“My understanding is that I need to send sub plans directly to the sub once they pick up the job. As no sub picked up the job, I did not have anyone to email the sub plans to. Can you provide clarification on where you’d like me to submit my sub plans in the future?”
Yup that's always good and also sign it "please let me know how to proceed" as when I see that it means that the person ain't doing shit until you respond.
As someone who had admin like this this past year, this is exactly what I’d say. Emails are public record, so this leaves no question about what really happened while also expressing an intention of compliance *in writing* so it can’t be spun as insubordination. I did this so many times. They will back down.
Oh, I know.
I told the secretary that I had not received an email, and sent her a screenshot of a search for specific sub name (no email) and she said SHE received an email (at 8:15am), and why hadn’t I sent the plans?
I asked what the sub didn’t show up. No answer yet.:)
Hahaha. I asked for the “communication” where the sub supposedly told the secretary she hadn’t received the plans, and that’s when she stopped chatting me.
This is bizarre... The system my school uses allows me to leave a comment (visible to admin and sub), or email the sub via preferred personal email, as well as upload files. I only ever send a link a Google doc as my sub plans. Do you not have that???
That’s exactly what I do when I myself am requesting an absence. When it’s an IEP, I put the plans in the classroom because it’s just 1 hour, and sometimes not even that.
No teacher ever emailed me plans in advance during my sub days. Good lord, I also didn’t have access to the copier, so I’d have been looking at my phone every time I needed the plans. Ugh.
Even ignoring you had no sub, your admin is, as my students love to say, “doing too much.”
I've had plans emailed to me exactly ONE time. They were very detailed, and she left me her printer/copier code, I was amazed.
I also didn't see the email until after I got home from the job.
When you’re dealing with a pod of uber-creative students, any advantage is worth it.
Such as when your admin says, oh, you could have had the laptop cart yesterday. I forgot so and so decided not to use it.
I thought it was disingenuous to imply that if no sub plans existed, the sub would turn around and walk out.
It was the second to last day of school for 50 mins. Most subs want a little more money than that.
I’ve subbed the last week of school before, been through it as a long term, a para, and as a teacher.
Everyone’s plan for those days just amounts to “keep everyone safe, survive the week”. And you have a coteacher! Your admin needs to see the inside of a classroom more often.
I always have left overkill on my sub plans—such as leaving 150 actual copies on my desk, not saying: make 150 copies.
My subs always came back because of this.
And you’re right—he’s trying to pick on me by emphasizing one rule while ignoring that the rule doesn’t apply in a vacuum.
Yeah, as somebody who‘s gotten back into subbing, I know that this time of the year is the “we literally just need you to be a warm body overseeing the classroom” segment
And I always try to leave 150 actual copies rather a paper with a post note saying: Make 150 copies.
But we already had everything ready with my coteacher. The reason for another sub is that it’s an immersion class, and needs to have two teachers.
Any time I knew I was going to have a sub ahead of time I made sure everything was big and clear and explicit on my board so both the sub and the students knew what my expectations were every day. I didn't rely on email, adminiatrators, etc. Big and up front. Everything from behavior to where to find materials to basic routines related to transitioning between the very very basic activities I had for them.
Doesn't work in all classrooms or grade level contexts (or, obviously, when there is no sub in the room), but it worked for me.
I usually do this. Unfortunately, I have rolling white boards. One morning, the sub came in, saw there was no room on the board to write their name, and rolled half the plans out of sight. I got a bunch of emails asking where the plans were that morning...
Sounds like day 1 of my grand jury summons in my first year! Thankfully I had the same sub the rest of the two weeks and they did a great job thereafter once I let them know lol
I've done this and the sub told the secretary she couldn't find the plans. Secretary said she walked into the class and immediately saw the plan so had no idea what the sub was thinking.
Dear \[Admin’s Name\],
I hope this message finds you well.
It seems there was a misunderstanding regarding the sub plans for today's IEP. I understand the importance of ensuring that subs have the necessary materials, and I want to clarify what happened.
