* Formerly a Substitute Teacher in the Boston Public Schools
 

                        SUBSTITUTES' BILL OF RIGHTS   (Revised 3/15/95)

(Proposed by S.U.B.S., Substitutes United in Boston Public School–former advocacy group)

       Whereas the Boston Public Schools Personnel Office requires that "each substitute teacher is expected to do a full day's work in his/her subject matter area or grade to be used when needed; and that a substitute teacher assigned for more than one day is expected to have a carefully prepared program for each succeeding day. He/she is to keep his/her plans on file."

       Accordingly, Boston Substitute Teachers (Nurses) are entitled to the following RIGHTS:

1. Right to daily pay of at least the minimum starting pay of a contract teacherùcurrently, first year bachelor's degree $28,178 annually or approximately $155 daily on a 182 day school year. Substitute per diem pay currently is $76.50 or less than 50% of the starting pay of a beginning provisional or contract teacher. (In 1982- 83, substitute per diem pay was approximately $40; starting pay for first year contract teachers I bachelor's degree] was $14,733 or $82 daily.) Same buying power level; no increase in base pay.

2. Right to full Health benefits when working 20 hours a week or more regularly, such as Blue Cross-Blue Shield, Harvard Community Health Plan, etc...

3. Right to participate in Health and Welfare Plan- - Dental, Legal, Eyeglass.

4. Right to sick days when working regularly, i.e. a per diem who works daily.

5. Right to personal days, as any contract teacher.

6. Right to consideration of a plan for levels of substitute teachers, such as those with certification and those without certification; those with more seniority, etc. and with vaxying pay scales.

7. Right to equitable system of substitute union dues to replace present unfair system of approximately $25 a month or $250 yearly for substitute teachers, regardless of earned income; recommend percentage basis on earned salary: e.g. $300 gross income pays $3, $1,000 gross income pays $10, etc.

8. Right to substitute representation on contract bargaining committees. Right to participate in the State Retirement Fund with matching monies; or social security. (Present 7.5% deduction is NOT a retirement program- - no matching from city, state or federal government, minimal benefits).

9. Right to developing a step raise system for continuous and faithful service based on seniority- - e.g. one to five years and regular pay raises each year; e.g. 1st year

 
                                                INTRODUCTION

      During the first half of this century, working people in the United States, with the help of their unions and the Congressional passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act, won the forty-hour work week.  In 1940, the forty-hour work week referred to one job, one employer, one paycheck. Today, 65 years later, amid an increasingly technologically  efficient  and  computerized  society  with  a  large  unemployed population, one forty-hour per week job that affords a reasonably comfortable lifestyle for a family, or even for a single person, is an anomaly.

     A large portion of working people are working more hours (up to 75 hours per week is not unusual), often working several part-time jobs since fewer full-time and more part-time positions, with no benefits, are offered today. Other workers, who refuse to adopt a workaholic mode, simply accept low pay and a low standard of living. Employers, whether it be the city, state or private industry are grasping at the opportunity to cut labor costs by employing temporary workers, hence, the ascendance of the office-temp, the part-time college teacher, the free-lancer (to name just a few.)  Substitute teachers, sometimes referred to as supply teachers, are an example of this increasing population of temporary workers - underpaid, overextended and often underemployed.

     The phenomenon of a lengthened work week in a prosperous country which has made vast progress in modernizing production since the 1930's, and theoretically should be moving towards a shorter work week, is my chief interest in studying this topic. I chose to look specifically at substitute teachers as victims of this phenomenon primarily because, following five years of high school teaching under contract, I have been substitute teaching in the Boston Public Schools (BPS) over the past year. I have encountered a wide array of fellow substitutes, many who are experienced teachers, well-educated and having had unusual life experiences, interests and talents as revealed through my conversations with them. Many defied the stereotype of the negligent, roughcast type, (who of course, do exist amid the ranks of substitute teachers and the fully employed of every profession, I   might add),  and stirred my curiosity. I wanted to get a more complete profile on these people, who, like me, were working under, what I had determined, were highly stressful conditions, for low pay and seemingly little chance for attaming a full-time position. Do they work other jobs to pay the bills? How do they supplement their income? Do they have health insurance? Were they previously contracted teachers who had been laid off?   Do they want full-time employment? or do they enjoy the impermanence and flexibility of substitute teaching in order to complete a college degree, a teacher certification program, to seek other employment, build their own business? or just bring in a little extra income during their retirement. And what is their educational and professional background?
 
     In addition to my interest in learning more about the individuals who make up this reserve labor force, I wanted to find out what their chances actually were in attaining a job in the BPS.   Many substitute teachers, I discovered, do want to be hired on a full-time basis and have spent several years filling in for absent teachers with the hopes of being offered a contract. Is this hope in vain? Do their months and years devoted to the system, in the most unappreciated capacity account for anything when a job becomes available?  How many BPS substitute teachers have been offered full-time teaching jobs in the past few years? Is there any resource that substitute teachers can appeal to for assistance in getting, at least, an interview for newly posted, full-time positions?

        This last question leads me to my final area of exploration:  How does the Boston Teachers Union (BTU) represent the substitute teachers and respond to their concerns and demands? Why is it that the BTU has consistently won raises for their full-time teachers, ranking the BPS teaching staff the twelfth highest paid in the nation's 100 largest dties during the 1992-93 school year, (AFT Salary Survey, 1993), and yet their substitute teachers still earn less than $80.00 a day? How can city employees, who work every school day, be denied health insurance? sick days and paid vacation time? Are attaining these benefits for their substitute teaching force priority items with the union? Is there anyone pushing to make them a priority?

      Before  providing  my  analysis  of  the  literature  and  discussing  my methodology, I must reveal my own biases. I base my impressions, my knowledge and insight of this topic on the variety of teaching experiences I have enjoyed over the past decade.  These include teaching inner-city youth in the Boston Public Schools, suburban high schoolers in a working-class Midwestem community and gifted, emotionally disturbed teenagers in a private school in Los Angeles. Also, for ten years, I have been a home tutor to ESL college students, privileged youth in Beverly Hills and teenage mothers and hospitalized victims of gang violence in Boston.  Due to my frequently relocating, I have worked as a substitute teacher in four different school districts for a total of four years, sometimes working as a per diem substitute and sometimes taking a long-term job.

      I believe there is no more challenging work as an educator than substitute teaching.  The mere presence of a substitute teacher signifies, even to many of the highest-performing students, a "free" day. This is reinforced through the attitudes of regular teachers and administrators towards their substitutes, (which will be addressed in more detail in the literature analysis.)  Therefore, one's experience, knowledge and effectiveness as a regular teacher often has little bearing on a teacher's performance while in a substitute role.  I consider substitute teachers to be under-appreciated, underpaid and the most highly exploited employees in a school system. It is from this perspective that I have made my observations and analysis.

