By Erika Tejada and Betzy Antonio
Over the past few weeks, students have noticed bellies growing. With 2 teachers already on maternity leave and 6 others looking forward to it, what will happen to the regular schedule of these classes.
Biology teacher, Ms. Ohara and Special Education teacher, Ms.Ramos have been the first two teachers to go on maternity leave. Ms.Navarro was placed as a substitute for Ms.Ramos and in place of Ms. Ohara, Ms. Brice has taken over as a substitute for the rest of the semester. With an unfamiliar substitute teacher, how do students feel about these absences?
When we asked students how they felt about the absence and future absence of their teachers they had a lot to say. Wanting to remain anonymous one student said, “No one pays attention to a sub. A sub technically doesn’t have that much authority since it is only day”. Most students agreed with this statement and claimed that no matter the situation substitute teachers just do not have the same authority as their regular teachers. Sophomore Jasmine said, “No one pays attention to her, everyone disrespects her… they do what they want and take advantage of her”. With rowdy class behavior is it still possible for students to learn and maintain good grades?
The students whom we interviewed all agreed that though the class was louder than usual, the difficulty of the class was not higher but instead lower. Most agreed that when the sub will present or since the sub has been present the class is easier. An anonymous student claimed, “I think it is easier with the substitute. I understand it more with the sub… I actually do more work”. Students believed that it was sometimes beneficial to have substitute teachers because they would be exposed to different teaching techniques, that in some cases provided easier understanding.
Although some students agreed that having a substitute teacher made the class easier, it is important to have the same teachers regularly present to establish structure in the classroom. Since maternity leave consists of at least 25 weeks, it gives time for substitute teachers to get familiar with students and make the classroom a productive environment, something APB students should also help with.