Before school started, I checked to see if anyone had picked up the sub job, but no one had at that time. While I was teaching and attending the IEP meeting, I did not have the opportunity to check my email. After the IEP, I saw your message and a Google Chat from the secretary indicating that no sub showed up and no plans were sent.
I can see how this situation might cause concern. It looks like the sub never contacted me, never showed up, and was never going to come, which is why no lesson plans were sent. Additionally, my co-teacher was present and familiar with the curriculum, ensuring continuity in instruction.
Could you let me know if there is a different procedure you would like us to follow when a sub doesn’t confirm? How can we improve the communication process to prevent such issues in the future?
I appreciate your understanding and am open to discussing any further details.
Best regards,
\[Your Name\]
Oh, good one!
The system is that we put in our absences with the appropriate amount of lead time, and they are responsible for orienting the sub to the building.
But the office put in the absence for the IEP.
This whole “you have to email the sub lesson plans” is an “ask” from the admin.
"May I have the name of the assigned sub who I failed to send plans to? After checking for the last time at time, it was my understanding no sub accepted the job and my students were handed off to Teacher A instead. Therefore, no sub plans were sent as there was no sub and no need for a redundant procedure that was not applicable. Thank you so much!"
Love redundant.
My principal has decided to concentrate on the fact that the “plans weren’t sent” completely ignoring the fact that the sub never came!
Are you a robot admin? Did today cause a fatal error? Unknown exception.
Or just tell them you left a paper copy in the classroom. If your co- teacher is hip, they'll back you.
“I thought the procedure was to email the sub directly once they have been assigned, and since no one was assigned, I did not email plans. Going forward, I will email them to you directly so that you can follow through with the assigned sub. Thanks for taking this off my plate!”
And I always leave them on my desk too, and did that day, even though my coworker was there.
I like the idea of mailing them to the secretary. But it wouldn’t have mattered, because we’re supposed to pay attention to see if a sub has contacted us, and send THEM the plans.
They're trying to ding you for actually holding the IEP meeting on time?
I would get in touch with your SPED coordinator, and see what bonnet you can stick a hornet in. Especially if your district has issues with missed/late dates.
It was already a wing and a prayer to just get the IEP, and no one even expected the mom to come, because she had just no-showed for her younger child’s IEP.
I like to think my case is a rare exception, but I would send lesson plans to my grade level principal, the absence secretary AND the front desk admin and they would still disappear somehow and never make it to the sub/my classroom. I would get so upset because my plans are always fairly detailed and helpful, but everytime it would get lost that (fairly so) discourages the sub from ever coming back because they didn't receive any help.
I believe you. When you have family who are subs you especially try to treat them well—park there, bathroom is here, here are your copies instead of “go make copies.”
But no matter what, if admin is a part of the chain, it’s messed up.
My school has a dedicated 'cover' inbox. You email lesson plans to 'cover' and then whoever is covering my lessons will get access to that inbox. That way, I don't even have to know who the sub is.
I think we do the same in that we have to email the admin assistant and leave hard copies on the desk. Admin assistant had my emergency plans and knew it was “play boggle and chat” day for the 2nd to last day of school.
They’re mad a sub didn’t show up, and someone had to cover.
THANK YOU!!! My chat with the admin assistant (who is just a mouthpiece for the principal) went something like this:
AA: The sub contacted me and you didn’t send her plans and a link.
Me: She never contacted me.
AA: She contacted me at 8:15.
Me: I’m teaching by then, and left quickly to get to an 8:30am IEP, but left plans on desk. Why didn’t she show up?
AA: You never sent any plans.
Me: WHY DIDN’T SHE SHOW UP?!
Had zero classroom policies on how sub plans got delivered. So I print up and stack the semester exams on my desk for the sub to give out and leave a paper on the stack specifically saying what class it was for. I needed to take that day off to do a job interview since I was unable to keep my job as a math teacher. The sub I got for that exam dropped the ball and not only completely disregarded the sub plan, but gave that Class the wrong exam.....
