Dear Teacher-whose-class-I-spend-hours-planning-for- and-teaching-in-each-week,

• I have a name. And it is not "substitute." "Mrs Anything" or any name with a short o sound. In fact, I don't have a single 'o' in my first, middle or last name. The fact that you can't be bothered to figure it out after THREE FREAKING MONTHS is disrespectful. It's embarrassing that your students have to correct you daily.
• Oh, and by the way. I know about the teaching methods you're supposed to be following. Don't worry so much about being observed. If I'm there you might have a chance at passing. If not? Well, good luck.
• And if you really are that worried, why are you stealing my objectives and lesson plans. While I'm sitting there teaching my group, you shouldn't be standing over my shoulder and change the instructions you have for your students.
• LEARN TO SAY YOUR STUDENTS' NAMES. Don't ignore letters or reward students for correcting you because you couldn't be bothered to learn how to say that child's name for months.
• If your lunch ends at 12:00 and my duty ends at 12:05 because I have to cover someone else one day a week, don't send your student over to ask if I'm going to "show up" for groups at 12:01. What if I needed to use the restroom? Is that not an option in your world?

I will end this letter here - even though there is so much more that I could say.

I'll be there Monday and I will smile and nod when you talk to me. But don't think that I'm not mentioning what I observe to others.

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If I work, I should be paid, right?

I found out today that I sat through a training one day last month that I will not get paid for. On a day in which I had been offered other jobs.

Why bother telling me to come if you are not going to disclose that I will not be paid for my participation? I may have chose to attend anyhow, but I would have liked to have known all the facts ahead of time. I have been budgeting my money and that's a lot of money I won't receive.

To top it off, they tried to make it so that the days when they pull me to sub in other classes I won't get paid at the long term rate. Now, why would I agree to be flexible and sub wherever you want to put me, if you are going to cut my pay by almost thirty percent? Luckily, when she came back to tell me that I wouldn't get paid for the training day, I would in fact be paid for the other days.

This month, however, you'd be hard-pressed to get me into another classroom if that's the stress I'm going to face at the beginning of April.