As a teacher, you already know that it can be challenging to maintain a healthy balance between work and personal interests. If you have been teaching for a while and are looking to change up your routine, want to spend more time on yourself, or have been out of school for a while and are interested in teaching again, then applying to be a supply teacher might be just what you need. Unfortunately, supply teachers won’t have the same benefits and regular salary that full-time teachers have and can rely on, but for the right person, being a supply teacher provides them with the perfect amount of work and time off that will allow them to be as happy as possible. A good guide to teaching is here.
Take a Step Back from Additional Responsibilities
There are a lot of extra responsibilities that go hand-in-hand with a full-time teaching job. These include the following:
- Lesson planning to ensure you cover necessary information
- Meetings with other teachers and parents
- Answering emails and phone calls from parents about their children
- Continuing your education that is required for your job
Not having to be involved in all of these extra responsibilities can allow a supply teacher to relax. You are no longer thrust into a competitive environment where you feel pitted against other teachers and do not have to deal with unhappy parents. As a supply teacher, you just go into the classroom, teach the lessons provided, and leave for the day.
Stay Interested
Many of the supply teachers in London find that there are some benefits to switching from school to school on any given day. While you won’t necessarily gain the rapport that can be so common among teachers at a school, you will have the unique opportunity to learn from amazing teaches all over the city. You may find that you can learn more from many different teachers at different schools than you could be staying in one location for the whole time.
Getting Back into Teaching
Anytime you take a break from your career; it can be difficult to re-enter the workforce. Teaching is no different, and many people who leave for a while can have trouble finding a job that matches their abilities. Whether you took time off to focus on your family, go back to school, or try a different career, becoming a supply teacher allows you to become reacquainted with the school system, administrators, and other staff members without committing full-time. Also, you will be able to make sure that teaching is what you want to do, and if you change your mind, losing a supply teacher is a lot less traumatic for the school and its children than losing a full-time teacher.
Teaching is a beautiful career, and supply teachers are an essential part of the school system. They provide the ability for full-time teachers to have a break from their classes and still ensure the children learn as much as possible in their absence. If you are interested in making a difference in the classroom but aren’t ready to commit full-time, then supply teaching might be the right fit for you.
