We were going to leave last week’s post in the dust and move on, but then Renay had a week talking about sub[statute] binders.
We talked about sub binders in our book in detail but we also talk about it on the road when we talk about the organization that special educators need.
However, this week, Renay was working with one team and the staff was busy putting together this list of their week on a table. While Renay is an advocate for a table to sort information, the amount of information every person was trying to cram into the table was starting to get a little crazy. Then Renay asked the team, “Are you describing what you personally do in your job or are you telling someone how to do your job?” The staff all stopped. The tables looked busy. No one could get enough information in, even the ones who typed.
In the sub binder the absolute, non-negotiable:
- Hourly schedule of where to be, who to expect, breaks
- A map of the campus
- The campus emergency protocols
- What to do when you’re where
It would be nice to know exactly how to be you, but that fact negates your uniqueness and relationship with the students and other staff. It would also be really great to have this information all on one page, but the little notes about how to best work in a room with staff, tricks to get students to follow instructions when they know someone else is new doesn’t fit on one page. But be direct, brief, and positive for your replacement if you’re at a district that has substitutes.
It would also be really great to have this information all on one page, but the little notes about how to best work in a room with staff, tricks to get students to follow instructions when they know someone else is new doesn’t fit on one page.
ParaEducate
While We Are Talking About Subs
Substitutes: you are about to perhaps take on a temporary job that might end up being your honest job interview. We know that this job was probably not what you wanted. This job is also probably the most dynamic of all the things you have done to date. Try your best. We know your understanding of what one person does day in and day out is complicated by just the nuances of what will happen in the day. Yes, we were serious about the interventions to behaviors. We are sorry you had to anticipate the readings in a subject that is your least favorite. Thank you for covering for us. We hope to be back soon.
One more thing…
We were contacted by a state today that we haven’t visited before. But as for the state by state resources in the United States for paraeducators, it’s a little empty out there. Due to the nature of education being mostly the domain of the states, each state handles paraeducators, paraprofessionals, instructional aides, or that extra adult in a classroom a little differently. Even within a state, the job title and expectations are very different.
We will have a list of general resources, but we have been working on a state by state resource for a while. Give us a little while. We’ll talk about this soon.
Do you have any comments about this week’s blog? Do you have a question for us? Would you like to have an opportunity to pilot some materials at your campus? Find ParaEducate online here, here, here, here, and on our website. ParaEducate is a company interested in providing materials, information, and strategies for people working in special education inclusion settings for grades K-12. ParaEducate, the blog, is published during the academic school year on Thursdays, unless a holiday. ParaEducate shares their findings at conferences, through their books, and their academic adaptations.
