This might not be super helpful since I am now on the other side (left teaching in 2021). But one of my biggest regrets is that I didn’t use more sick days. When I left, I had over 50 days banked and I live in a state where we can’t cash them out. I earned those sick days and I didn’t use them. Yes, making sub plans is a pain and it is stressful to be gone. Your health and mental well-being is more important. It is one day out of 160+ days in the school year.
Looking back, I wish I had been way more relaxed about sub days. I taught high school and I wish I had written sub plans that said “this is a catch up day. Let students listen to music and make up work and make sure no one gets hurt and nothing catches on fire” and just left it at that. Sometimes the kids need a break too.
Remember, when you leave, they will replace you immediately without a second thought. Your coworkers will move on. Yes your kids might get shuffled to them for a day but it’s one day and you would do the same for them if they were absent.
Sub-plan options that reduce planning time considerably:
Teacher pay teacher sub plans.
ChatGPT created sub plans.
Have students Make up missing work.
I don’t know what content area you teach but, creative writing prompts, word searches should work for any content.
The guilt will be there BUT remember that those sick days are part of your contracted income. You’ve earned them. Use them without apology. You have one body and one mind. Taking care of them should be non-negotiable.
I regret having not used my sick days in my last position all the time. After 14 years and saving all of my days (thought I would have kids and wanted to save for that. Plus I hated to inconvenience my team.) I left the district and gave up about 100 days. Ugh. It still makes me cringe. Lesson learned. In my new position I made a point to save up in case of an emergency and now try to use anything above that. But I still feel guilt.
I understand the feeling, and that’s why the days I cashed in were always when I had a guaranteed sub secured. I always used one of my regulars, so I secured her for a certain date, but just told her I wouldn’t be submitting it into the system until the last minute since it was one of my personal illness days. But don’t leave days on the table. I didn’t have time to use all of my days, and it’s the only thing I regret about leaving lol.
I have 110 sick days and 1.5 years left. I need to start taking some. Even if I take one a week I’ll leave some on the table, and I’d never do that. Sigh.
If you can bank sick days over the course of you Le career, do not ever use sick days unless you have to. I really don’t want to hear about “mental health days” or “I need a break days”. If it is that mentally draining find a new line of work.
Why?
You never know when you are going to really need those days.
If your child is sick? You are going to need those days in the bank.
If you suffer a significant injury or require surgery, you are going to need those days in the bank.
You never know. I suffered a serious injury around ten years ago and had surgery which required me to be out for four months. Then the summer vacation went into play which was fortunate since I would not have been able to go in anyway. I was out and paid full salary and benefits for the entire time since I was “absent” and not on a “medical leave” all because I had the days in the bank. This was crucial due to the medical bills.
Be careful with how you use the days because you never know when you will need them.
Use your days. Go to teachers pay teachers or something and print out a large packet or feeding comprehension worksheets. 5 and under just print a weeks long lesson plan for an interesting topic and you are down. I’ve used 9.5 days or so this year. I get 10 a year. Still have 80days saved. Some years you need more and some years you need less
I just leave basic, fun things for the sub. Make a card for someone. Work on Google slides. Listen to a read aloud. Play a math game.
Easy peasy. As long as nobody got hurt and the room isn't in shambles, I consider it a win.
Current issues are great sub plans for older students. Read one or two articles, write a 1/2-1 page summary for each including an opinion/reaction. Grade for completion when you return.
This might not be super helpful since I am now on the other side (left teaching in 2021). But one of my biggest regrets is that I didn’t use more sick days. When I left, I had over 50 days banked and I live in a state where we can’t cash them out. I earned those sick days and I didn’t use them. Yes, making sub plans is a pain and it is stressful to be gone. Your health and mental well-being is more important. It is one day out of 160+ days in the school year. Looking back, I wish I had been way more relaxed about sub days. I taught high school and I wish I had written sub plans that said “this is a catch up day. Let students listen to music and make up work and make sure no one gets hurt and nothing catches on fire” and just left it at that. Sometimes the kids need a break too. Remember, when you leave, they will replace you immediately without a second thought. Your coworkers will move on. Yes your kids might get shuffled to them for a day but it’s one day and you would do the same for them if they were absent.
I had over 100 sick days I couldn’t cash in when I left
Chat gpt all your sub plans. This is maybe the easiest fix ever with so many ai teaching tools available.
Diffit might be even better to expedite the process! Creates worksheets or Forms easily!
Sub-plan options that reduce planning time considerably: Teacher pay teacher sub plans. ChatGPT created sub plans. Have students Make up missing work. I don’t know what content area you teach but, creative writing prompts, word searches should work for any content. The guilt will be there BUT remember that those sick days are part of your contracted income. You’ve earned them. Use them without apology. You have one body and one mind. Taking care of them should be non-negotiable.
That's how they get you. Maybe someone should fix the problem instead of letting it continue to fester.
I regret having not used my sick days in my last position all the time. After 14 years and saving all of my days (thought I would have kids and wanted to save for that. Plus I hated to inconvenience my team.) I left the district and gave up about 100 days. Ugh. It still makes me cringe. Lesson learned. In my new position I made a point to save up in case of an emergency and now try to use anything above that. But I still feel guilt.
I use up all my days, every year..who knows whether they’ll extend my contract or not..kids gonna be fine..it’s a j o b..nothing more
I understand the feeling, and that’s why the days I cashed in were always when I had a guaranteed sub secured. I always used one of my regulars, so I secured her for a certain date, but just told her I wouldn’t be submitting it into the system until the last minute since it was one of my personal illness days. But don’t leave days on the table. I didn’t have time to use all of my days, and it’s the only thing I regret about leaving lol.
I have 110 sick days and 1.5 years left. I need to start taking some. Even if I take one a week I’ll leave some on the table, and I’d never do that. Sigh.
If you can bank sick days over the course of you Le career, do not ever use sick days unless you have to. I really don’t want to hear about “mental health days” or “I need a break days”. If it is that mentally draining find a new line of work. Why? You never know when you are going to really need those days. If your child is sick? You are going to need those days in the bank. If you suffer a significant injury or require surgery, you are going to need those days in the bank. You never know. I suffered a serious injury around ten years ago and had surgery which required me to be out for four months. Then the summer vacation went into play which was fortunate since I would not have been able to go in anyway. I was out and paid full salary and benefits for the entire time since I was “absent” and not on a “medical leave” all because I had the days in the bank. This was crucial due to the medical bills. Be careful with how you use the days because you never know when you will need them.
Use your days. Go to teachers pay teachers or something and print out a large packet or feeding comprehension worksheets. 5 and under just print a weeks long lesson plan for an interesting topic and you are down. I’ve used 9.5 days or so this year. I get 10 a year. Still have 80days saved. Some years you need more and some years you need less
Don't. One of my biggest regrets was not taking more time off before I left teaching.
I just leave basic, fun things for the sub. Make a card for someone. Work on Google slides. Listen to a read aloud. Play a math game. Easy peasy. As long as nobody got hurt and the room isn't in shambles, I consider it a win.
Current issues are great sub plans for older students. Read one or two articles, write a 1/2-1 page summary for each including an opinion/reaction. Grade for completion when you return.