Often, a substitute teacher appearing in place of a normal teacher is a relief for students, but it is not always in their best interest.
The major flaw in the substitute teacher system is the lack of organization based on subject. Oftentimes, a substitute teacher will have to lead a class with curriculum in an entirely different subject from what they are personally proficient in. When substitutes replace a teacher for only a day, the loss of a single class may not affect a student too much, but there are other instances where a teacher may be gone for an extended period of time. In such instances, students’ future performance may suffer as a result of not getting the basic knowledge mastery.
When learning from a substitute, students often take advantage of the adult in the room. It is very easy for students to be unproductive during class when a different teacher is present.
When teachers leave for long periods of time, substitute teachers receive a lesson plan that usually contains the shallow, bare bones curriculum. This system is inefficient since the students then need to go further in depth into the curriculum independently. This form of teaching may be ineffective to students who have a hard time learning without a teacher giving the information in a variety of diverse methods, and those students may receive lower grades overall. Essentially, some students need teachers to break down the curriculum further than substitutes are capable of.
It would be advantageous for the administration to either prioritize skilled substitutes with considerable prior experience or revamp the substitute