Commentary: Parents being asked to serve as substitute teachers

The Cherry Hill School District in New Jersey has come up with a new idea to fill the gap of lack of substitute or daily teachers for its schools: parents. Cherry Hill has a shortage of both substitute teachers and full-time teachers, as do most districts in Pennsylvania and the rest of the country. The belief is that this could become a model for other school systems in the region.  As a life-long educator, this movement scares me.

A PTA parent in Cherry Hill came up with this idea, and the PTA members lined right up behind her to support it. Apparently, dozens of parents have stepped up to help carry out this idea. This group of PTA members have had sessions with ESS, one of the largest school staffing companies in the country, which has provided information to these parents to learn how to become substitutes. The company requires 30 college credits, which is equal to just one year of college, and criminal background checks, which all educators, parents who are helping in schools, or are volunteering to go on field trips must have in Pennsylvania.

Substitutes in Cherry Hill can make their own schedules and can take half-day assignments. This is supposed to appeal to retirees, stay at home parents, and those interested in possibly considering a career in education. What a great adventure for our precious young people: having untrained adults in the classroom using our children as experiments for the teaching of reading, mathematics, science, social studies, and all other subjects. These parents have had no training in any of these areas, or methods to teach our young people.

The parents are ill-equipped to perform the duties of an educator and would need years of ongoing professional development to do so. Teachers who have graduated with a degree in education have already had this training and nothing can make up for it, especially with a low bar of 30 college credits or one year of college. The problems that could evolve from such a situation are too many to name.

Tell me, would you go to a doctor or dentist that has a person with 30 credits or one year of college under their belt in who knows what major, sitting in for the real doctor?  Would you go to an attorney for legal advice and find out the attorney has one year of college, not even in the legal field? Would you take your car to an untrained auto technician lacking in the math and technology courses needed for today’s vehicles?  I am sure your answer is no.

This is no different. Teachers are highly educated and trained professionals. We trust our most precious commodity to them on a daily basis; our children. Put these untrained people in the classroom and see how your children fare over the years.

I can see something like this working for a paraprofessional position which is a non-degree position under the direction of an educator in the classroom. These paraprofessionals sometimes work with small groups of children under the guidance of a teacher in reading, math science, etcetera, or one-on-one with a student.

In Cherry Hill, substitute positions pay between $145 and $169 per day. An educator in Pennsylvania must have an undergraduate degree in education, whatever their chosen level such as elementary education, high school math or science, middle school social studies, music, etcetera. They must also attain 24 graduate credits within three years of their employment and most educators choose to get a master’s degree. They must have and pay for all this education to start at salaries in the $50,000 range and can only work up to a higher wage over the years. Who wants to spend all that money and time on an education degree when the payback is so little in comparison to others with less education who can make much higher wages?

When schools don’t have a substitute, other teachers are asked to cover the class or an administrator fills in. This is the same process used in most school districts. In the past few years, teachers have been leaving the field at shocking rates.

This experiment might seem like a great idea to Cherry Hill parents, but I think it is dangerous experiment that is extremely detrimental to our children. Let’s fix education and start with the funding.

Source: Berkshire mont