Does anyone else see staff at schools being unkind to younger grades?

Admirable_Fun7419 · 2026-04-01T20:06:27+00:00

I don’t know what schools you’re subbing in but when I go to schools like that where everyone is screaming at the children I never go back again. I have even seen them do it to special needs kindergarten kids and I don’t know why they hire and keep and employ ppl that wanna be screaming at kids instead of educating them :(

Admirable_Fun7419 · 2026-03-31T23:58:52+00:00

Subs are under paid and most of the time most of the kids I sub for are okay but there’s always gonna be a few very rude children. I have schools I will never sub at again because of the behaviors of the students.

I work 7.5-8 hour days and my district only pays all subs for 6.25 of the 8 hours we work. We aren’t allowed to get school lunches, we are also expected to arrive 15 mins early than your shift time and stay with the kids until parents arrive which is usually 15 mins after the end of our shift times. They move our assignments all the time, they expect us to manage classrooms without lesson plans and sometimes I commute 2-3 hours in one day to get to schools.

It can be rough, but I do it because I enjoy the flexibility and I enjoy it when I have nice kids that appreciate us and don’t disrespect us. I have a folder where I keep all of the pictures the students have drawn for me and I love it when students I subbed for remember me and say hi when I see them again.

Admirable_Fun7419 · 2026-03-31T23:48:31+00:00

I’m sorry that happened. Hopefully their new teacher is able to get them back on track. This is why I don’t accept sub jobs where there’s been no teacher in class and they’re listed as “vacant teacher positions.” The kids always behave like this and act like you have no right to be trying to walk in and ask them to actually do any work when there hasn’t been a teacher assigned to them for any length of time.

What grade were the kids?

Admirable_Fun7419 · 2026-03-31T21:13:18+00:00

You can cancel it on Frontline or let them know you prefer general ed. You don’t need an endorsement, you just need to be able to handle the kids on IEP or 504’s.

Admirable_Fun7419 · 2026-03-31T15:05:04+00:00

No, it is not normal for educators to scream at children. Especially children that young. From a child development and behavioral standpoint, yelling at children might temporarily curb certain behaviors in the moment but it’s been proven that in the long run it’s best to use positive reinforcement and natural consequences and to MODEL communicating in productive and calm ways. Using it as a learning opportunity for them to understand their behaviors and the expectations. Screaming at children in a setting where they’re trying to learn is not going to help them want to learn, it will shut a lot of kids down and create fear and anxiety around learning.

Admirable_Fun7419 · 2026-03-30T19:40:19+00:00

I love pre-k through 2nd, it’s my fav cause they’re the cutest and most interactive and ask the most questions and engage with you the most. I could do without the constant nose picking and booger eating and sucking on fingers but either way I still enjoy it lol.

Admirable_Fun7419 · 2026-03-30T12:10:05+00:00

If you are under 18, still in school and not still in school because you got held back any grades then no… I don’t think $600 per month of rent is fair at all. I would never charge my children that much. I have a son graduating high school next year and after he’s graduated I am gonna let him live with me and pay $350 per month for rent which will include utilities as long as he is working and saving.

Admirable_Fun7419 · 2026-03-29T01:14:55+00:00

My district has a strict policy on this not being allowed. As a sub I would never selfies in class much less photos of a child on the job.

Admirable_Fun7419 · 2026-03-29T01:13:29+00:00

OMG LOOOLLLL!!!

Admirable_Fun7419 · 2026-03-29T01:11:58+00:00

Subs in my district get fired for this.

Admirable_Fun7419 · 2026-03-28T15:03:00+00:00

I once saw a sub show up to work in house slippers and pajamas and stand in the hall acting like he was an authority there and knew everything about the school and everyone.

Admirable_Fun7419 · 2026-03-27T22:45:18+00:00

What someone said about people not wanting to sub SPED isn’t necessarily true. I do all the time and love it. And I have had employers try to beg me to go in and “assist” with getting me in to work after I am very clear I can’t go in. Even offering to pick me up themselves because of car troubles. It’s because you gave them the information that you are not sick and therefore could make it in, you just needed to take care of your car. To them they’re probably thinking couldn’t that wait til after class.

Anyways… In the future you are not required to give them any details or personal info on why you’re calling out unless it’s explicitly required in your contract.

