Bureaucracy at its finest...

Since when are these systems effective at effective management?

As a fellow, I would recommend not to get too involved in matters that do not immediately contribute to your school. If it's through a supporting organization then go ahead, however, if you are asked to pull favors for another school, don't even consider it unless your school is backing you up.

I am placed in an awkward position since I occasionally substitute for an alternative young adult program in the same building but since it's not the same school code or designation, I am no longer receiving per session checks for coverages.

It's been an interesting experience to see how students of other schools within the same building perceive my school on the 3rd floor. It's like a glimpse into the outside perception of what and how your school is doing. It's also a different dynamic to have to deal with students of other teachers and other cohorts. These are students I rarely see so they know my face but they don't know me too well.

Many students in this alternative program are on the verge of dropping out, so they go to these programs to quickly and conveniently accumulate credits to graduate and take their Regents exams. What I didn't realize that this is a type of "conflict of interest" that prevents me from getting properly paid for my numerous hours of substitute teaching and voluntary coverages of fellow colleagues. These kids wouldn't benefit at all by having a random substitute who doesn't give a damn about them. All of the substitutes I have encountered have been awful and I'd rather have another teacher cover my class especially someone from the same department (which is why I am pretty frequently asked to cover other teacher).

It's funny how things like this work. The red tape that keeps the most reasonable and logical decisions at bay and locked away for a rainy day. Why have these "professional substitutes" that aren't actually maintaining the continuity of the students' learning? They sit there reading their newspaper or filling out their crosswords. I would feel very guilty to sit on my ass for 48 minutes while students do absolutely nothing.

Whatever happened to teaching for the sake of teaching or learning for the sake of learning. It's a sign that the public perception of education has changed so dramatically that it's twisted the motivation of America's youth and growing adults.

Aww well, I suppose some of these coverages are filling my volunteer quota for the year...