Over this past year, Americans have faced a long and difficult battle trying to make it through these hard times dealing with the new Corona Virus - Covid 19. This battle has impacted every form of daily life for most Americans. Due to today’s unknown times, teachers within Madison High School have been in and out of the classroom. This has left students to wonder who will even be their teacher each day. This change has made for a new demand for substitute teachers, whether for long term or short. This new transition, though, does not show signs of changing any time soon. Therefore, students should be prepared to see these substitute teachers throughout the school year.
Substitute teachers are crucial to the withstanding of school for the students in Madison. Based on this fact, the more that students bond with these temporary teachers, the better. Especially during this time, an need for togetherness is necessary. In order to provide students with a closer look to some of the teachers they may see in the school, I took it upon myself to interview a current sub within the building. Nichole Ludemann (wife of Jacob Ludemann who is a social studies teacher at Madison High School) is a substitute teacher commonly seen in our school. She was born and raised in Howard, South Dakota, and has since lived in Brookings, South Dakota, Worthington, Minnesota, and Madison, South Dakota where she currently resides. They made the move in order to be closer to her family, as she finds family the most important thing in her life. She takes pride in being a mother of three children and an aunt. Another thing Mrs. Ludemann considers one of her biggest priorities is her faith. She and her family are a part of Saint Thomas Catholic Church in Madison.
When asked how Covid 19 has affected her, Mrs. Ludemann responded by saying that it makes her question going to see people now. She is scared to visit her grandma or her mother-in-law due to their high risk position with Covid. She says she has a concern with the fact that you can be asymptomatic and still pass it on to others. With the obvious concern of catching this virus, she would hate to pass it on to anyone. Although, she shared with me that she does not feel that she is at more of a risk of the virus in our school more than anywhere else. She states, “I feel the administration has done a fantastic job at setting mask mandates and cleaning rules for the district.” When subbing, she makes sure to clean the desks for not only her protection but the students alike, as well as using hand sanitizer periodically throughout the day and wearing a mask. She also finds herself reminding students to put their masks over their nose constantly while subbing, in which she is known to say, “Put your face away!” on the daily. She prefers subbing for teachers who are quarantined because she likes seeing the same classes everyday.
In conclusion, those in this building who are not our permanent staff, but are substitute for those staff, are, today, just as crucial to our school. It is a good idea to thank those substitute teachers who have been flexible for us in order to keep our school functioning as normal as it can be during this time. Always make them feel welcome as this is as big of an adjustment for them as it is for us.