Exactly that, no, ther e is no email to send, and no sub took the job... but I would add, in the future would you like me to send them to you when no sub takes the job so you can cover?
Get bent.
Okay, seriously? Say with as much restraint that you can muster what you said at the end of your post. It’s a reasonable statement and it’s true. And whatever lulu of a statement they throw back, nod earnestly and depart with alacrity.
I fully intended to send plans however, no one picked up the job. Therefore I literally had no one to send plans to . If there is a way to send plans or attach them to the sub request somehow for when someone picks up the job I need to know it so this will not happen again. My co-teacher states that everything went well despite no sub ever showing up.
I’ve never had admin ask me for lesson plans for an IEP before this year.
Usually, the building sub or whoever would show up after class started, and I just explained what I was doing with the obligatory daily instruction/standard on the board.
Maybe it’s because now we also have a list of “approved subs.” Never seen this before.
And love the “to whom.” They’ll probably be puzzled.
Admin is out of their mind if they think I’m doing this when it is THEIR job to check if a sub is coming. My lesson plans will be on my desk and the students will have everything on schoology just in case.
It’s crazy how- as you said - unnecessary & non descriptive duties are placed on teachers. One thing I have learned- PROTECT MYSELF with DOCUMENTATION!!! I learned this at a workshop.. set up a substitute folder.. the folder will contain each class info like seating chart, roll call, any important info.. this is place in a location where it can be accessed by the sub.. the folder will include activities for each period .. what I did was. I assigned educational apps like … commonlit, readtheory, quizizz, etc. this way if students didn’t complete it I had electronic documentation. As teachers it’s a shame that we must think out side the box to protect our job’s & credibility from those who are supposed to be on the same side. TeachersRock!! Hope this helps someone & sorry for that experience
> "We understand the sub did not receive plans from you."
"No, that is not correct. Therefore your understanding does not reflect reality. **No sub was available.** As such, it's not possible for me to send plans to the sub. Because there was no sub to potentially receive my plans."
Then CC it (or BCC it, whichever makes more sense at your school and district) to the principal, the union rep... maybe the superintendent? Whoever needs to know how things actually went down 😇
“My understanding is that I need to send sub plans directly to the sub once they pick up the job. As no sub picked up the job, I did not have anyone to email the sub plans to. Can you provide clarification on where you’d like me to submit my sub plans in the future?”
Can you provide clarification…. I’m using that.
Let them know you have some suggestions for where they can stick your lesson plans if they're interested...
It is insane!
And save that shit! Bcc your private email!
Screenshots and forwards.
Clarity is kindness.
I should tell them that.:)
Yup that's always good and also sign it "please let me know how to proceed" as when I see that it means that the person ain't doing shit until you respond.
Good natural consequence! And a good way to say professionally to my admin: you are an extremely petty underachiever.:)
I would love to know what their response is...
I’ll let you know IF they send one.:)
As someone who had admin like this this past year, this is exactly what I’d say. Emails are public record, so this leaves no question about what really happened while also expressing an intention of compliance *in writing* so it can’t be spun as insubordination. I did this so many times. They will back down.
I’m going to use that too!
This is the perfect reply.
Please provide the name of the sub and I’ll double check to see where that message ended up! 😂
Oh, I know. I told the secretary that I had not received an email, and sent her a screenshot of a search for specific sub name (no email) and she said SHE received an email (at 8:15am), and why hadn’t I sent the plans? I asked what the sub didn’t show up. No answer yet.:)
Ask to have the email forwarded to you so you can reach out and apologize to the sub.
Oh, I should do that.
And make the ask via email as well to have the documentation of you calling their bluff.
Hahaha. I asked for the “communication” where the sub supposedly told the secretary she hadn’t received the plans, and that’s when she stopped chatting me.
This is bizarre... The system my school uses allows me to leave a comment (visible to admin and sub), or email the sub via preferred personal email, as well as upload files. I only ever send a link a Google doc as my sub plans. Do you not have that???
That’s exactly what I do when I myself am requesting an absence. When it’s an IEP, I put the plans in the classroom because it’s just 1 hour, and sometimes not even that.