                                          ANALYSIS OF LITERATURE

      Assuming that little literature would exist on this most undervalued work force, I was surprised to find 128 articles on substitute teaching in the ERIC database. I was interested in discovering how the literature, which inevitably referred to the topic of substitute teaching as a dilemma, dealt with the issue of remuneration for substitute teachers. I was also curious about how the authors addressed the issue of job security, specifically the hiring of substitute teachers for full-time positions.  The latter issue was simply not addressed, with the exception of one study which suggested that 62.7% of all 259 randomly selected school districts throughout the U.S., do give special consideration to the full-time applications of their substitutes, but no specific procedures to verify this commitment were mentioned, (Rose, 1987). The abstracts, disclosed that the vast majority of publications came under a category I identify as the "How-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-substitute-teachers."
 
      This category of articles contained publications usually written by and discemibly written for school administrators.   The same suggestions appeared repeatedly: provide substitutes with building manuals, class lists, detailed lesson plans; include them in teacher training workshops and staff meetings; and regulate them through supervision and evaluation.  In other words, give substitutes the opportunity to perform their job in a professional manner and expect them to execute their duties professionally.  Mysteriously missing from the suggestion list was the idea of financial equity or a pay increase concurrent with increasing expectations of their job.  For instance, no mention was made of remuneration for their attendance at staff meetings and staff development workshops. Little daily onthe-job perks such as taking substitutes to lunch were advised to help substitute teachers cope with the school day and to feel more like they have the same stature as the full-time faculty, (Shreeve, 1983; Rundall, 1981). But no suggestions were made to actually give them more offidality by, for instance, offering them daily work in one school and pay commensurate with their education, experience and service in the system.

     No substitute teacher would deny that being apprised of school policy, provided with well-developed lesson-plans and given a friendly welcome and regard by the school staff, would greatly assist them in their job performance. There exists, as the literature indicates, a myriad of logical, well-defined and mutually agreed upon ideas for helping to alleviate the obstacles facing substitute teachers in the classroom and in the faculty lounge. However, technical suggestions for helping a substitute teacher function better on the work site is not the focus of this study.

      Not only was a pay increase conspicuously absent from most of the literature, a common theme, of many of the articles was the financial burden of substitute teachers on the school system. Some authors were quite blatant about this financial burden, offering ideas on how to avoid using substitute teachers.  The titles are revealing:  "Grad Students Made Great Subs," (Levy, 1982) and "Why Settle for a Substitute?" (Deutchman, 1983), in which the author suggests "replacing the wornout 'substitute' with guest teachers," a cadre of knowledgeable and skilled people with a relevant specialization, (p.397). Deutchman suggests that in addition to the educational and professional value of instituting such a program, "... a viable career of part-time employment seekers could evolve," (p.398).

      In Connecticut, a high school principal hired three para-professionals to replace the school's need for substitute teachers. (Ford, 1982).   He used the para-professionals  to  cover  all  non-instructional  supervisory  duties  normally assigned to teachers, freeing each teacher one period per day. He then utilized his full-time teaching staff to tutor students of absent teachers in a resource room and to take attendance and maintain order for those students of absent teachers who wished to remain in the classroom. His reasoning was the following:

          The traditional system of hiring substitute teachers is inefficient. Substitutes are generally  required to take attendance, to announce assignments designated by the absent teacher, and to maintain order. Unfortunately, their ability to carry out even these limited objectives is severely hindered by their transience and their ignorance of a school's procedures, (p. 702).
   
        A South Carolina school district instituted a program to replace substitute teachers with school administrators.  The purpose of the program was to make principals, assistant principals and other central office staff members who were removed from the classroom setting, more able to empathize with teachers. The authors of this article point out one of the benefits, "We save money. Our school system spends approximately $40 a day for a substitute teacher.  But now that administrators are pinch-hitting in the classroom, we're saving an estimated $7,000 a year," (Grier, Crech, 1990, p.37

      Reducing staff absenteeism by promoting wellness was a Washington district's  answer  to  reducing  the  need  for  substitute  teachers.    The  district encouraged healthy lifestyles, boosted moral by bringing health services into the work place, and improved teacher's performance through inexpensive, convenient opportunities for exerdse and weight loss, (Peterson, 1991, p.7-8).

        These programs, though with obvious benefits to full-time teachers and administrators, are at the expense of substitute teachers. Inherent in these ideas and programs is the belief that substitute teachers are not viable professionals.  For instance, why couldn't substitute teachers be introduced as guest teachers and be encouraged, paid and trained, if necessary, to prepare and present relevant classroom presentations rather than delegate the tasks that the regular teacher may or may not have left? particularly since so many are veteran teachers. Are substitute teachers not worthy of the financial investment in further training and professional development?  Some educators indicate that they are not even worthy of their present wages, which generally are slightly more than one half of the regular teacher's average salary, (Kraft, 1980), and in Boston, less than 50 percent of starting pay of a beginning teacher, (BTU Contract, 1995). One school system ironically gave monetary incentives to the full-time teaching staff in order to improve attendance and avoid paying substitute teachers, (Peterson, 1990).

      In an article about unemployment compensation liability for school systems, the author warns school administrators that by taking a substitute teacher's name off the calling list, the district may be liable to pay unemployment benefits.  He advises keeping substitute teacher rolls small even though he acknowledges that drawing from a large pool is useful to find the most appropriate teacher for each opening. However, he states that, "...schools may choose to give up this advantage in order to minimize their potential cost," (Butler, 1982, p.4).

       Even in the group of articles which address the self-image problem of substitute teachers and outline and provide on-site descriptions of the rigors of substitute teaching, fair compensation and benefits are not a highly focused on solution.   The  adversities  intrinsic to replacing  a full-time teacher and the commonplace apathy and rebuff towards substitute teachers by the school staff ad students are emphasized..  One author, after stating that the solution to the problem of attracting qualified  people to substitute teach is for administrators to offer them higher salaries, then adds that increasing their pay is not possible in some districts. She offers other suggestions such as providing substitute teachers with a copy of the bell schedule and a map of the school, as nonmonetary measures to make the job more desirable. (Augustin, 1987). Most often, the suggestions made to improve the situation were the same as those offered by administrators.
 
       One researcher, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, in proposing solutions for the commonly referred to self-image problem of substitute teachers says the lion's share of the responsibility for improving any substitute teacher's selfimage must fall on the substitute herself. He suggests positive self-talk, and writing a list of ten positive self-statements and reading them aloud, (Shreeve, 1983).   A principal of an Iowa high school, believes that the opposite can occur - that substitute teachers can esteem themselves too highly.  He refers to the "superiority complex" that former full-time teachers develop while in the classroom which arises from the envy of the regular teacher and is expressed when they try to become the regular teacher rather than the "temporary replacement,"(Rawson, 1981, p.82-3). This contrasted with the view of a former substitute teacher who writes that substitute teachers often feel a sense of "defeat and isolation due to the contempt and suspicion their presence evokes from the regular teachers and the low pay scale in force," (Kraft, 1980, p.85).
 
