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Teachers’ absences can take toll on students

By: Erin Lowe <[email protected]> and Beverly Jenkins <[email protected]>

Last school year, art teacher Jennifer Bubp gave birth to her son, Brett, causing her to miss six months of her teaching career.

“I was fortunate to have an excellent maternity substitute teacher,” Bubp said. “I was confident that my students were learning the same concepts just as well with her.”

However, not all teachers who have long-term substitutes have the same positive experience as Bubp. Biology I teacher Ann Mayhew, for example, took only six weeks off last year, but went through three substitutes in the process. Mayhew said she thought the students would have understood the concepts better if she had been there.

And while both teachers said they enjoyed taking time off, the students did not fare as well. According to Mayhew, the effects on the students were more significant in her case.

“I had three subs in for me in that six-week time period,” Mayhew said. “Plus, the subs were not certified to teach biology, so they did not know the material.”

According to Principal John Williams, this school tries to find qualified substitutes for the teachers. “The department chair tries to find a qualified person to come in and become the teacher for a short period of time,” he said. “However, the state allows us to hire anyone with a (substitute teaching) license (who may not be qualified to teach a certain subject) in case of an emergency until a better sub can be found.”

Mayhew said, “I went on maternity leave at the beginning of the school year, but I can say my students were happy when I came back to school. They were tired of having a different teacher every couple of weeks.”
Since art is not usually as structured a class as science, Bubp said that it is not terrible when there is a substitute. According to her, it’s always good to get another perspective.

“In an art class, it is helpful to gain insight and feedback from different instructors,” Bubp said. “I believe my students learned a lot from (Jennifer “Jen”) Wolf and her perspective on art.”

But not all of Bubp’s students agreed with her assessment. Junior Jacob “Jake” Dugan said, “Ms. Wolf did a lot of things quicker, and there weren’t as many presentations.”

One problem students who are instructed by long-term substitutes face is adapting to new methods of teaching and grading.

“My students all started off with A’s because the sub gave them so much extra credit,” Mayhew said. “Not all my students in my class earn A’s, and I don’t give very much extra credit.” She also added that many of her students’ grades suffered as a result.

Sophomore Katerina “Kat” King said, “My grade was affected by the change; it went from an A (with Bubp) to an A- (with Wolf). I don’t think (the class) was familiar with (Wolf’s) method of grading.”

As a general consensus, most students said they were happy about their teachers returning to work.

“I didn’t return until this fall, but I have been warmly greeted with messages of ‘congratulations’ and ‘welcome back,’” Bubp said.

King said, “I’m so happy that Mrs. Bubp is back. She’s a great teacher, and her students are lucky to have her. I think (my entire class) missed her while she was gone.”

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