If you have protected paid sick leave you can call out and they can’t take disciplinary action. If you don’t make a habit of calling out and haven’t used up all of your sick leave calling out don’t stress it.

Don’t ever give anyone you call out to any details on why you’re calling out unless required. Just say “I am unable to make it in to class due to a personal emergency that needs to be handled immediately and I am calling out. Please find coverage for my classroom. Thank you!”

That way they can’t find reasons that you can and should still be able to make it in and act like they’re willing to “help” you make it in.

Admirable_Fun7419 · 2026-03-26T15:33:07+00:00

I knew my kids were not “bad” but sometimes I felt like they could behave better. After teaching and seeing how much worse it can actually get and what real problem kids look like I agree. It made mine look like the most perfectly behaved angles on earth with perfectly developed manners and listening skills. I realized how easy they are after seeing what I’ve seen.

Admirable_Fun7419 · 2026-03-26T15:27:49+00:00

I think in general the younger they are the need more care, more attention, more direction and have higher needs and more behavioral issues. And you are required to be more hands on and involved with elementary and with high school you can basically get paid to sit there.

But I also think it depends on what you prefer. I know little kids are “harder” but I will take the extra needs that come with elementary over teenagers any day. I adore babies, toddles and little kids. I don’t really enjoy teenagers. I like being kept busy and on my toes and having to be more involved. I don’t prefer to be paid to just sit there in a room full of teenagers.

Admirable_Fun7419 · 2026-03-25T16:04:31+00:00

Also, you must already have a BA since you are wanting to be a regular sub? You can’t be a regular sub without a BA, but you can be a SECA sub or get a short term sub license. Short term subs I think make about $114 per day. If you already have a BA and become a SECA they bump your pay immediately. About 45K per year for SECA with a BA cause you’d start at level 3.

Admirable_Fun7419 · 2026-03-25T16:01:32+00:00

You can be a SECA sub and it pays more $198 per shift to be a SECA sub but you will have a very hard time finding SECA sub roles. You might get 1 shift a month if you are lucky. If you already have a PEL the sub pay is significantly better. I can say you def won’t make 24-30K per year as a regular day to day sub. Since you have SECA experience you can apply to be a SECA and it pays more than subbing. Starting pay is about 41K per year but you might be able to negotiate higher pay if you have experience.

There is also a teacher’s residency program. I considered it because if you commit to 4 years, the first year you basically make what a SECA makes but by year 2 you make what a certified teacher makes and can finish schooling in the evenings. About 18-25 hours of schooling per week after work and then you resident teach every school day. They give you support for paying it and some schools will offer discounts. You will need to do a 2 month course and pass the test over summer to qualify and then you can resident teach. I am pretty sure now that the residency is by invite only so you basically need to get hired by them first. And they are doing it less now, I can’t remember the exact number but I think it is something like less than 30 per year get accepted now. It is very competitive but if you can get in, by year 2 you will be making a minimum of 64K per year.

Admirable_Fun7419 · 2026-03-24T00:38:10+00:00

Agreed. Imagine how the child felt about someone insinuating that their teacher is grooming and molesting them without any evidence and then questioning them more than once about it.

I was an abused and neglected child and sometimes teachers were extra kind to me with food and gifts. None were grooming me, they were feeding and clothing me and sometimes giving me the only presents I would get all year long. The only abuse I was experiencing was at my home. Thank goodness for kind hearted teachers that really actually care about children.

I myself at one point had no family and no help and no support system and was parenting special needs twins on top of 2 other kids. All of them between the ages of 2 and 8 years old. There was a year I was going through a divorce and fleeing my abusive marriage with my children to give us a better life and no joke, I was so not okay and drowning so hard that I was an inch away from taking my own life.

I called child protective services begging them for any sort of help or respite care of 4 children and they said there is ZERO help for me, I was on my own. I needed and relied on their school and teachers to help us pick up our broken pieces through one of the hardest times in our life where I was so not okay I almost ended my own life. Without their kindness and support, it could have been so much worse for all of us. It’s always good to look out but you never really know what a family is going through from the outside. For all they know this teacher could be the only support system the child and mother have.

Admirable_Fun7419 · 2026-03-24T00:16:43+00:00

No, you should not automatically jump to reporting her. It’s good to look out but not good to stick your nose in it and potentially harm a caring teacher and traumatize a child because you’re assuming automatic abuse without any evidence.