No teacher ever emailed me plans in advance during my sub days. Good lord, I also didn’t have access to the copier, so I’d have been looking at my phone every time I needed the plans. Ugh. Even ignoring you had no sub, your admin is, as my students love to say, “doing too much.”
I've had plans emailed to me exactly ONE time. They were very detailed, and she left me her printer/copier code, I was amazed. I also didn't see the email until after I got home from the job.
Oh, crap. I’m sorry. But it’s a good point.
I still occasionally think about how much less difficult (I refuse to say "easier" in the context of teaching) that day could have been 🤣
When you’re dealing with a pod of uber-creative students, any advantage is worth it. Such as when your admin says, oh, you could have had the laptop cart yesterday. I forgot so and so decided not to use it.
I thought it was disingenuous to imply that if no sub plans existed, the sub would turn around and walk out. It was the second to last day of school for 50 mins. Most subs want a little more money than that.
I’ve subbed the last week of school before, been through it as a long term, a para, and as a teacher. Everyone’s plan for those days just amounts to “keep everyone safe, survive the week”. And you have a coteacher! Your admin needs to see the inside of a classroom more often.
I always have left overkill on my sub plans—such as leaving 150 actual copies on my desk, not saying: make 150 copies. My subs always came back because of this. And you’re right—he’s trying to pick on me by emphasizing one rule while ignoring that the rule doesn’t apply in a vacuum.
Yeah, as somebody who‘s gotten back into subbing, I know that this time of the year is the “we literally just need you to be a warm body overseeing the classroom” segment
And I always try to leave 150 actual copies rather a paper with a post note saying: Make 150 copies. But we already had everything ready with my coteacher. The reason for another sub is that it’s an immersion class, and needs to have two teachers.
“I apologize for my negligence in not sending lesson plans into the Void.”
I’m going to make a list for the future. Void in more than one sense.🙄
Never admit you were negligent, even sarcastically
Void at google.com 🤣
Any time I knew I was going to have a sub ahead of time I made sure everything was big and clear and explicit on my board so both the sub and the students knew what my expectations were every day. I didn't rely on email, adminiatrators, etc. Big and up front. Everything from behavior to where to find materials to basic routines related to transitioning between the very very basic activities I had for them. Doesn't work in all classrooms or grade level contexts (or, obviously, when there is no sub in the room), but it worked for me.
I usually do this. Unfortunately, I have rolling white boards. One morning, the sub came in, saw there was no room on the board to write their name, and rolled half the plans out of sight. I got a bunch of emails asking where the plans were that morning...
Sounds like day 1 of my grand jury summons in my first year! Thankfully I had the same sub the rest of the two weeks and they did a great job thereafter once I let them know lol
Murphy’s law. I think Murphy was originally a teacher.
Agreed. That was all ready for them.
I've done this and the sub told the secretary she couldn't find the plans. Secretary said she walked into the class and immediately saw the plan so had no idea what the sub was thinking.
We need laugh reacts.
Dear \[Admin’s Name\], I hope this message finds you well. It seems there was a misunderstanding regarding the sub plans for today's IEP. I understand the importance of ensuring that subs have the necessary materials, and I want to clarify what happened. Before school started, I checked to see if anyone had picked up the sub job, but no one had at that time. While I was teaching and attending the IEP meeting, I did not have the opportunity to check my email. After the IEP, I saw your message and a Google Chat from the secretary indicating that no sub showed up and no plans were sent. I can see how this situation might cause concern. It looks like the sub never contacted me, never showed up, and was never going to come, which is why no lesson plans were sent. Additionally, my co-teacher was present and familiar with the curriculum, ensuring continuity in instruction. Could you let me know if there is a different procedure you would like us to follow when a sub doesn’t confirm? How can we improve the communication process to prevent such issues in the future? I appreciate your understanding and am open to discussing any further details. Best regards, \[Your Name\]
This is perfect. I asked the secretary why she is asking for plans for a sub that never came. Still no response.
+1 for malicious compliance.
