In a time like we have never experienced, we need substitute teachers like never before. Many school districts in Florida already suffered a big teacher shortage, now with the pandemic the shortage is growing. No one could have predicted the very time that we are in now that will one day be a big part of history. Tenure teachers and teachers that are high risk or take care of someone who is high risk have taken leaves from their jobs in order to protect themselves and their families. With a teacher shortage like never before substitute teachers can definitely fill in the gap and assist students with learning that will benefit them. It is important that students do not miss any learning especially with the amount of time that most of them have already spent out of school. I mean there are some students who have not been in school since March of 2020. Some of those students were already not proficient and the learning gap for them just continues to grow bigger and bigger. Having a well trained substitute teacher is how students can continue to learn although most teachers are on a leave or unable to teach. 

This is why I am so passionate about ensuring that substitute teachers are truly trained to be as effective as a classroom teacher. The simple training the school district provides is good enough only for those substitute teachers who need a paycheck or those that are willing to babysit a class. But substitute teachers are more than that, but they are not treated as such. Investing the time and money into substitute teachers would be very beneficial for a time like this where schools need teachers like never before and students need learning like never before as well. But throwing  substitute teachers in a classroom now is not enough. They need to be well trained and well equipped in order to truly take the position of a classroom teacher. Reason being, substitute teachers nowadays are not just picking up shifts here and there. They are now in front of students on a day to day basis. To avoid students teaching themselves, we need substitute teachers that know what they are doing so that students do not need to miss a single beat. It is the only way to truly make sure that our students do not continue to miss important lessons which will create a foundation for their future.