        Still,  aside  from  the  authors  who  suggest  that  substitute  teachers  are  a hindrance and should be replaced, the literature was sympathetic to the difficulties that substitute teachers face in the classroom.  Clifton and Rambaran, in their 1987 study, saliently identified the characteristic lack of authority and legitimacy of the substitute teacher's position which constantly puts them in a marginal situation. For example, students become accustomed to the teaching styles and classroom rituals of their regular teachers and when those are disrupted by their teacher's absence, students rebel. The authors suggest integrating substitutes more fully into the formal structure of the school by insuring specific rights, responsiblities, in-service training, increased pay, benefits and tenure. (Clifton & Rambaran, 1987).  Parallel analysis, but not always parallel solutions can be found in a good portion of the articles, reflecting an awareness of the factors that prohibit the substitute teacher
from functioning in a professional capacity, but often displaying a lack of willingness to make financial sacrifices to ensure their desired outcome.

                                             METHODOLOGY  AND  STATISTICAL DATA

      In order to attain statistics on substitutes employed in the BPS, the number of substitutes who hold teacher certifications and data relevant to the numbers of substitutes offered full-time contracts, I appealed to the school department.  I was referred to numerous personnel, each, who according to the previous "key" person, would provide me with the information I was soliciting.  After sending the obligatory letter requesting the data I desired and three months of follow-up phone calls, I finally surrendered to the idea that I would have to go to the teacher placement office myself to locate whatever relevant information I could find.  I describe this administrative procrastination not to blame any one school official, but to illustrate the impenetrability of the school bureaucracy faced by substitute teachers seeking full-time positions, and liable to exist in any institution the size of the BPS.

      With the help of an accommodating secretary, I did obtain a few statistics pertinent to my study.  Presently there are 4,515 full-time teachers employed by the BPS- Unfortunately, I was not able to acquire the exact number of substitute teachers registered in the computerized calling system. The estimate of working substitutes given to me by a teacher placement official was 650 to 700. I did obtain the March, 1995 record indicating the number of substitute teachers working each day. During the month of March, the average number of substitutes working per day in a long term position was 173.  The average number of substitutes working per day in  March, 1995, on a per diem basis was 253, adding up to a total of 426 substitute teachers working in the BPS per day.  These numbers include about seventy-five personnel working in various enrichment programs throughout the school system. When this contingent of workers is subtracted from the 426 figure, the total is 351, indicating that an average of 7.8 percent of the regular teaching force was replaced by substitute teachers on any given day in March.
 
       This is a slightly higher percentage than the often dted 5 to 6 or 7 percent time students spend in the classroom with substitutes, (McAdams, 1989; Rose, 1987; Shreeve, 1983; Booth, 1981). Although, one study indicated that on a typical day in the largest U.S. school districts, ten percent of regular teachers are replaced by substitutes, (Rose, 1987).   Again, due to my inability to obtain reports specific to the questions I asked, the data on the BPS substitute teaching force is not reliable and partly based on estimations. Still, whether it is 6, 7, or 10 percent of class time that students spend with substitute teachers, these figures  substantiate the important role that substitute teachers play in the BPS, not recognized by school and union officials in tangible ways.

       I was unable to retrieve both the number of substitute teachers who hold Massachusetts teacher certificates, and the number of full-time contracts offered to substitute teachers in the past two school years. But, I was reminded of a new policy, set in place this year allegedly to give substitute teachers more opportunity for a fulltime job interview. Each principal and department head was asked, via a circular, to submit three names to the personnel office of substitute teachers who they think are worthy of consideration for a full-time contract. The selected substitutes would then be granted a general interview for district wide position openings beginning the following school year.  However, whether or not the principals and department heads are even aware of this new policy is debatable. The principal of the school where I completed my long-term job, for instance, knew nothing about this policy, in spite of the fact that the circular had been distributed weeks before my inquiry, suggesting that the policy is just another half-hearted attempt to give substitute teachers a chance at becoming fully employed.

                                      RELATIONSHIP WITH BOSTON TEACHERS' UNION

      In order to learn about the relationship between the BTU and the substitute teachers, I conducted a telephone interview with a member of the BTU staff, whose position is to represent the substitute teachers and para-professionals. I had fourteen prepared questions which I read, transcribing her responses. Having heard she was rather defensive about her efforts with the substitute teachers and would not relish the idea of an interview on the topic, I tried not to make my questions derisive and decided not to reveal that I am presently a substitute teacher, thinking that fact may make her more uncomfortable and less forthcoming. Through my questions, I was trying to get a sense of how important it was to her, to the union, to improve the status quo for substitute teachers.
 
         I asked her if the union made any attempt to recruit substitute teachers to attend the BTU meetings.  Without answering "yes" or "no," she pointed out that there are regular monthly meetings and two meetings per year specifically for substitute teachers and paraprofessionals but that very few substitute teachers attended.  On questions regarding wages and wage increases she told me that substitute teachers were denied a wage increase this year since a corps of fifty "level subs" had been established. These teachers are guaranteed daily work in the same school and are paid $84.99 per day and given health benefits.  This $8.49 daily increase above the $76.50 per diem wage for the appointed 50 teachers, was in lieu of even a cost of living increase for the other 650 or so, substitutes throughout the district.  In addition, a raise in substitute teacher's pay, was denied in the same year that full-time staff received a $2,500.00 raise at a newly created eighth salary step for which 80% of the regular teachers benefitted.

       She also said that no substitute teachers participated in salary negotiations and when asked what substitute teachers gain for their union dues, she again referred to this newly assigned group of "level subs," and mentioned that a group of people are working on health benefits for all substitute teachers who work twenty or  more hours per week for the next school year. (I've since discovered that this group of people are not on the BTU payroll, but rather substitute teacher activists given no remuneration for their efforts.) Presently, there is a law granting health benefits to all city employees who work twenty hours or more per week.  However, there is a clause.  Municipal workers must be required to work twenty hours a week in order to receive health insurance,  which once again leaves the substitute teacher, who is under no obligation to work a specified number of hours, empty-handed and vulnerable.
 
       Her answer was "no" when asked if there was a support network in place to assist substitute teachers getting full-time positions and said she had no idea how many substitute teachers per year were offered full-time teaching contracts. When questioned about the BTU policy towards substitute teachers during a teacher's strike she said she expected everyone to honor the strike.   I was left with the impression that she did not know this group of teachers she was representing nor did she have any inclination to get to know them. There appeared to be almost no effort to encourage substitute teacher's participation in any aspect of contract negotiations.  In fact, by the end of our phone conversation, I was in a quandary about just what her designated duties as a salaried union representative for substitute teachers and para-professionals was, but since she was so anxious to terminate my questioning, I chose not to push further.

