Let me start with this nugget, I average more hourly driving for DoorDash. I absolutely make more daily driving for Uber. It is NOT worth it in my humble opinion and here’s why:
Too much is out of our control. From jump, we are at the mercy of the teacher. The lesson plans won’t make or break the day but between lesson plans, seating charts and the hodgepodge of kids, you/we are out of control. I don’t know about YOUR MS but my MS plays games with the bladder, frequency, pain, everything. Nothing hits like that strong urgency, RRs nowhere in sight, every teacher busy and kids staring with cameras at the ready. Speaking of bladder issues, flatulence in a high school is another worst case scenario. I admit to turning a blind eye everytime it happens and some kid is blamed. (Why no. No, I’m not ashamed.) Look, as a substitute teacher, you will be underpaid, overworked and ill-prepared as is. Don’t complicate the situation with struggles to blend our personal health deficiencies and the aforementioned job responsibilities. People may wonder if I am failing to mention the glow of mentoring and inspiring young people as an advantage of substitute teaching. No. No, I am NOT neglecting the advantages of this job. Interesting story on the word, job. As a teacher, I was passionate about having my former students return to my intermediate class as seniors and elders. They would mentor and share experiences with my middle schoolers. Well, one of my college students used to always tell her mentees, “Dude! JOB stands for just-over-broke. You need a career.” Why share that story? Substitute teaching is a job, not a career worthy of an #MSWarrior. I thought I found a niche subbing for Special Education. It was all fun and games when kids asked questions like, “Do you speak Spanish? Are you Mexican? No? What are people like you?” That was at the intermediate level because one day of high school subbing was enough with the handicapped jokes and open confrontations over multiple RR privileges. Yup, fun and games with Special Education kids until the 2nd grader flips out and streams consecutive curse words while spitting and turning red. True story. Believe me, substitute teaching is a means to an end, a few dollars to help finance a plan towards something else.