
Our presidency decided to interview teachers during sharing and singing time in Primary. I told my class about it before the meeting began, but immediately, tears appeared in the eyes of my four-year-old students. “But who will take care of us?” asked a small, frightened child.
Many LDS teachers fail to find substitutes for their classes when they will be away on Sunday. They feel the presidency will grab someone or another teacher can simply take their class as well. This is unfair to those required to do your job for you, and is also unfair to your students.
When I was in the Primary presidency I dreaded Sunday morning telephone calls. Often, as I rushed around getting my family ready, I was faced with three or more calls from teachers who weren’t coming and who weren’t going to get substitutes. I had to stop what I was doing to call people and beg them to take classes. Not having time to deliver manuals, I had to describe the lesson to them over the telephone and tell them about the students. I wondered why the teachers couldn’t get their own substitutes; if they weren’t going to church, they certainly had more time than I did! Of course, once I arrived, I was also faced with those teachers who weren’t coming and didn’t even call. Instead of doing my scheduled work, I had to rush through the building seeking last minute volunteers.
Substitute teaching at the last minute is very difficult and requires a skilled and experienced teacher. There are few of those around who don’t already have teaching callings. This means your students may be left with a teacher who will simply have to read from the manual or play hangman for forty minutes.
Do you love your students? Loving our students is the single most important qualification for a teacher. If you love them, how can you leave them to be cared for by someone you don’t know? Would you leave your own children home alone and hope a decent sitter would come along? Of course not! Our responsibility to our church students is just as great. When children sit alone in an empty classroom, or in their seats in sharing time and no one comes to teach them, they feel unloved. Even teens are hurt when their teacher does not bother to show up or to find a substitute. They feel this adult doesn't care about them, and therefore cannot give them the guidance they need. Adults may not be hurt, but they do lose respect for the teacher. If your students don't feel loved, if they do not respect you...is there any reason at all for them to listen to you? You can't have an impact on your students unless they know you love them.
Prepare ahead. When you're given a teaching calling, ask two people to be your substitutes as needed. By using the same substitutes, you provide your students with a familiar face. If your students are very young, ask the substitutes to visit your class once in a while to meet the children and to learn how you run your class. It's helpful if the substitute follows the same routine and has the same rules, in order to provide consistency. A familiar face and routine will help your little ones feel safe.
Prepare an information sheet about your class so the teacher does not have to wonder where to go, who is in class or what comes next. In addition, prepare your lesson early and, if you need a substitute, bring her all the materials, including handouts and visual aids. Even a lesson plan will help substitutes be more effective.
Avoid the temptation, in most cases, to ask another teacher to take your class. This creates a very large class for the teacher and makes it difficult for her to work on the goals she has set for her class.
You have been given a sacred stewardship over your students. Honor it by being in class every week unless there is a serious reason to miss. When you do miss, make sure someone special is there to love the children that week.