Is having experience as a Substitute teacher good?

[Sugarplum94]

Hey Guys!
So, this might be a pretty dumb question, but since tutoring counts as a leadership position, does working as a substitute teacher also count? Or having a supervisor like position at an old job at a restaurant? I am asking for a "friend," lol sorry had to say it, but all jokes aside, is working as a sub, something different, in a good way?

Thank you,
~ Sugar Plum

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[Mwooster]

but since tutoring counts as a leadership position

Says no one ever. Tutoring counts as a leadership position only if you're a volunteer leader with extra responsibilities, such as leading a group of volunteers.

Baby sitting... cough I meant substitute teaching is a nice experience, but don't stretch it that far.

 

[Goro]

It's not really leadership, but it IS responsibility. I have a high regard for teachers.

 

[allantois]

Yea because being a secretary in a pre-med organization is more of a leadership than trying to manage a class of kids who know you aren’t their teacher

 

[Catalystik]

does working as a substitute teacher also count?

Or having a supervisor like position at an old job at a restaurant?

Working as a teacher, like tutoring, counts as Teaching, which is also a valued experience for a future physician.

Acting as a work supervisor for restaurant employees counts as Leadership.

 

[DBC03]

Working as a teacher counts as Teaching, which is also a valued experience for a future physician.

Acting as a work supervisor for restaurant employees counts as Leadership.

@Catalystik - do they only look at the category, or do they look at the description in the activities section? I put down my project management experience as "employment", but it was also a significant amount of leadership (as a team leader). I wonder if I labeled it incorrectly.

OP - kudos for substitute teaching - that's an amazing amount of responsibility!

 

[Dox4lyfe]

@Catalystik - do they only look at the category, or do they look at the description in the activities section? I put down my project management experience as "employment", but it was also a significant amount of leadership (as a team leader). I wonder if I labeled it incorrectly.

OP - kudos for substitute teaching - that's an amazing amount of responsibility!

Not Catalystik, but I've asked a few adcoms this questions and they've all had pretty much the same response. They don't care as much about the label as they do the substance/description. That being said, it's best to have had experiences that fall under a good mix of the labels to have all your grounds covered. It seems as if there are some adcoms that value some experiences much more than others, so they especially look for those labels.

If you mentioned being a team leader in some way in the description of that employment, you should be fine. Did you have other entries that emphasized leadership as well?

 

[DBC03]

Not Catalystik, but I've asked a few adcoms this questions and they've all had pretty much the same response. They don't care as much about the label as they do the substance/description. That being said, it's best to have had experiences that fall under a good mix of the labels to have all your grounds covered. It seems as if there are some adcoms that value some experiences much more than others, so they especially look for those labels.

If you mentioned being a team leader in some way in the description of that employment, you should be fine. Did you have other entries that emphasized leadership as well?

I helped start and was treasurer and vice regent of a local organization (offshoot of a national organization) - that was listed under leadsership. I also own a business and hired and directed people under me (told to list as artistic endeavor). My aforementioned employment was for more than 10 years, so it encompassed everything from starting at the bottom and working through the ranks. But “employment” seemed more apropos for that heading than leadership. Those headings were difficult to choose as many headings could apply to each experience.

 

[DBC03]

Hey Guys!
So, this might be a pretty dumb question, but since tutoring counts as a leadership position, does working as a substitute teacher also count? Or having a supervisor like position at an old job at a restaurant? I am asking for a "friend," lol sorry had to say it, but all jokes aside, is working as a sub, something different, in a good way?

Thank you,
~ Sugar Plum

Just want to reiterate that I have a lot of respect for substitute teachers - I don’t know if it is viewed as leadership, but it is a worthy job.

 

[Dox4lyfe]

I helped start and was treasurer and vice regent of a local organization (offshoot of a national organization) - that was listed under leadsership. I also own a business and hired and directed people under me (told to list as artistic endeavor). My aforementioned employment was for more than 10 years, so it encompassed everything from starting at the bottom and working through the ranks. But “employment” seemed more apropos for that heading than leadership. Those headings were difficult to choose as many headings could apply to each experience.

You definitely have leadership covered. After reading some of your secondaries, you have a ton of skills that most traditional students don't have as well. I wouldn't worry if I were you.

 

[DBC03]

You definitely have leadership covered. After reading some of your secondaries, you have a ton of skills that most traditional students don't have as well. I wouldn't worry if I were you.

Haga - thanks! I think we get into this process then start thinking through all the possible gaps in our application. I’m looking forward to August next year.

 

[Catalystik]

@Catalystik - do they only look at the category, or do they look at the description in the activities section? I put down my project management experience as "employment", but it was also a significant amount of leadership (as a team leader). I wonder if I labeled it incorrectly.

