Greetings and Happy Monday, everyone! May this blog post bring you what you need in the present moment. May my light exude positivity and kindness, and may my love be extended to all who could use a little extra. Asé! Let's seize the moment!
Because of my busy schedule, my blogs will start aligning with "A Monday Moment with Dr. Mal," my live-streamed episodes on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch. Check them out at the aforementioned links!
I’m grateful for this very moment to be here with you. May blessings flow abundantly in your life!
Now, you know I love me a good definition, and I'm team #factsoverfeelings, right? So, let’s get into it! According to dictionary.com, to teach means “to impart knowledge of or skill in or to give instruction in or to.” A substitute is defined as “a person or thing acting or serving in place of another."
Substitute Teachers are incredibly vital to the education system. The system does not work at all without the availability of substitute teachers. In fact, the National Education Association calls substitute teachers "educational bridges." Shoutout to Morgan Hunter Education for the following facts about substitutes:
Substitute teachers teach one full year of students’ K-12 education.
86% of school districts struggle to find quality substitute teachers.
90% of districts nationwide spend less than four hours training substitute teachers.
Over $2 billion is spent annually on substitute teacher pay.
77% of teachers miss school to attend professional development classes.
10% of your students are being taught by substitute teachers right now.
Yet, for a job so important, the qualifications to substitute teach have diminished, especially during and after the Pandemic when getting a sub was like winning the lottery because the odds were so small. Shoutout to the NEA website for the following stats about substitute teaching qualifications:
27 states (Ala., Ariz., Colo., Del., Hawaii, Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Ky., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mo., Neb., Nev., N.M., N.D., Ohio, Okla., Ore., Pa., R.I., Wash., W. Va., Wis., and Wyo.) and D.C. offer some sort of license, permit, authorization, or certificate for substitute teachers. A few states offer more than a single type of substitute permit, which varies according to the minimum education requirements.
19 states (Ariz., Calif., Conn., Del., Hawaii, Iowa, Kan., Ky., Minn., Miss., Neb., N.D., Ohio, Ore., Pa., R.I., Wash., W.Va., and Wis.) and D.C. note that a bachelor’s degree is needed—but also offer waivers or ways to get around the requirement. States that do not require a college degree sometimes specify a minimum number of college credit hours. In Missouri, a Content Substitute only has to have 36 semester hours, a change from 60 semester hours.
6 states (Ala., Colo., N.M., Utah, Vt., and Va.) specifically note that a high school diploma (or its equivalent) is required.
17 states (Ala., Ariz., Calif., Hawaii, Idaho, Ind., Maine, Mich., Mo., Neb., Nev., N.M., N.D., Pa., Va., W.Va., and Wyo.) plus D.C. mandate that applicants pass a criminal background and/or fingerprint check
4 states (Hawaii, Va., W.Va., and Wis.) require some minimal training or orientation
Rhode Island requires districts to advertise for certified substitute teachers
Wyoming says those wishing to earn a substitute teacher permit must take a U.S./Wyoming constitution or equivalency test
New Mexico says substitute teachers must be 18 years of age to work in a K-8 environment and 21 years of age for grades 9-12; Virginia says that 18 is the minimum age, but that age 21 is preferred.
Many schools have moved to staffing agencies to help fill teaching positions. Kelly Services and Penmac Staffing are two agencies that I'm signed up with to get substitute positions. I'm also hired directly by the school at two Charter schools in Kansas City.
This week, I decided to share the pros and cons of my own experience as a substitute who's also a fully certified veteran teacher. I'm making this distinction because, according to the system, I'm nowhere near retirement age, and I have formal teaching education, hold teaching certifications in MO and KS, AND hold building-level leadership certifications in MO and KS. Now, I've completed my doctorate in education. I've met no one as a substitute who's certified like me in this position. People certified like me have full-time jobs, and why wouldn't they? None of my education and certifications were free or cheap. I've been incredibly privileged to have this gift of space and time.
