What if I told you that the behavior of students when a substitute is present says more about their character than a report card ever could? This is called the sub effect. Mrs. Houser, a principal at Riverside Prep, states that, “I expect students to behave the same way they would with their regular teacher.”
When asked, “Do you expect more good or bad students?” she replied, “It’s like you being at home and your parents go on Vacation, they get a babysitter.” She explained how your parents would expect you to be really good for the babysitter, just like how she would expect the students to be with a sub. When we asked Mrs. Houser what the usual problem is, she stated,”Most of the time they switch seats and go to different classes.” We then asked Mrs. Houser “Do you get more good or bad sub reports?” She had said that she doesn’t really hear too much of them, but she did say “more good than bad.”
After our interview with Mrs. Houser, we interviewed some students. When the Students were asked how many bad or good students they see with a sub, they had stated, “I see more bad students,” but then when we asked another student they had stated, “I have seen a mixture of both,” and they had explained how it really actually depends on the sub, the class, and the students. When we asked the students if they could put it into their perspective of what percent of students they see disrespecting their sub they replied with,”99% of kids disrespect the subs and go on their phones”, another student replied,”30% of the students disrespect their sub and the other 70% percent are always either ditching class, not there, or they are actually respecting their sub”. When we asked how often do you see good students, a student replied with,” once in a lifetime”.We asked a different student how often they see bad students they replied with,”24 ‘7”.The last question we asked the students was whether they expect more good or bad students with a sub. They had replied with,” They should act the same way they would with their actual teacher.”
Though you may think this is not a big deal, there are serious risks that often go unnoticed. Substitute teachers may not know which students are supposed to be in class, and some students take advantage of that by skipping. In the event of a lockdown or fire, the substitute might not know who is present or where certain students are. During a real emergency, this lack of information could put students in serious danger.