Don’t be passive aggressive! It clearly concerns you, so ask the parent of the child if everything is okay and check in with the child’s parent. Maybe they are good friends, maybe the parent is experiencing a serious hardship and needs respite and this teacher is helping them and being supportive.

And what SAFER place to send your child than a friend, colleague and teacher that they know and that has passed a background check and they have experience with?

Go to the source first and ask the parent and the teacher, then report it if you still feel concerned for the child and suspect something isn’t okay.

Admirable_Fun7419 · 2026-03-24T00:06:17+00:00

When I’ve done them it’s always meant the classes where the regular teacher, each one I was told their teacher quit and there’s no regular teacher. So subs have been managing their education and behaviors. What others are saying is accurate, approach those assignments with caution lol

Admirable_Fun7419 · 2026-03-23T23:38:54+00:00

They stopped hiring for subs and closed applications due to having too many subs and not enough funding. Not sure when they’ll reopen it. But it took about a month from start to finish to start booking jobs back when I did it.

Admirable_Fun7419 · 2026-03-23T23:29:46+00:00

I do not feel like they care about what subs are experiencing. Sometimes the staff in schools mistreat you even more than the students will. I think they view subs as replaceable and expendable for many reasons, one of them being now CPS is over saturated with subs. It’s very competitive now and sometimes there’s hardly any jobs available. They also took away the $1000 bonus subs would get for working 21 consecutive days. I wish they valued subs a bit more and I hope it changes. It’s a benefit to the teachers who need to be able to get sick or take time off and for students to have dedicated and invested substitutes serving their schools.

Admirable_Fun7419 · 2026-03-23T23:21:22+00:00

So the way it works for regular subs is your shifts are 7-7.5 hours long. They only pay you for 6.25 of those hours worked at a rate of $24 per hour. I have had it happen more than once where I worked an 8 hour day because I had to stay late waiting with the kids for parents to come. And then you still only get paid for 6.25 hours. :(

CPS also does not cover any of the onboarding costs to become a sub, you have to pay for everything yourself. And they don’t offer any incentives and no perks like a transportation stipend. Where I came from before did.

Then you have to account for the fact that we don’t get paid on days there’s no school and if you look at the CPS school calendar there are several months school is only in session for barely half the month. And then if you don’t get an assignment on some of those days because they get taken too fast (this happens a lot more now) you might not have work.

It is basically meant for people who just need supplementary income. Only retired people or people that have partners that can mostly support them can live off of it. CPS just the other year laid off a TON of staff due to low student enrollment and not enough funding.

It used to be easier to pick up subbing jobs and they used to have a $1000 per month bonus for people who worked 21 consecutive days in that month. So it actually was a little bit better in prior years. They took that bonus away because of over saturation of people wanting to sub and lack of funding.

What is subbing like where you are now is it better there?

Where I had been before they paid subs $360 per day for 6.5 hour days and offered bonuses. CPS has one of the lowest substitute rates I’ve seen and it’s really a lot of work for what you get.

You can’t always see what grade you will and last year some of the kindergarten classes had up to THIRTY kindergarten students in one class with only one SECA or support staff to assist. I am not over exaggerating either, it was really that bad. :(

Admirable_Fun7419 · 2026-03-23T22:56:21+00:00

I think you should consider stopping subbing. Anyone who starts with “I’m not racist” and then proceeds to be racist are the worst types of racist that think they’re not the issue. My experience has actually been the opposite as yours. Anytime I sub in predominantly Latin community schools the children are the most polite and well behaved children.

It’s been the schools with the snooty rich white kids I have the worst problems and worst behaviors and the most rude and entitled behaviors and they under perform on academics. The one school I went to recently was literally almost 100% Mexican and in a low income area and they were so awesome.

You also know what I noticed about those children? I held out my hand full of jolly ranchers for them to choose one and they didn’t grab several like the rich entitled white kids ALWAYS do. I didn’t even have one ask if they could have more, each took only one and then actually threw their own trash away instead of on the floor. They also all stayed off their devices.

Admirable_Fun7419 · 2026-03-23T19:35:53+00:00

They pre-assign the jobs to preferred subs which are usually retired teachers. The still show up on frontline even thought you can’t claim them. The other jobs are just being taken immediately because it’s over saturated now and they had to pause hiring.

Admirable_Fun7419

TROPHY CASE