Can I say that I never planned to be in this position? The Creator and light energy laugh at our plans. I quit my job in 2022 to complete my doctorate and focus on family. It worked out because I had to be available to care for my son as he transitioned from ABA Services to Kindergarten. And because I had removed this big part of my life, which was my career, like sand that falls back into the hole it was removed from, other tasks moved into my life quickly. I was able to be more of a help with real estate endeavors, and I was able to learn more about and perform real estate and estate planning notarizations. Here I was, starting this business, which I had no time for...and now I had more time. That's just the surface. I detailed what I learned about life and myself in two other blogs...had to do Part I AND Part II!
Because of all that was going on in my life, I had planned to stay away from education to give energy to other things, but the souls of children called me to re-enter the educational space. I would literally have dreams about teaching. So, I decided to sign up for subbing. I initially signed up for the district, where I served for 14 years as a public school vocal music educator. It was a benefit because I already knew the schools, administrators, and how the system works.
The biggest pro for me was seeing how education systems work internally but from the outside. I got to be in different classrooms, meet different educators, and teach different disciplines at all levels and in different districts! Since I'm also in charter schools, I have witnessed the similarities and differences between public and charter schools. That has been enlightening, for sure!
My favorite teaching experiences are middle school ELA and Math, elementary and middle school choir and orchestra, elementary Art, Special ED Para, and HS PE!
There’s another pro that ties the aforementioned one for first place: The reach I have with students and their families and other educators, which I wouldn’t have the privilege of knowing if I was just stuck in one school district or one building. I have been a traveling teacher my whole career, so I worked for one district but had the pleasure of teaching in 9 different buildings. Now, I get to be in so many more! It's awesome!
Another pro is the flexibility that substitute teaching provides. I get to choose when and where I want to work, and since most schools value that I'm certified or know how I am with students, they work with my daily schedule, allowing me to help my son catch the bus before showing up in their buildings, and finding coverage for me to leave early because I have to get my son off the bus. I didn't realize that my nervous system was incredibly overstimulated from teaching until I stepped away from teaching. Now, I get to choose when I'm overstimulated.
There are three large cons to substitute teaching that I have so far: pay, certification hurdles, and OTE (other teachers' ego).
Regarding pay, I feel I should get paid what my degrees, certifications, and experience equates. And also because I'm not an 18-year-old that's just trying to find a job in their gap year before college. Just like there are pay scales for full-time educators, there should be a pay scale for substitute teachers. Schools are businesses yet have flawed systems because the systems are antiquated. Look who's making policies for schools, and one can quickly see why changes aren't swift in Education, ESPECIALLY in Missouri, which is at the bottom or near the bottom of every list for educator pay in the United States. #bigfacts
Personally speaking, when I was full-time teaching, my W2s always showed $10,000-$15,000 less than my contracted salary because it went to taxes, union dues, and healthcare, and the larger chunk went to the retirement system, which is the biggest scam. That's a whole other show in itself.
Another con that is actually expensive is the out-of-pocket costs I’ve had to pay to be a substitute teacher. As a reminder, I quit teaching in the district I worked for 14 years, and they completely erased me out of the system. This was May 2022. In December 2022, I decided to substitute teach. Do you know that I had to get fingerprinted and background checked? And they wouldn’t even accept the recent background check I had to get for notarial certification. If I have an active teacher certificate on file, shouldn’t my fingerprints just be in the system? My fingerprints will never change. Also, I had JUST quit full-time teaching. That’s not even the end. When said district switched staffing agencies at the end of that school year, they required the subs to pay for background checks AND fingerprints again! Mind you, you must make an appointment for the fingerprints and go to the fingerprinting office. At the same time, I was getting my building-level school leadership certification for Kansas because Kansas has reciprocity to Missouri, but Missouri doesn’t have reciprocity to Kansas, so I had to pay for fingerprints and background checks for both states! So, if you lost count: four background checks, four fingerprints, and two licenses for two states. So, right now, I am a fully certified educator and building-level leader for MO and KS, but I still can’t teach or lead in KS... all because KS requires a TB test that I have to pay for. WHY ARE ALL THE HOOPS TO TEACH NECESSARY? These hoops are excessive, for real!
