Substitute Teacher to Math Tutor
“The Pleasure of being a Substitute Teacher & Math
Tutor”
Life as a Substitute Teacher:
It has been eight years since I went
back to college to become a teacher and though my aspirations of becoming a
full-time public school teacher have faded into obscurity, my love for teaching
remains. That part of the story is too
sad to reflect upon and since I believe in being ‘Positive’, and ‘Pushing
Forward & Upwards’, I won’t say more on that subject. Instead of teaching full-time I have however
been teaching as much as possible on a part-time basis.
I believe this is my sixth year now
working as a substitute teacher for several school districts within a decent
driving distance. Lately, because of the
cost of gas I have chosen to stick to just our local school district where I
normally sub five days a week. I have
put so much time in substitute teaching that I was even able to use the time I
have spent subbing to qualify me for my Permanent Certifications. This was such a new method of obtaining my
credentials that I actually had to show each school how to put together the
proper forms for me to use. It all
worked out fine and being permanently certified means I won’t have to worry
about getting prequalified in the future.
When I substitute teach I normally will
sub for just about any class that is open.
I have subbed for everything from Math, Science, and English, to Special
Ed, Physical Ed, and Home & Careers.
The only changes I have made in the last couple years have been to
refrain from subbing for Middle School Physical Education. There was just a little too much hormonal
energy going on during those classes for me to handle without getting
distressed myself.
Otherwise, I am more than willing to sub
for just about any class that may come up.
At the Middle School level, grades 5 – 8, I found plenty of
opportunities to actually teach the class.
Where at the High School level, more often than not, I simply assign
book work or hand out packets the class has to work on.
Occasionally, I get to work with
students who have learning disabilities, particularly in the area of
reading. This is where I tend to shine
because I suffered from the same disability when I was their age. I stuttered, I mumbled, and I hated English
in general because of this.
I use my own experience to help them to
relax, take their time, and to focus on the skills they’re trying to
develop. I know where to help them, how
to make the work fun, and together we get through the lessons fine. Knowing I was a ‘D’ student when I was their
age and hearing how I just kept working at the skills I needed to master, that
I now hold three different college degrees.
Not only that, but I also learned how to be a carpenter and a machinist
as well. I try to reinforce in their
minds that they don’t need to let their so-called ‘Disability’, define who they
become. That with hard work and
perseverance they can become anything they chose to be.
Of course, my strongest area to
substitute teach in is Mathematics, because of my background,
vocationally. I remember subbing for a
particular class at the Middle School level, where the students I had were
trying to understand how to use a particular math formula called the
Pythagorean Theorem, (c2 = a2 + b2). These students didn’t have a clue how to use
it, what it meant, or anything. It just
was bewildering to them and all they wanted to do was give up! So, I changed tactics and drew a picture of a
part I use to make as a Machinist. I
drew a 3-demensional picture, dimensioned it, and explained to them how
Engineers who draw up the blue-prints will give you all kinds of dimensions to
work from but the ones you need to make the part!
“This”, I explained “is where you need
to know how to calculate your own dimensions!”
When it’s all said and done, the final product you produce is your
responsibility, not the engineers; so, very often, you have to know as much or
more than they do in order to complete the job.
So, I explained to them the process I
needed to go through to complete my job, and exactly what dimensions I would
need. The engineer never had to make the
part, so he doesn’t know I need to know this particular dimension before I can
even get started. I explained, “This is
where I use some basic Algebra, I subtract this from that, I know the radius
has to be this, and now I need to use (c2 = a2 + b2)
to calculate what this length will be, and I’m ready to go!” I looked around the room and you could see all
the little “lite-bulbs” popping on over everyone’s heads as they finally
understood what had a few minutes before seemed so bewildering.
Having a vast background in both
construction work and machining I usually have several examples I can refer to
for most any math concept I am teaching, so I’m able to bring alive the class
work in a way most teachers can never hope to.
In fact, when the teacher of that particular class came in while I was
teaching this lesson overheard how I was explaining the material, she started
to cry. She told me she had been
teaching for over twenty years and couldn’t do what I just did because she had
never needed to use these math skills in the real world. All I can hope is that she remembered some of
what I said for future use herself.
“Working with students passionate about learning”
LIFE
AS A MATHEMATICS TUTOR:
For the last four years I have had the
pleasure of working evenings as a Mathematics Tutor at the local YMCA. The first thing I noticed about the students
I tutor is that they do not mess around while they are there for tutoring. They never talk back to me or get mouthy with
any other student who is here for help.
So, teaching is pure pleasure and very fulfilling.
Last year two of my students that I
tutor were actually excited about taking their Regents Exams because they
couldn’t wait to prove how well they could do.
We had gone over several old exams as practice before the day of their
exam and were able to do the majority of the problems in their heads without
the aid of a calculator. I reminded them
that on average they would have ten minutes to complete each problem on the
Regents Exam; so, if they’re solving the problems in their heads in just a
matter of a few seconds, they would obviously have plenty of time to take the
test. Knowing this allowed them to begin
the test without feeling the worry as to whether they would have enough time to
complete the test. As such, they both
did very well on their tests. They were
so happy they did so well they couldn’t wait to tell me what their scores were.
That’s what I love about tutoring! Being able to help students achieve goals
they never thought they could. Most
develop a love or learning and end up going well beyond what the core
curriculum expects of them. Once a
student develops a love for learning the job of the teacher is basically over
with. That student will now begin to
teach themselves and grown in knowledge without needing much help from anyone
else. One of my students in particular,
would always go over to the computer to look up additional work for herself,
print off worksheets, and spend another hour practicing her math skills. As such, she ended up doing really well in
class, and is now hoping to become a teacher herself.
My hope of becoming a full-time teacher
didn’t quite go in the direction I was hoping for, but I still find what I do
very rewarding. Though what I do is not
very profitable, you can’t measure success in terms of money all the time. I use to make quite a bit of money working as
a machinist, but that work was not rewarding to me. If the work you do does not make you happy
and is not fulfilling to you, then what is the point of it? I’ve learned it’s better to concentrate on
what brings you joy, that you love doing from the time you get up in the
morning, to when you go to bed at night.
If you do this, you will never be disappointed with yourself or your
life.
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