         EFFORTS OF SUBSTITUTE TEACHER UNION ACTIVISTS

      In addition to interviewing the BTU staff member for information regarding the relationship between the BTU and substitute teachers, I contacted John Thomson, a substitute teacher activist, who I knew had been working for many years to achieve equitable representation for substitute teachers.  My contact with him involved several phone conversations during which time I took notes on previously unknown and pertinent information.   He provided me with further data by his written responses to five questions I mailed to him.

      I had met John Thomson while teaching at a Boston High School in the Spring of 1994, when he appealed to me to attend an upcoming meeting for substitute teachers.  He told me he had been a substitute teacher intermittently for the past 13 years and, like me, had taught for two years on a provisional contract with the BPS- Two points he made struck me as especially notable. He expressed his dislike for the term "substitute teacher," since it reinforces the presumption that we are fill-ins without merit and not "real" teachers.  (This was a point brought up in several articles which offered alternative titles such as "reserve" or "guest" teacher, (Kraft, 1980; Ferrara and Ferrara, 1993), and "interim teacher," (Shreeve, 1983.)  He also stated that he was not at all interested in a full-time contract, that he likes children and teenagers and enjoys the flexibility of an impermanent work schedule, but that he is a trained and experienced professional teacher and rightly deserves equitable payment and consideration for his work. In other words, whether or not substitute teachers are seeking full-time teaching positions, we are, in our temporal capacity, worthy of the rights enjoyed by full-time teachers.

   As I often find true, people on the fringe, working in small numbers for change, those not in decision-making positions, present an acuity to a problem that would otherwise be missing. As it turned out, the Substitute's Bill of Rights sent to me by this activist, and conceived by the S.U.B.S.. committee, which he had organized, did just that.  I found it to be the most scrupulous document I read on substitute teachers.  This is because each of the twenty-one points detailed and underlined the privileges presently denied to substitute teachers. For some readers, it may underscore the vulnerable situation that substitute teachers are in, for others it may incite trepidation and querulousness: "Why should these temporary workers be given all this and further drain our public funds?"

      Basically, what this Bill of Rights asks is that substitute teachers be granted the same consideration as regular teachers in contract negotiations. It demands among other things, the same daily pay and step raises according to one's experience and service in the school system, benefits, sick days, personal days, paid vacations, seniority privileges,  orientation  and in-service training and fair  assignments,  grievance procedures and arbitration.   These rights are adjusted according to frequency of employment. (See appendix).   The present daily wage scale for substitute teachers is the following:

Per Diem ........................................$76.50
11 school days in the same position.......$84.99
 30 school days in the same position......$107.64
60 school days in the same position......$153.97

       Health benefits are offered to substitute teachers who are in long-term positions, but contractually are suspended upon completion of the long-term job. (However, often due to oversight, benefits continue to be deducted from the substitute's paycheck covering him or her until the oversight is discovered or sometimes until Summer, when the last paycheck is issued.
 
          Furthermore, substitute teachers have no real retirement plan.   Social Security payments are not deducted from their checks, instead a 7.5% deduction is put towards the substitute teacher's retirement, but since there are no matching monies from city, state or federal governments, the amount accrued by retirement would not come close to providing subsistence level income.

         According to this pay scale, if a per diem substitute worked every possible school day (which is nearly impossible except for level subs who were assigned to their positions before the start of the school year), the teacher could expect to make $13,770 with no benefits.  A long-term substitute teacher can fare better, but not much.  After thirty teaching days in a long-term position, a substitute becomes eligible for health benefits.  Also, one sick day is granted for every thirty days a substitute works in a long-term assignment.  But these benefits, like the II day, 30 day and 60 day wage increases granted to substitutes as they work the same continuous assignment, pan be deceiving to a substitute teacher who agrees to take on a long-term position and is anxious for a larger paycheck. Due to the many school holidays and vacations which interrupt the accruement of days, it takes far longer to benefit from the wage scale increases and health insurance than one might initially expect.  I will use my own recent experience to illustrate the absurd reality of the substitute teacher's pay scale.
 

          MY OWN EXPERIENCES WITH THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER PAY SCALE

     After working as a per diem substitute beginning in mid-September, I was offered a long-term job which began December 21. Christmas vacation arrived three days later - two weeks with no pay.  At the end of the second week in January, I became eligible for the $8.49 increase.  On February 10, my wage wet up to $107.64. Then came February vacation - one more week of no pay. And finally, the real heartache: on April 3rd, the day I would have begun earning $153.97, was the day the regular teacher I had replaced, returned. So for a period of fourteen weeks, or three and one half months, working full-time, with a regular teacher's responsibilities: preparing lesson plans, correcting papers, contacting parents, attending meetings, following through on disciplinary actions and enduring the less than appreciative comments of the sixth grade students who had an almost filial bond with their favorite teacher for whom I had the duty of replacing, I received $3,886.77.  In comparison, a contracted teacher with my level of experience and education would have received $12,816. (This figure represents 3 and 1/2 months of a yearly salary.)

    On April 4th, I was back to making $76.50 per day and not knowing what school I would be assigned to from day to day.  Also, my health benefits, which kicked in March 1st, should, legitimately, according to policy, cease. My total income for substitute teaching nearly every school day in the BPS during the 94-95 school year will be about $12,500. (The poverty level annual income in the New England area is $12,000.)  This income is far less than I need to survive and having no spousal or parental financial support, I have taken on three extra jobs to supplement my income. I tutor every day after school, occasionally work as an Au pair on weekends and am host mother to three live-in international students who speak, minimal English and for whom I cook and dean and help them in their cultural adjustment to New England. This, is in addition to taking college courses to further my learning and increase my options for full-time employment. Summer looms as a particularly distressing season, for as school ends so too do the paychecks.

      (Summer teaching jobs in the BPS are offered to contract teachers only.) If, as a fulltime substitute teacher, I was paid regular teacher wages at my designated salary step, I would earn far more than the combined earnings of my four jobs, and be able to save for the Summer months.
 
     Aside from all the expected effects of this furious schedule: exhaustion, anxiety, sleeplessness, a deep insecurity of my economic future and a severely thwarted social life, the most frustrating aspect, is that my energy is so dissipated that I cannot do any one job well.  I never really achieve job satisfaction.  Also, because of my after school tutoring, I cannot attend union meetings. (Other incomebearing commitments is the most commonly cited reason for substitutes' inability to attend meetings.  After all, the meeting times are arranged for regular teachers whose living is earned between the on-site hours of 7:00 to 2 or 3:00 in the afternoon.) Again, I use my own case study to exemplify the hardships endured by the growing number of temporary workers prey to misuse by their employers.

                                       SUBSTITUTE TEACHER SURVEY--[See survey at end of article]

      Wanting to learn how the critical conditions of their temporary work status effected other substitute teachers in the school system, I distributed to thirty substitutes, a self-designed survey of twenty-five questions relating to their teaching and educational background, history of their service in the BPS, and other means of income.  Most of the questions required a yes/no reply or an *x" to indicate the appropriate answer.  Only four questions required a written response.  I chose to include a survey in this study because I thought it would be an effective way to become more familiar with some of the individual teachers who make up this corps of professionals.  Also, I thought it could serve as an opener to elicit thoughts and comments about their occupational observations and concerns.
 
