With covid, I have been emailing teachers anonymously. I have been asking questions about the Aesop job they posted. I ask if all there students are in-person or if their mixed (some at school and in-person at the same time). I prefer doing all in person for some grades. Sometimes I ask if they could email me a lesson plan. You would be surprised that most teachers do not respond back. The one's who do respond back, I have subbed for some of them. I do not like going in blind during these covid times. It takes about a minute to answer my questions and email a lesson plan.
I don't understand why most teachers do not explain things on the notes section when they post jobs. I wish Aesop would let us look at lessons plans before we accepted a job (Note: Majority of teachers do not post lesson plans).
Even in non-teaching life, I would not reply to anonymous emails. As a sub, I don't need to see lesson plans before accepting a job and, in my opinion, it's an unrealistic expectation... many times the lesson plans aren't prepared or completed until the morning of the job (the previous day can impact the plan)... and those are often the best assignments because they offer some flexibility.
Honestly, when I was a teacher I would have probably thought that was a red flag.
I just wanted subs to hold down the fort, while I was gone, but I taught high school. Elementary is a different world.
I think the questions about hybrid, etc. , should probably go to the school.
In the days of block scheduling, though, I can see your point. 1 1/2 hours with students with nothing to do is a nightmare, at least for me. That's why I don't work at schools with block scheduling, and I feel for those students.
That's why I like to work for fewer districts/schools so I know more about what is going on.
Might not work every day, but a lot more pleasant.
As I feel you are just trying to be better prepared and know ahead what the day holds or if you even want that day's job, but, wow-- it is a huge trust issue for me.
So, all that to say, I do not blame them for not responding. There is no way that I would send information about my class, kids, or district to an anonymous email at any time--Covid or no. It's all on a need-to-know basis. A "potential" sub is not in that category until they are hired.
Now, if it is a sub I know, they have ACCEPTED the posted job, and will be working in my room, I might if the plans are done...but probably not until the day before. Like a PP, so much of what a given day looks like depends on what was accomplished the day before. I may also add more review work, skip certain parts of the day that are harder to explain, or move around things that require my own input or supervision.
Once you have accepted the job, it does change that need-to-know dynamic somewhat. Still, if you end up calling out or changing positions, or even still taking the day- my class, kids', or district information/schedule is out there somewhere. Whether you print it out for your own viewing, save it on a hard drive, or it's in the cloud, anything-- that I am unaware of. There are too many ways that could get messy. I bet their lawyers are opposed.
Once you accept the job, are in my room, or whatever, I guess you could still make copies of the plans, take pictures of the room, kids, schedules, or whatever, but it would be a purposeful act on your part at that point. If the information was abused or misused at that point, it would not be because I gave it to you.
Only time in 13 years anyone has emailed me a plan was on a long term vocal music position. Lyrics for the songs and directions as to the CDs where the back up instrumentals were for the songs. I understand the aversion to walking into things blind, but really that is the world of subbing.
1. As a retired teacher, I would not respond to an anonymous email. Never. It might be a parent, a student, or just a person who wants to make trouble.
2. Go to the school or district website. It will show the schedule and whether it’s remote, hybrid, or full attendance.
3. In my experience, many teachers have students just work on homework assigned on their Classroom. For all remote, teachers have had me take attendance on Zoom or Meet. I have also taught hybrid and remote lessons. And, yes, I have had goof ups. I only teach grades 6-12. Kids are forgiving, as are teachers and administrators. If you have problems, ask a neighboring teacher. I have found them to be more than happy to help. Get to the classroom early. Get things set up. Make sure you can find what you need. Make sure tabs you will be using are open. It’s not easy at first, but it’s doable. Good luck.
I have had teachers email me their plans and even PowerPoint presentations. Those are teachers I know well from subbing or from before retirement. That way, I am able to have one in case I can’t get into their Classroom. I can just go to my email and show the slides from there on their computers. Anyway, people have good suggestions. Good luck.
