How to Handle a Bad Substitute Teacher

Someone once said "choose your battles wisely". At the time, the person probably did not know how often and for what that saying would be used for. Parents use it as a gospel rule. Militias live by it. Even the court systems believe in it. Parents trying to improve schools may remember the saying, but when it's for your babies...

The saying choose your battles wisely could have been coined so people would think about what they were doing and not fight a losing battle. Some "intellectual" battles just need to be fought to let displeasure with something be known. That's not to say every time a person disagrees with something that they should make a battle out of it. Instead, if it's important, a confrontation does not have to be nasty. Talking about a problem will help. If nothing else, the person feeling wronged will feel better.

Most substitute teachers are extremely nice. They truly love children. Being a substitute they only work in the school when they can. They do not expect a steady income from working as a substitute teacher, which means they are not a substitute teacher for the money.

Substitutes are asked to teach whatever class a teacher is needed for at that time. Sometimes substitutes are put into classes they may not be able to handle or they may not know anything about. When that happens, the classroom environment may become chaotic or the children may feel unsettled.

If a child is telling his or her parents that the substitute teacher is horrible and then, giving viable descriptions of why, it is up to the parents or to the child to report the substitute teacher. If the parent witnesses inappropriate actions of a substitute teacher, he or she needs to let the principal know immediately. If a substitute teacher cannot handle the class, he or she may not want to substitute again. However, maybe the substitute teacher thinks his or her actions are acceptable. Then, someone needs to report the substitute.

The first thing a parent needs to do is talk to the substitute and make sure the substitute is aware of his or her actions. If the parent is not comforted by the substitute's reaction, he or she may want to go to the principal. If the same action occurs again, the parent needs to go to the principal.

If the principal does not resolve the problem the parents can either go to the school board or pull their child from the class for the day that the substitute will be handling. The child should only be pulled from class when having the substitute for a teacher will be detrimental for his or her learning. Although this may not be fair to the student, the school needs to be aware that there is a problem.

Another saying that may apply to this type of situation is "squeaky wheel gets the grease." If the parent continues to voice their opinion, eventually the problem will be taken care of. The parent needs to be sure that the problem is big enough to complain about before causing trouble for the school and disrupting the school environment. Think of your child and what will be best for him or her and fellow students.