       The respondents to my questionnaire were substitute teachers, who I interviewed over a period of three months. Close to two-thirds of the respondents were teachers who had worked at the middle school where I had been serving as a  long-term substitute. A few teachers in my sampling I had met while I was a per diem substitute at a high school. And a little less than one third of my sampling included teachers who I surveyed on the telephone, and who were members of the S.U.B.S.. committee.  Most of my subjects, after answering the survey questions, were then casually interviewed by me, while I scanned their responses and took notes when they clarified their written or verbal answers  and made further comments.

        My sampling was quite small, purposive rather than random, in that I did not get subjects from schools throughout the district; and therefore, I do not guarantee reliability of items and scales on the instrument.   Still, I believe it was a fairly representative sampling of the diverse corps of substitute teachers in the BPS and sufficient to provide the kind of descriptive data I sought.  I did present some of the numerical results of the survey, but realize these numbers cannot be construed as a scientifically derived representation of the substitute teachers in the BPS.  Mostly, for this study, I was looking for the perceptions and experiences of the participants and used the statistics to more fully complete the profile of my sampling.
 
     The respondents from the S.U.B.S.. committee, whose names were obtained from a list I was given by John Thomson, tended to differ in several ways from the substitutes who I met on the work site. In general, they were older, had more years of service in the BPS as substitute teachers, and although certified, had less education beyond their Bachelor degree than those I met at the schools. Also, most of them were no longer interested in obtaining a full-time teaching contract.  The survey respondents on this list expressed more concern about achieving equitable union recognition than the respondents I met in the schools.   However, many contributed money, not time, to the activities of the S.U.B.S.. committee. Two of the substitutes on this list, both who mentioned they had a son or daughter who was a union activist, adamantly expressed the importance of action versus talk in order to enact the necessary changes for substitute teachers.

     The most pronounced difference that emerged among the respondents I met at  the  schools,  was  the  extent  of  their  former  teaching  experience.    Some   respondents had just begun teaching this year and nearly one half of my respondents had formerly been a contracted teacher, their experience ranging from one to twenty-four years. (See selected survey results.) Included in this sampling were substitutes in long-term positions, per diem substitutes, substitutes who returned to the same school every day and some who did not know until the morning of the assignment where they would be teaching.   Of the thirty respondents, sixty percent expressed a desire for a full-time contract with the EPS, but many respondents answered the question ambiguously.  Often, the respondent would say, "Well, I guess I wouldn't turn a contract down if one was offered."

      Another area of ambiguity was in the response to my final question pertaining to self-esteem.  Most respondents rated their self-esteem with regard to their substitute teaching on the high side of the scale, adding that they thought they were good at their work.  But several respondents offered an addendum: Their confidence fluctuated with the attitudes and behaviors of students and staff towards their presence and whether or not well-defined lesson plans had been left for them.
 
         Only one of the teachers I surveyed who did not have at least one additional income-producing job, had no other means of income. Parental support, spousal income, social security payments, pensions and interest on investments were some of the  non-work  related  sources  of financial  support  listed  by  the  survey respondents.  Some of the various other respondents' jobs worked simultaneously with their substitute teaching were: hotel detective, editor, classical violinist, smallbusiness owner, free-lance actor, personal chef, artist, carpenter, playwright, store clerk, computer servicer, travel agent, coach and tutor.

    The common complaints expressed by the respondents were primarily low pay, no benefits and wrongly calculated pay checks. Frequently, the step raises that are granted during long-term assignments are missed and sometimes schools forget to report days that substitutes work. Often it takes months for payroll to rectify the unpaid wages. (I can vouch for this. In fact, more often than not, there is an error on my paycheck in the city's favor. It is a distressing moment when one opens the envelope containing the paycheck with the already minimal sum, only to find an amount less than expected, especially after having earned the missing monies under such adverse conditions.)  Other frequently expressed grievances by my subjects were poor job satisfaction, no job security and the low return on the high union dues paid by substitute teachers.  Presently, $25.00 a month, $250.00 yearly, is extracted from substitutes' paychecks to cover union dues, regardless of the number of days worked.

       The survey was written when I first began research on this topic.  After having gained additional knowledge on the subject, I would have deleted some questions and asked others not included in the present survey. For instance, at the time I designed the questionnaire, I did not know that substitute teachers automatically become BTU members after sixty days of service in the system.  It is then, that union dues are absorbed by the BTU. This situation renders questions #15 and #16 regarding union membership otiose. On the other hand, I wished I had asked questions pertaining to the respondent's history of work-related activism, egg: attendance at union meetings, demonstrations, letters sent to representatives, etc. This could have added to my understanding of my subjects' degree of complacency or willingness to fight for more union recognition. Hence, I would have obtained a better sense of the possibilities for contractual progress for substitute teachers.
 
     The actual survey is included in the appendix and the ten questions I deemed most pertinent to this study are identified and the responses calculated in the graphs on the following pages.

                                     SUBSTITUTE TEACHER PROFILES

      The descriptive data I attained through this study is best expressed through the substitute teacher's own stories.

                                                          Carl
 
      Carl was laid off from a full-time position in the BPS seven years ago and has worked as a substitute since. Aware of his wit, I asked this self-proclaimed cynic to jot down a few notes on the plight of the substitute teacher:

      A  substitute's  day  dawns  gray,  filled  with  premonition  of small-craft warnings.  The safety and professional satisfaction of plans, regular classes and continuity are not a balm for the sub. The anticipation of being asked "And who are you today?" some 10 or 20 times hones resentment at the well-paid, socially impaired, regular teachers. Often this question is simply a way of keeping tabs on who is out and why. "Is that woman getting PDP (Professional Development Points), at a regular school day conference?"  Who does she Know?" or "He's out an awful lot, isn't he?"...
 
     There are days when one lucks out and gets one of those curiously spared bilingual Chinese programs.  The attrition among seventh grade teachers and L.D. teachers is more likely to provide the cup of bitterness for the day.  Lesson plans vary from the vague and impractical depending on the teachers and the school...
 
     Abuse of subs is routine, alternately threatening and comical and boring. To an old sub: "You're so old your birthday fell off the calendar,"... Or the timeless remark made during a science class upon requesting that Denise do her work, "Sir, I don't do work. Really. I'm not being fresh. You can ask Ms. Wydell." (Her regular teacher.) Sure enough she's right.
 
      These reflections not only attest to the disparagement suffered by comments of students and faculty, but implies another important function of the substitute teacher: to relieve the burnt-out faculty.  A keen administrator would understand that there is not much sense in keeping the relief staff in a constant state of debility.