Send back a video of a trash can with the words "the sub" written on it. Then dump a single sheet of white paper with "sub plans" into it.
Hahahahaha! That made my day.
Public education would have collapsed due to lack of teachers- cert or not- decades ago were it not for the retirement systems.
I like “The Problem of Principal Mistreatment of Teachers” by Blasé and Blase. It’s all middle management, unfortunately.
[удалено]
Oh, good one! The system is that we put in our absences with the appropriate amount of lead time, and they are responsible for orienting the sub to the building. But the office put in the absence for the IEP. This whole “you have to email the sub lesson plans” is an “ask” from the admin.
"May I have the name of the assigned sub who I failed to send plans to? After checking for the last time at time, it was my understanding no sub accepted the job and my students were handed off to Teacher A instead. Therefore, no sub plans were sent as there was no sub and no need for a redundant procedure that was not applicable. Thank you so much!"
Love redundant. My principal has decided to concentrate on the fact that the “plans weren’t sent” completely ignoring the fact that the sub never came!
I'm sorry...some admins are freaking clueless!
Yes, and I have to remember that.
Are you a robot admin? Did today cause a fatal error? Unknown exception. Or just tell them you left a paper copy in the classroom. If your co- teacher is hip, they'll back you.
Robot admin!! I think (they) ARE a malfunctioning AI.
“I thought the procedure was to email the sub directly once they have been assigned, and since no one was assigned, I did not email plans. Going forward, I will email them to you directly so that you can follow through with the assigned sub. Thanks for taking this off my plate!”
Oh, this is even better!!!! I will just email them both!
When I plan to be away, I leave my sub plans on my desk. I also email them to the school secretary.
And I always leave them on my desk too, and did that day, even though my coworker was there. I like the idea of mailing them to the secretary. But it wouldn’t have mattered, because we’re supposed to pay attention to see if a sub has contacted us, and send THEM the plans.
I hand delivered plans carved in granite and gilded to every sub who picked up the job.
Well, that is what I will do next time.
They're trying to ding you for actually holding the IEP meeting on time? I would get in touch with your SPED coordinator, and see what bonnet you can stick a hornet in. Especially if your district has issues with missed/late dates.
It was already a wing and a prayer to just get the IEP, and no one even expected the mom to come, because she had just no-showed for her younger child’s IEP.
Since the secretary says she corresponded with the sub, I would email the sub and then forward sub’s response to P and secretary:
Funny, she stopped responding when I asked her to forward the “communication.” That was her word for it.
Email the sub anyway.
That’s a REALLY good idea. Doing that now.
Dude, one of my schools had a sub that was an hour late. By the time they showed up, the assignment was canceled and they were turned away. Crazy.
And did they blame the teacher whose class it was? That’s is so awful and weird.
Admin need to remember they are there a service to aid teachers... not the other way around. Teachers already have their hands full teaching...
I’m going to tell them that.:)
Wait, your subs get lesson plans? I’m a sub and I get tossed to the wolves every damn time.
I like to think my case is a rare exception, but I would send lesson plans to my grade level principal, the absence secretary AND the front desk admin and they would still disappear somehow and never make it to the sub/my classroom. I would get so upset because my plans are always fairly detailed and helpful, but everytime it would get lost that (fairly so) discourages the sub from ever coming back because they didn't receive any help.
I believe you. When you have family who are subs you especially try to treat them well—park there, bathroom is here, here are your copies instead of “go make copies.” But no matter what, if admin is a part of the chain, it’s messed up.
My school has a dedicated 'cover' inbox. You email lesson plans to 'cover' and then whoever is covering my lessons will get access to that inbox. That way, I don't even have to know who the sub is.
I think we do the same in that we have to email the admin assistant and leave hard copies on the desk. Admin assistant had my emergency plans and knew it was “play boggle and chat” day for the 2nd to last day of school. They’re mad a sub didn’t show up, and someone had to cover.
There was NO SUB to send plans to.
