Substitute

Almost all of us have had a substitute teacher at some point in our lives.  Having been in the education field myself, I can tell you that there is nothing I dreaded more as a teacher than having to make substitute teacher lesson plans.  I worked in a specialized classroom with students with disabilities, and there were only a few people I felt comfortable leaving my class with to begin with, and sometimes, I didn’t know who was going to take my class on days I wasn’t there.

Back when I was a student myself, if we had a substitute teacher it often left me feeling uncomfortable because the substitute wouldn’t do things exactly the way my actual teacher would.  Of course they didn’t, for the very reason that they weren’t my actual teacher. They were a different person with their own experience and their own way of doing things.

Over the last few weeks, we have had a series of substitute organists here at St. Ambrose.  This presents a challenge to the cantors as well as to the organists because we aren’t as familiar with each other’s styles, but we make it work.  We rehearse more than we would usually, but it is time well spent to understand a little bit of how and why the other person does things the way they do.

Think of this from the substitute’s perspective.  I had a certain substitute teacher who was a regular presence at my school.  She subbed for me a few times as well as for my classroom aides. When she would sub for my aides, she would say, “Oh good, I don’t have to be you.”  Granted, I had a difficult classroom so her feelings were somewhat justified, but I would never expect a person who was substituting for me to actually be me.  That’s not a realistic expectation of anyone.

It is important for us to recognize and accept the individuality of each person.  When we do that, we become much more pleasant people to be around.