                                                        Carol
 
          Carol, in her 40's, who just began working in the BPS following five years of teaching in a parochial school, rated her self-esteem in regards to her work on a scale of 1  to 10, a negative 20 and commented that being a substitute is the "closest thing to prostitution."  She left her former low-paying, full-time job to be a substitute teacher in Boston in hopes that her service would lead to her being hired as a regular teacher. She became completely distraught when she learned that her time spent substitute teaching in the system was no guarantee of even an interview for a job opening.

                                                    Sally

      Sally, two years out of college, holding three teacher certifications, and in her second year as a substitute teacher in Boston, did get a general interview last year for upcoming full-time position openings.  But she discovered this past Fall, after noting the job vacancies in her areas and calling each principal heading the schools that were hiring, that she had not been placed on any of the lists for prospective candidates. Now she works in a long-term, part-time job in Special Education and is teaching outside of her certification.  She took the position thinking that half-time (at half pay), would allow her more opportunity for additional income-producing work.  But she finds that she spends far beyond the half-day mark at her job performing duties such as writing lEPs, attending CORE meetings and making student placement recommendations (all tasks for which she holds no credentials, making the school one of many that is not in compliance with state regulations due to wrongly placed personnel.)

    Sally also plans lessons, corrects papers, researches curricular topics at the public library and purchases needed materials for her students (at her cost), after school hours. Yet, in spite of her tremendous devotion, to her work, she is paid after several months on the job, the just recently increased wage of $76.50 per day. Her starting pay in the same position, working in the same capacity, with the same responsibilities, was $38.25. This figure represents half of the per diem rate, the rate a substitute receives in a long-term position before the II day, 30 day and 60 day wage increases are granted. She now does phone interviewing for extra income and receives some parental assistance to make ends meet.

      This is a frequent occurrence for substitute teachers - their being placed i long-term positions in subject areas and grade levels outside of their certification.  For many substitutes, it is difficult to turn down a long-term position which offer higher pay, benefits and the constancy in their daily environment afforded by  returning to the same school every day. But if, for instance, a substitute takes a long term position in an elementary school and is only certified at the secondary leve no matter how positive her or his rapport is with the administration, faculty an students and how well-known the substitute teacher's pedagogical abilities, when full-time position becomes vacant at that school, the substitute will not be qualifie for the job. This is one of many reasons substitute teachers pass up offerings of long term positions.

                                                       Ahmed
 
      A former elementary school principal from Lebanon, who has worked as a substitute teacher in the BPS for over 3 years, said he will no longer take long-term assignments because they are not worth the extra effort, especially when substitute teachers are never acknowledged as being true professional teachers.  He asked "How can we get respect from our students when the principal does not evei introduce us to the class?" He calls substitute teaching a dehumanizing experience.

                                                        Brenda
 
      Legal liability was cited as a particular vulnerability of substitute teachers by, Brenda, a five year veteran substitute teacher who is presently in law school, and one of the principle activists in seeking legislative change that would grant health insurance to substitute teachers who work twenty or more hours per week.  She pointed out that when substitutes encounter a disciplinary problem, they generally face numerous obstacles: a dysfunctional intercom, a nearby teacher who does not want to get involved, an administrator who is no where to be found. If a fight occurs in the classroom and results in a student's injury, the substitute teacher can be held responsible.  (No single school employee must deal more consistently with discipline problems than a substitute teacher. Yet, because substitute teachers are so typically ignored by administrators after they are given their assignment, the substitute is left with a classroom full of students who view them as easy prey, and administrative inquiry or visitation is rare.)
                                                          Evelyn

        Evelyn, in her 60's and a substitute teacher in the BPS for the past 28 years, is one of many substitutes who have had to endure the frustration and rage, of inner-city students, inevitably heightened upon seeing a substitute in their classroom. The following scenario is an extreme example of a substitute teacher's commonly experienced confrontational situation with some students. After repeatedly asking a student to turn around and stop talking, Evelyn walked over to the student and attempted to move her chair with her foot. The student responded by spewing out profanities at Evelyn. Evelyn returned to her desk and was followed by the student who then smashed Evelyn in the face.  Evelyn, suffering a bruised nose and emotional trauma, took several weeks off. The principal of the school encouraged her to file charges, but Evelyn's fear of retribution from the student and also her memory of a former incident involving legal action she took against a student, prevented her from doing so again.
 
      Years before, a student had emptied Evelyn's wallet while she was teaching and in the classroom.  Though she had not witnessed the theft, she strongly suspected  a  particular  student.    When  she  reported  the  incident to the administration, they concurred with her suspicion, but needing further legal justification for the student's expulsion, advised her to seek judiciary retribution. She agreed.  However, her efforts resulted in the student's acquittal due to an absence of hard evidence. Also, she never recovered the full amount of her stolen money and missed a day's pay due to her court time. She appealed to school officials for compensation of her daily wage lost as a result of pursuing the legal action advocated by the school principal, but to no avail.

      Evelyn, who is a Massachusetts certified teacher, with a Masters in social work, and speaks five languages, initially hoped for a full-time position, but now, years later, just wants better remuneration for her work.  Her stories, once again, attest to the financial disparity between substitute teachers and full-time teachers, who contractually would have been compensated for a school-related court appearance, and to the physical vulnerability of substitute teachers, even greater than that faced by regular teachers because of substitute teacher's lowly standing in the schools.

                                                   CONCLUSION

      Substitute teachers, like other temporary workers are a markedly exploited section of the work force. Though they are expected to perform the same duties as full-time teachers, neither their status nor their pay reflect the professional demands of their job.  Like other temporary workers, many are often at least as qualified as the full-time staff who they replace.  Unlike other temporary workers, however, substitute teachers in the Boston Public Schools can join a union.  Yet, the slow progress of wage increases and the near absence of any fringe benefits, suggests that even the BTU views substitute teacher's work place participation as insubstantial. Others in the educational hierarchy have the same indifference, and, at times, scorn towards substitute teachers. As John Thomson recounted in a letter to the BTU Teacher, an executive board member, last Spring, shouted to a S.U.B.S. committee member who was distributing literature at a board meeting, "Why don't you get a real job?" (BTU Teacher, 1994).

      The idea that if substitute teachers had more motivation and self-respect, they would not be in the predicament of being a temporary, low-paid worker, is a sentiment that likely underlies many educators' judgment of substitute teachers. A portion of the literature and the neglect of substitute teachers by union officials, exemplify this attitude. In addition, many substitute teachers themselves, attest to  having to endure this type of insinuation by the school staff and students.  But as discovered through my findings, included in the substitute work force, are many competent,  certified  teachers  willing to  teach  full-time,  and  due  to  their confinement in a temporary capacity, take on numerous other income-producing jobs.    Furthermore,  many  substitute  teachers  continually take  the  assumably necessary steps to get hired by the BPS. They make entreaties to principals who are familiar with their work, contact various personnel in the teacher placement office, obtain additional teacher certifications and try to perform their duties professionally and skillfully in hopes that their abilities will be recognized.  Still, they are not offered contracts.

