Great Teachers Are Made By The Teacher Next Door

by | May 7, 2018

Great teachers are made by the teacher next door. 

Thinking back to my substitute experience, this statement summarized any success I had as a sub.  Having a teacher show me the staff room, check-in on me or even tell me where the staff bathrooms were made the difference between a great day and surviving the day.  Having a teacher invite me to eat lunch with him/her was a welcome bonus. What feels like small acts of kindness impact whether substitute teachers want to come back or not.  A returning substitute teacher is a success that helps serve students better.

When we think about effective substitute teaching, teachers next door can help by thinking about these categories of information:

  1. Routines and procedures – Even if a teacher doesn’t know a teacher’s specific behavior system, he/she can show them where to go out for recess; where to line up for lunch; how to turn in attendance; and all of the other school routines a new teacher may not know.
  2. Students with special needs – This can be anything from a student with a severe peanut allergy to a youngster who needs special support.  These small pieces of information avoid surprises that can ruin a guest teacher’s day.
  3. Teacher needs – The adults that you invite into a classroom appreciate being treated as a guest with warmth and hospitality. Great substitute teachers often become your new permanent colleague. Start the relationship right by getting to know them and offering to answer questions.

Five minutes with a substitute teacher can make their day!  

Elise Darwish

Elise Darwish

CEO, Ensemble Learning

Elise leads Ensemble Learning’s strategic vision to improve charter school quality and remove barriers to achievement for underserved students. Previously, Elise was the founding Chief Academic Officer at Aspire Public Schools, where she grew the organization to a high-performing charter management organization with 38 schools in Tennessee and California. She was also the founding instructional coordinator at the San Carlos Charter Learning Center, the first charter school in California and the second in the nation. Elise is a Pahara Fellow and a Leap Ambassador.