The third con is something I’ve had to meditate on because I have let it disturb my soul. I’m referring to two acronyms I created to describe my experience: OTE or TE, also known as other teachers' egos or teacher egos. Let me explain. For most of my teaching career, when I would introduce myself, I'd say, "Hi! I'm Mallory, and I'm a teacher." I didn't separate the two because I so heavily identified with being a teacher. And that reflected in my day to day. I was always in teaching mode: always thinking about my students, always planning for my students, and even spending my own funds to support my classroom (which is highway robbery because please tell me what other job has this as a stipulation), and never turned my teacher voice off (ask my husband, who constantly reminded me that he was not one of my students). I would spend time away from my life to teach. Teaching became my #1 priority. I said I prioritized my family, but if most of my energy was going to teaching, then that's actually what I prioritized. Focus goes where energy flows. Ultimately, I didn't know how to create healthy boundaries because I was trying to do what's best for kids (but now I know I was depleting my life force in the process). But I also think the egotistical way that I identified with teaching made me indigestible for some to be around. Being a teacher made me better than no one but in a world caught up in labels and, as Eckhart Tolle says, "the ego lives through comparison." So when I started my work to disentangle my identity from "what I do" and shift my focus to "who I am," I began to recognize others' egotistical identities and other people's need to place a label on themselves to enhance their ego's superiority to others. And believe me, I'm still stumbling through this!
So when I started subbing, I didn't wear my resume on my shirt. And when I showed up in schools I hadn't taught, the teachers didn't know me (which I actually loved). So, other teachers could only assume my experience based on my job title, which would also be fine...unaccompanied by the assumption of ignorance that goes along with the substitute role. I have appreciated those teachers who stepped up to enlighten me about the processes of the school and in the classroom I was serving in that day, but some teachers treated me like I didn’t know anything about kids. Sometimes, I even felt treated like a kid. Now, in their defense, I do present as younger than I am. However, to presume someone's competency based on age is another way our ego tries to create an artificial hierarchy. Probably one of the most disrespectful things I witnessed was teachers on staff who would come into the classroom I was teaching in to discipline students. The kids were fine and working, but I project it was simply the adults' need to create a hierarchy and stroke their egos. This has happened several times over the past two years. When it's happened, it feels comparable to when little bullied boys become grown adult cops to bully others because they were bullied...it's like teachers get a sense of power and perpetuate the egotistical hierarchy created by teaching. Teaching is not the only career that has egotistical tendencies...all systems with labels have egotistical tendencies. My gripe with this is not only the treatment of people but when ego stands in the way; often, the root cause of why you're even doing what you're doing goes missing. When I sub, teach, or advocate, I'm here for the kids. What are you here for?
This leads me to my call to action for you is to detach yourself from all labels. The bigger focus should be on why we do what we do when I enter a classroom. I’m there for the kids. It’s no longer self-serving. They do provide things that my soul needs in this life, but it’s not the root intention... it’s nearly a byproduct of our soul collision.
Secondly, whether I'm in a school building as a district-level administrator, building-level administrator, teacher, paraprofessional, transportation operator, nutrition specialist, custodian, or guest educator, the root of your why should be to support and influence the physical and mental, social-emotional, and academic well-being and development of humans. Period. If it’s not, then it’s time to re-evaluate your why. To do this, one must reflect and re-examine one's sense of self and check the part of one's ego that needs to make someone else inferior to make them feel superior. This ethos applies to every systemic and hierarchical business or organization.
Lastly, advocate for change in the system. Fully certified guest educators should have a pay scale and not have to go through so many hoops to help the school system. Because of the importance of guest educators, this is a measure that should pass through the Missouri House and Senate the way the vote to freeze property taxes for seniors flew through. It wouldn’t, though, because most people making decisions for bills don’t have children in the school system.
🎵Do you hear the people sing?🎵 The people’s voice is so important. YOUR VOICE is so important!
And to wrap up, I leave you with a quote and a list of affirmations:
Well, that's all for me this week! To wrap up a month about education, join me in next week’s episode, “Education Starts At Home.” The cradle of effective education is rocked from birth at home, so this public service is intended to empower the parents, families, and community surrounding the children.
Alexa, play the chorus of “I Can” by Nas. Guest educators are like hypemen and women, and this song gives me that vibe!
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