        One reason given by some of the non-minority substitute teachers during my discussions with them, for their being denied full-time jobs, was affirmative action.   They believe that those teachers, not of European descent, are given preference for job openings regardless of their qualifications.  While that may, at times, be true, (after all the BPS has an eighty-two percent minority student population), it is disconcerting that the debate focuses on who gets hired and not on how many teachers get hired. But, typically, when jobs are scarce, the scapegoat becomes those who have the jobs and not those with the power to create them.

       Assuredly, no more than a handful of teachers in the BPS would disagree that class size is the most significant factor in managing and thereby being able to effectively teach our youth.  Employing more teachers, decreasing class size, giving teachers more opportunity to provide individualized attention to students, would allow considerable progress in the task of turning our schools into more civil places of learning.  Fewer students per dass would also be one step towards attaining the quality of education found in private schools - an injudicious goal to some, but an ideal to strive for, nevertheless.

    Yet, clearly, hiring more teachers requires increased educational funding and school board and union executives are not the only forces preventing a more satisfactory student to teacher ratio.  When asked how important good public education is to our country, nearly everyone would agree that it is the most essential element of a vital, democratic and progressing nation. And yet, there still exists the attitude, as expressed to me recently, by a prominent surgeon who sends his three children to private schools, that it doesn't seem to matter how much money is spenton education, the schools don't get any better.
 
    There is no question that monies are ill-spent in the BPS and that some improvement can be made simply by juggling existing funds. But continuing the trend of increasing class size, keeping the hiring of new teachers to a minimum and refusing to equitably compensate the substitute teachers, is not the budgetary area to scrimp and save. There is no better way for citizens to get a valuable return for their educational tax dollars than for school systems to employ more teachers.

                                               POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

     Teachers presently working as substitutes can serve two basic important functions in providing a higher quality public education.  First, those who are qualified and seeking full-time employment can be hired as regular teachers, thereby, reducing class size. Second, each school can hire a group of those substitute teachers wanting to maintain an impermanent teacher status and flexible work schedule. They can be granted the same stature as full-time faculty and introduced to the student body as such.   These teachers could replace regular teachers taking personal and sick leave and allow for more time to be allocated to much needed professional development for the entire teaching staff, not excluding the substitute teachers.  This would, of course, also prevent substitute teachers from having to endure the uncertainty of where, when and if they will work from day to day and give them the professional respect and income they deserve.
 
    A more visionary, far-reaching solution to putting an end to underemploying and underpaying one of eight teachers presently acting as substitutes, (Kraft, 1980), and improving public education is to create a pool of teachers, including those presently working as substitutes, who choose their own level of time commitment in their capacity as a teacher. In addition to regular teachers being overtaxed by too  many students per class, too large a course load and too wide a curriculum can hamper a teacher's scholastic preparation and hasten their burn-out. A larger pool of teachers would allow teachers time to concentrate their efforts and further their study in one or a few specialty areas, according to their interests, expertise and their own chosen level of occupational involvement.   This way the major subject areas can be  divided into mini-courses,  giving students more choice, more knowledgeable and better prepared teachers, and a more intensive approach to learning.  Students would study more specified topics as opposed to the traditional survey approach to broad subjects which tends to hamper learner retention. And the expanded teaching staff: full-time, part-time and replacement teachers could not only be expected to fulfill their role in a highly professional manner, but be given the  time,  further education and training,  and compensation equal to those expectations.  The benefits to substitute teachers presently underemployed and underpaid, regular teachers facing or enduring burn-out and students in need of more personal attention and quality learning experiences, are manifest.

                                              UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

      Many unanswered questions remain, both specific to substitute teachers and general questions relating to the overall temporary work force in this country. Since, this study was so limited in scope, referring to substitute teachers in only one of several thousand school systems around the country, much more data is necessary to get a more complete profile of this particular force of temporary workers.  How do the substitute teacher's pay scale, experience and educational background, and desire and efforts in obtaining full-time teaching jobs in the BPS compare to those nation-wide? How similar are die administrative policies, union contracts and full-time position hiring procedures pertaining to substitutes?  What significant attempts have been made throughout the country to ameliorate their impermanent status, low pay and insufficient or absent fringe benefits? What is the  national average of the student to teacher ratio in public schools and how does it compare to that of private schools?

       Similar questions can be studied pertaining to the temporary work force in the nation as a whole: the number of jobs workers hold, their health insurance status, job satisfaction and future employment objectives.   Also, case studies of hiring trends can be explored. What is the percentage of full-time position openings in various businesses, schools and public institutions as compared to part-time position openings offering no fringe benefits?

           SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS STUDY AND FURTHER RELATED TREATISES

      Why is it important to research the plight of the substitute teacher? And why study the growing trend of employing workers on a temporary basis?  Perhaps a teacher can answer these questions most astutely. We, in our occupational role are observing and working five days a week, seven hours a day, with the offspring of parents too busy to attend to their children because of their frenzied work schedules or stuck in their generational welfare dependence and having few, if any academic and vocational expectations for their children. In both cases, children are neglected due to economic policies that are poorly planned and inherently inequitable. The vastly increasing number of attention defidt disordered youth is proof of that neglect. How can society expect children to develop a love learning, academic skills, civic  responsibility  and  compassion,  when  they  still  cry  out  for  the  most fundamental of human needs: parental love? And yet, how can this be provided amidst the present labor market trends?
 
    People willing to work, needing to earn a living, but stuck in a temporary position should not have to feel ravaged by their labor, take on several jobs to pay their bills, and be hindered from any sense of job satisfaction.  Neither should working people have to forfeit quantity, in addition to the typically touted "quality" time for parenting, leisure, community involvement and rest. The deprivation of  these important human needs not only lowers our quality of life, but impairs the stability of our economy and eventually evokes social unrest.

      In order to give our young people the opportunity to become intelligent and contributive voters and workers, skilled and ethical leaders, the issues of the lengthening work week and the temporary status and underemployment of a growing section of the work force must be addressed.
 

                                         RESOURCES--REFERENCES

AFT Local Union Teacher Salary Survey, 1993, (DOD Data Base).

Agreement Between the School Committee of the City of Boston and the Boston Teachers Union, Local 66 AFT, AFL CIO, 1994-1997.

Augustin, Harriet, (1987). Substitute Teachers: An Endangered Species, Clearing House , 60, (9), 393-96.

Bontempo, Barbara T. and Deay, Ardeth M., (1986). Substitute Teachers: An Analysis of Problem Situations, Contemporary Education, 57, (2), 85-89.

Booth, M.R.. 1981. Get Your Money's Worth Hiring Super Substitutes, The Executive Educator, 3, (8), pp. 34,37.

Butler, John )., (1983). Unemployment Compensation for Former School Employees, School Law Bulletin, 13, (1), 1-5.

Calkins, Kenneth L., (1987). The Plight of the Substitute Teacher, Clearing House, 62, (5), 228-230.

