SUBSTITUTES have been around forever, but are they necessary or just placeholders? 

Throughout my years in school, when my teachers were absent, a complete stranger would walk into the room or already be sitting in my teacher’s chair. Now that I’m older and have gotten used to the idea of a substitute teacher, I question whether we high school students really need them.

As a student, I can understand why teachers themselves need them, because they have personal lives outside of school that sometimes clash with school hours, and because they deserve a day off. Substitute shortages aren’t a new thing, and the ¨issue¨ has intensified, supposedly affecting learning outcomes and school operations. That led me to another idea: only have substitutes lead from kindergarten through the last year of middle school. 

High schoolers, especially upperclassmen, can handle themselves with just a lesson plan and the instructions given to them by the teacher. Communication is key, rather than feeling like the class has a babysitter who shows up late, talks about the most random things, and is sometimes completely clueless about the class they’re subbing for.  Shouldn’t they know what they’re getting themselves into? Granger has students who are actively learning in that class and would know a lot more than subs do. 

Becoming a substitute teacher is a six-step process: you submit an application, it’s reviewed, your former supervisor receives an email, and once your application is completed, HR reviews it (the fourth step). Finally, whether you are approved. If approved, the final step is fingerprinting, which takes about a week. 

Substitutes are helpful when they are aware of what they are doing; we should at least have subs who specialize in the subject. When they don’t have enough subs, we should have other teachers with a free period who can teach the lesson, rather than getting a lousy explanation. 

Granger offers a preschool class where high school students can plan and lead activities and gain hands-on experience. This shows that my peers can take care of themselves and that the younger children who are also learning from them can do so while offering a break from regular high schoolwork. 

Instead of needing legal supervision, it would be more effective to have someone tell us what to do rather than someone underqualified for our classes here at school.