THANK YOU!!! My chat with the admin assistant (who is just a mouthpiece for the principal) went something like this: AA: The sub contacted me and you didn’t send her plans and a link. Me: She never contacted me. AA: She contacted me at 8:15. Me: I’m teaching by then, and left quickly to get to an 8:30am IEP, but left plans on desk. Why didn’t she show up? AA: You never sent any plans. Me: WHY DIDN’T SHE SHOW UP?!
Had zero classroom policies on how sub plans got delivered. So I print up and stack the semester exams on my desk for the sub to give out and leave a paper on the stack specifically saying what class it was for. I needed to take that day off to do a job interview since I was unable to keep my job as a math teacher. The sub I got for that exam dropped the ball and not only completely disregarded the sub plan, but gave that Class the wrong exam.....
Oh, man. And you made all the copies for them. It’s like you can only be a teacher if you have a 2nd job.
Exactly that, no, ther e is no email to send, and no sub took the job... but I would add, in the future would you like me to send them to you when no sub takes the job so you can cover?
Please students go see principal who will be your teacher.:)
Would love to see a principal actually do something and provide SPED services
Hahaha. Not going to happen. They “have a meeting.”
Hahahaha.
Get bent. Okay, seriously? Say with as much restraint that you can muster what you said at the end of your post. It’s a reasonable statement and it’s true. And whatever lulu of a statement they throw back, nod earnestly and depart with alacrity.
It’s been all year. I even asked to have a different evaluator this year because it’s been so prevalent.
I am truly sorry. That sucks so much it actually would need a diagram to explain how much it sucks.
I fully intended to send plans however, no one picked up the job. Therefore I literally had no one to send plans to . If there is a way to send plans or attach them to the sub request somehow for when someone picks up the job I need to know it so this will not happen again. My co-teacher states that everything went well despite no sub ever showing up.
“No one picked up the job…” That is the key point. No one came. This is perfect.
To whom was I supposed to send them to?
I’ve never had admin ask me for lesson plans for an IEP before this year. Usually, the building sub or whoever would show up after class started, and I just explained what I was doing with the obligatory daily instruction/standard on the board. Maybe it’s because now we also have a list of “approved subs.” Never seen this before. And love the “to whom.” They’ll probably be puzzled.
Tell them they need to get an AI program to manage all this busy work for the overworked overstretched teachers.
Let’s just have AI principals!:)
Admin is out of their mind if they think I’m doing this when it is THEIR job to check if a sub is coming. My lesson plans will be on my desk and the students will have everything on schoology just in case.
Right? It’s just a stupid way to continually try to catch us out.
Lesson plan: the coteacher will lead the class That's what I put for my cotaught classes 🤷♀️
Exactly. It’s so petty that it’s insane, or a carefully coordinated effort towards continuous harassment.
Kudos! 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾 I would have done the exact same thing!
It’s crazy how- as you said - unnecessary & non descriptive duties are placed on teachers. One thing I have learned- PROTECT MYSELF with DOCUMENTATION!!! I learned this at a workshop.. set up a substitute folder.. the folder will contain each class info like seating chart, roll call, any important info.. this is place in a location where it can be accessed by the sub.. the folder will include activities for each period .. what I did was. I assigned educational apps like … commonlit, readtheory, quizizz, etc. this way if students didn’t complete it I had electronic documentation. As teachers it’s a shame that we must think out side the box to protect our job’s & credibility from those who are supposed to be on the same side. TeachersRock!! Hope this helps someone & sorry for that experience
I do something that I call “defensive teaching.” Always be able to justify everything with a standard or domain #. It’s tiring though.
Facts! 🙌🏾
> "We understand the sub did not receive plans from you." "No, that is not correct. Therefore your understanding does not reflect reality. **No sub was available.** As such, it's not possible for me to send plans to the sub. Because there was no sub to potentially receive my plans." Then CC it (or BCC it, whichever makes more sense at your school and district) to the principal, the union rep... maybe the superintendent? Whoever needs to know how things actually went down 😇
I will. And the assistant claimed that she got in touch with me 15 minutes before the IEP. Yes, but the sub did NOT show up!!!!