Clifton, Rodney A. and Rambaran, Rajkumar, (1987). Substitute Teaching: Survival in a Marginal Situation, Urban Education, 22, (3), 310-327. Of the published articles on substitute teaching, this is one of the most scholarly and analytical studies. It looks at the reasons substitute teachers encounter problems fulfilling their role from a theoretical perspective. First, it provides definitions and examples of authority, legitimacy and marginality and then shows how there is a lack thereof in the job of substitute teaching. The authors suggest that if substitute teachers are not perceived to be official position holders, they will always maintain a marginal status.

De Luccia, Joseph H., (1981). A Substitute Teacher - Resource Room Program,
      Small School Forum, 3, 12-13.

Deutchman, Sandra E., (1983). Why Settle for a Substitute? Clearing House, 56, (9), 397-398.

Drury, William R., (1986). Eight Ways to Make Sure Substitute Teachers Aren't
      Baby-sitters, American School Board Journal, 175, (3), p.51.

Ferrara, Peter J. and Ferrara, Margaret M., (1993). Where's Our Real Teacher?
       Schools in the Middle, 3, (2), 11-15.

Ford, Robert )., (1982). Connecticut Program Covers Classrooms of Absent Teachers, Provides Tutors, Phi Delta Kappan, 63, (10), 702-703.

Grier, Terry B. and Creech, Robert Y. Ill, (1990). Super Subs Is Not a Sandwich, American School Board Journal, 177, (20), p.37.

Johnson, Julie M., Holcombe, Melinda, and Vance, Kendra, (1988). Apprehensions
      of Substitute Teachers, Clearing House, 62, (2), 89-91.

Koelling Charles H. (1983). Substitute Teachers: School Policies and Procedures in the North Central Region, Education, 104, (2), 155-171.

Kraft, Daniel W. (1980). New Approaches to the Substitute Teacher Problem,
      NASSP Bulletin, 64, (437), 79-86.

Levy, Ted, (1982). Grad Students Make Great 'Subs, Executive Educator, 4, p.l8.

McAdams, Richard P., (1989). Our Sliding Scale Rewards Reliability,
       Executive Educator, II, (2), p. 18.

Peterson, Susan, (1991). When the Teacher's Away, (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 336 371).

Rawson, D. V. (1981). Increasing the Effectiveness of Substitute Teachers,
      NASSP Bulletin, 65, (446), 81-84.

Righi, Carol, (1993). Scab! Crossing the Picket Line in a Teacher Strike, Clearing House, 66, (6), 332-334.

Rose, Terry L. and Others, (1987). Current Practices and Procedures in the Use of Substitute Teachers. Sponsored by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (ED), Washington, DC. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 304 772). This is a quantitative study on the practices and procedures of substitute teaching based on the results of a questionnaire of which 259 randomly selected school districts throughout the U.S. responded. The questions asked related to substitute teachers' educational requirements, selection for duty, consideration for full-time contracts, certification status, past performance, number of assignment refusals, evaluation policies, training and materials provided, availability and shortages of substitutes, their pay and benefits. One significant finding was that minimum degree and certification requirements and administrative evaluation of substitute teachers were applied more in the 1976-77 school year than in this 1984-85 study. It would be interesting to see if a similar, more current study would yield the same national lowering of standards for substitutes.

Rundall, Richard A., (1981). Give your Sub a Break, Clearing House, 55, (1) ,43-4.

Seldner, James K., (1983). Substitute Teaching: Is There a Better Way?
      Teacher Education Quarterly, 10, (4), 61-70.

Shreeve, William C. and Others, (1983). Substitute Teachers: The Professional Contradiction, U.S. Department of Education, Washington D.C. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 278 621).

Shreeve, William and Other (1987). Teachers Strikes: Maxims or Myths., U.S. Department of Education, Washington D.C. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 285 839).

Shreeve, William and Others (1986). Teachers Strike: A Community Event, U.S. Department of Education, Washington D.C. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 277 665).

Stommen, Joan (1986). Eight Tips for Getting the Most from Substitute Teachers, Executive Educator, 8,29-30.

Substitutes' Bill of Rights, 1995, Committee of Substitutes United in Boston Public Schools.

Thomson, John P., 1994. Letters to the Editor, BTU Teacher, October, 1994.
 
 

           Boston Public School Substitute Teacher Survey
 
                   ( Please check one or supply a written answer where necessary.)

1.     Please check your age range   20's __    30's __  40's __   50's __   60's __

 2.   How long have you been a substitute in the BPS?
           I just began this school year __ 1  to 3 years   __  3 to 10 years __ 10 years or more ___ 5.
3.    How many days per week do you substitute teach?
           1 day or less per week __   2 to 4 days per week __  Every or almost every school day __

4.   If you are not working every school day as a substitute teacher in the BPS, would you
      like to be?         Yes __ No ___

5.   Have you ever taken  a long-term substitute position?    Yes ___ No ___
 
6.  What is your level of education?
     Presently I'm in my last year as an undergraduate __ BA __ MA __ PliD __ Other ___

7.   What area is your degree(s) in? _____________________________________________

8.  Are you a Massachusetts certified teacher?    Yes ____ No ____

9.   Do you hold a teacher certification in another state?    Yes ___ No ___

10.  Have you ever worked as a full-time teacher on a provisional contract for the BPS?
       Yes ___ No __   If yes, how many years? __

11.  Have you ever been a tenured teacher in the BPS?
      Yes __ No __ If yes, how many years? ___

12.  Have you ever been laid off as a teacher in the BPS?
      Yes __ No __ If yes, for how many years? ____

13.  What, if any, is the total number of years within and outside of the BPS, you have worked as         a contracted teacher?        Never __ 1 to 5 years __ 3 to 10 years ___ More than 10 years__

14. Have you ever been offered, but turned down a full-time teaching contract with the BPS?
     Yes __ No ___

15.   Do you belong to the Boston Teacher's Union Yes __ No ___

16.   If not, what is your reason?

___ Someone approached me about it, but I never got around to joining
___No one has ever approached me about joining
__  I do not think I'm properly represented as a substitute

17.   Have you ever crossed the picket line during a teachers strike in order to work as a          substitute?  Yes __ No ___

18..   How many paying jobs or endeavors in pursuit of other income do you have in addition to            being a substitute?   0 ___ 1 ____ 2____ 3 or more ____

19. .   Please list your other income-producing jobs.    ___________________________

20.  Please list your other endeavors that you hope will produce income in the future.

21.   Are you a single parent?  Yes__ No __   If yes, do you receive child support?  Yes __ No__

22.  Do you have health insurance? Yes __ No __

25.  If yes, what is the source of your health coverage? Spouse or parent __ Other job ___
      Self-pay __.

 24.  Do you hope to be offered a teaching contract in the BPS through your substitute teaching?
            Yes __  No __  If not, please state why you are a substitute teacher in the BPS:

              ______________________________________________________________

25.  On a scale of 1-10, (J being low) how would you rate your self-esteem in regards to your work? ____