u/Ayma_Nidiot

I subbed for PE today and I took my group out to the grassy field to practice throwing frisbees. Saw at the end of the first group that there was a squirrel barely breathing next to a tree. Kids (first grade) were freaking out. I called admin and told them it was a non-urgent manner but for someone to address it at their earliest convenience. By the time they came in the middle of the next class, the squirrel was already dead. A dean put the squirrel in a trash bag then put it in the trash can.

Just when you thought you’ve seen it all!

I primarily sub PE, usually elementary but sometimes middle. Most of the time I vibe well with my coworkers (either other PE teachers or PE paras). There are several teachers who call me frequently when they need a sub.

Then there are others who barely say a word to me unless it is directly related to the lesson plan, and while I occasionally see assignments for these teachers in Frontline, they do not call me back specifically. There are even a few teachers that I used to sub for frequently that don’t anymore, and I wonder if they have forgotten about me.

So my parakeet’s leg started swelling this morning and I took him to the emergency vet. I called the school ahead of time to let them know as well as the PE teacher I was to work with (I was covering a PE para vacancy).

Got there at 10am. Office lady who was covering my position for those 1.5 hours seemed pissed because she had to cancel an appointment or whatever (can’t remember the exact reason). Mind you I am rarely late and if I am, it’s not by much and I call ahead. I also have a good rapport with this school and the PE teacher. So far my parakeet is under observation due to a swollen leg because of the metal band around his leg. He will be at the vet’s a while but he should pull through.

I subbed for an elementary school PE para position at an elementary school I’ve been to, and I know the PE staff (one teacher, two paras) pretty well. Unfortunately the tough PE main teacher was absent today so the regular PE para took over as the lead. He did a great job, naturally, at both teaching and keeping the kids in line.

And thank God he did because my God the sub for the main PE teacher helped with fuck all. She came in dressed highly inappropriate for PE (crop top, dress pants, and dress shoes). She did almost absolutely nothing to actually help the kids, the leading PE para, or keep the kids out of trouble. She was very soft spoken which if you know anything about subbing PE, that’s not a good thing. She was sitting on the floor on her phone at least 50% of the time.

But the real kick in the nuts was how me and the PE lead para not only got a lower pay rate than this sub, but we also had an hour-long lunch duty and no more than 30 minutes break. While during that hour, useless sub got to be on her phone even more and got to take a nap. Ugh!