Teacher's sometimes respond because you write the day and time of the job and what grade they teach when you email. They know this information could only be obtained by a sub. The information they give give out is not personal information. Its just factual mainly. If you read on this board, you would see complaints from subs on distance learning (like parents complaining to the principal, kids complaining to the school, many technology problems, etc.).
How are you able to email anonymously? Do you use a separate email that they wouldn't realize is you? I don't understand what your purpose is for this. Do you think that certain arrangements are undesirable? I wouldn't paint with a broad brush on this. Try one day and see for yourself. Or I'm sure the office would be happy to just tell you how their school is running. I agree with many posts above that I wouldn't expect anyone at all to reply to your email. Why would anyone communicate with, let alone send lesson plans to a stranger? They probably think it is creepy.
They know this information could only be obtained by a sub. The information they give give out is not personal information. Its just factual mainly.
That information is obtainable by anyone who tries hard enough. I’m not giving out any information to an anonymous emailer, not even public info found on out website. It’s creepy and weird.
Since classes are on Zoom, when I accept a job I email the teacher, give my name, tell him(her) I accepted the sub job for said date, and ask to talk, email, or zoom with them about plans, links, etc for the day. I've only subbed about 8 times so far and every teacher has been accommodating, some even spending a lot of time on a zoom meeting with me to make sure everything runs smoothly. I think this is because many of them are using a sub for the first time and nobody has taught them how to set things up for a sub, just as nobody really taught us subs much about it. As I get more experience I suspect I will need less help.
So I, too, wonder why someone would contact a teacher anonymously. If I have questions about the job being in school (a couple grades do this), the "bell schedule," etc., I call the school directly. If you have a question for the teacher, tell her who you are and ask the question. Most likely the job will be gone by the time you get your answer anyway.
I would think it is weird. By anonymous, do you just mean that you don't put your name as t the end? I don't know why it would need to be anonymous. I have emailed teachers, a couple of times, but I always said who I was. Didn't even think to not say who I was.
I have a email that has letters and numbers. My first name might be the letter"b" and my last name the letter "c". Some teachers have a hardtime finding a sub, so they email back right away. Some where the job is taken already, I might sub for them a different day. I believe if you give your name and ask too many questions in your first email, you may get a very Negative teacher who may tell on you to the district, etc. If you get a great response back to your first email, that is a sign of a helpful teacher. Still, if you ask too many questions, some will start thinking negative things about you and your teaching. Sometimes, I use my real email address and give my name. It all depends on certain facts and factors.
Flat no. I’m responsible for my children and an anonymous email from a stranger requesting detailed information would be a gigantic red flag. You would be blocked/marked as spam, and I would report it to my admin. If by some odd course of events, I found out it was from you, I would not want you to sub for my class, bc it feels unsafe. There’s really no reason for you to seek detailed information like that.
You might be a totally safe, nice person, but the world is filled with too many people with ill intentions take chances.
Yeah, I would like to see more job descriptions for assignments.
Most of the time, teachers are too busy to have everything ready
perfectly for the sub. I find the most accommodating people are
nearby teachers 15 minutes before my class starts. I don't have my own computer device. Devices are all different. Then you have passcodes, passwords, and any other hurdle that prevents you from accessing an online class meeting. I've taught online about 16 times. There seems to be a type of connection problem whenever I do it. Muphys Law. I look for assignments where I'd be assisting students online rather than teaching. They're much easier.
As a former classroom teacher I can tell you that most teachers don’t have time in their day to email subs. As a teacher I would also skip over most emails unless they had a subject line that caused me to open the email.
The notes section on Aesop allows for short messages to be posted; “3-5 grade learning support, see ms. Smith for lesson plans.” Teachers can post lesson plans. I’ve only ever had one teacher, yes one, out of hundreds that I’ve subbed for that has included lesson plans on the Aesop posting.
I’ve done quite a few of the talking head, teacher on a smart board from home, days of substituting. Best one was for a librarian who had me shelving books as she taught.
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02-09-2021, 07:50 PM
