If you have just accepted a position as a substitute teacher, you will be anxious to make the most of your first day on the job. Here's how to handle your first day as a substitute teacher.
Handling Nerves
The first day of any job is nerve racking enough. But how about when this is your first day as a substitute teacher and you are stood in front of a class of 25 7-year-olds? A teacher must do their best to overcome their nerves before they even enter the classroom, so that the children do not see the substitute teacher faltering for things to say or do. Take a few deep breaths before you enter the classroom and try to arrive early so that you can get the first lesson ready before the children arrive. Look over any notes or reminders that the regular teacher has left, such as reminding children to turn in their homework that day and the instructions on what needs to be done for that day.
Don't Give Away that You Are Inexperienced
One of the worst things that a substitute teacher can do is to inform the whole class that they are new and this is their first day as a substitute teacher. Children will use that knowledge to their advantage and can make the teacher's job difficult. If you must tell anyone that this is your first day as a substitute teacher, tell your colleagues, not the children. The substitute teacher must maintain their professionalism in front of the children.
Enforce Rules
A substitute teacher who is careful to enforce all of the rules of the regular teacher will have gained a valuable advantage over the children. They will earn the children's respect much more quickly and there will be fewer cases of trying to take advantage of the substitute teacher's ignorance of certain rules or trying to bend rules.
A substitute teacher is no less of a teacher than a regular, Monday to Friday teacher. They can still make a deep impression on young minds.
