Parents of students at a New Mexico high school are crying foul after they say a campus security guard was called in to "teach" their kids biology classes the same week the district announced it would be cutting back spending on substitute teachers. Hey, at least they picked a guy the students would be safe around.
The Rio Rancho School District said it would call on administrators and "other qualified staff" to fill in when a teacher called out sick. So how is a security guard "qualified" to teach high school biology?
Frankly, I don't see how he's any less qualified than the bulk of people I've seen substituting. Although there are some trained educators who fill in as substitutes until they land a full-time gig, they aren't necessarily trained in teaching the subjects of the teacher they're being called on to replace. The best gym teacher in the world can't really be expected to explain dangling participles and gerunds, can he (or she)?
Not every substitute even has teacher training. They're hired, essentially, as glorified babysitters, there to ensure the kids stay in one room, and don't spend the day playing with toy trucks if it's a kindergarten classroom or making out in a back corner if it's high school. I hardly remember a class spent with a substitute at the helm where learning was high on the agenda. As students, we were given busywork, whether it was elementary level worksheets or high school textbook chapter reading. If you had a question, you were always told "wait 'til tomorrow and you can ask your teacher." Some teachers planned quizzes and tests for days they knew they'd be out, a guarantee the kids would be quiet for the substitute. Some kept a movie handy for sudden sick days; you knew there was a substitute if you walked into a darkened room with the giant TV stand set up at the front.
With the exception of extended sick leave, when a qualified teacher really should be stepping into the vacancy to ensure the students' learning is kept on track, does it matter the career background of the adult standing at the front of a classroom for a day?
Image: KOB
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