Of course they read the descriptions. And the name you give the activity in addition to the tag you selected. And keep in mind that the leadership tag is "Leadership - Not listed elsewhere" which to my mind is meant for dates and description of leadership only. Often one's leadership is best left with the activity that led to it, so as to provide the proper backstory, so it falls under another unrelated tag.

 

[Catalystik]

Not Catalystik, but I've asked a few adcoms this questions and they've all had pretty much the same response. They don't care as much about the label as they do the substance/description. That being said, it's best to have had experiences that fall under a good mix of the labels to have all your grounds covered.

I agree with this, too.

 

[SoppyElk]

I think it's a great experience to have! You learn a lot as a teacher, and a lot of the skills you learn as a teacher definitely carry over to medicine. I was a teacher last year and it was a fantastic experience. On top of that it's something unique in your app. Sets you apart from the thousands of other applicants who probably have a lot of the same ECs and whatnot.

 

[infectiousdisease101]

IMO, no. A leader is someone who has WILLING followers.

I was a peer mentor where my basic responsibilities involves tutoring, but a lot of my students came to me for other forms of guidance. To me, that's leadership. But leadership is a broad term, so its meaning can differ from person to person.

 

[tiramisucheese]

IMO, no. A leader is someone who has WILLING followers.

I was a peer mentor where my basic responsibilities involves tutoring, but a lot of my students came to me for other forms of guidance. To me, that's leadership. But leadership is a broad term, so its meaning can differ from person to person.

Wow, really? So no teacher is a leader because his/her students are in class by force and not by choice? Having the skills to effectively manage a class of 20-60 children while delivering information to produce results is not worthy of mention? By your logic, the president of the U.S. is only a leader to ~50% of the population, but not to those who didn't vote for him. Okaaaay

 

[tiramisucheese]

And OP, to address your original question, I don't think being a sub is necessarily the best way to demonstrate leadership on your app if you haven't had any other leadership experiences. Being a sub is more about following directions than being a leader in the truest sense of the word. However, the job can certainly have its challenges and give you perspectives into various student populations that you might not be exposed to otherwise. I think it's a good addition to your med school application, but shouldn't necessarily be a replacement if you have to make a choice.

 

[infectiousdisease101]

Wow, really? So no teacher is a leader because his/her students are in class by force and not by choice? Having the skills to effectively manage a class of 20-60 children while delivering information to produce results is not worthy of mention? By your logic, the president of the U.S. is only a leader to ~50% of the population, but not to those who didn't vote for him. Okaaaay

Let me ask you this, are you acknowledged because you're a leader or are you a leader because you're acknowledged? Trump was acknowledged by the voters (a lot of who now regret voting for him).

In grade school, especially 8th grade ans lower, they're just there to do their work and go home. OP is teaching them but they're not really looking to OP for guidance.

But OP can just say they learned how to manage communication with strangers who are unfamiliar with them.

I didn't say managing the class isn't worth mentioning as experience. I said being a sub is not leadership. By the way, your criticism was not consistent.

 

[SoppyElk]

Let me ask you this, are you acknowledged because you're a leader or are you a leader because you're acknowledged? Trump was acknowledged by the voters (a lot of who now regret voting for him).

In grade school, especially 8th grade ans lower, they're just there to do their work and go home. OP is teaching them but they're not really looking to OP for guidance.

But OP can just say they learned how to manage communication with strangers who are unfamiliar with them.

I didn't say managing the class isn't worth mentioning as experience. I said being a sub is not leadership. By the way, your criticism was not consistent.

You're looking at this wayyyy too deeply. There are people who list so many different things on AMCAS as leadership when they technically aren't. Is someone who sends out week emails for a club considered a leader? Maybe/maybe not. Classroom management does take some leadership skills and it's one of the hardest things to learn. Even for a sub managing a bunch of teenagers is no easy task.

 

[allantois]

IMO, no. A leader is someone who has WILLING followers.

I was a peer mentor where my basic responsibilities involves tutoring, but a lot of my students came to me for other forms of guidance. To me, that's leadership. But leadership is a broad term, so its meaning can differ from person to person.

Somebody coming to talk to you, doesn’t make you a leader

 

[Sugarplum94]

Wow! Thank you all for your wonderful replies. I was worried because I don't have any leadership, other than a summer job, where I trained a few people under me, but that was only a small part of the job, I was promoted to head hostess, but training was only a small portion, and tbh I didn't really think of it as a leadership position anymore than being part of a club, but I guess I can use it to my benefit. I was asking about the substituting, because I felt like that required a lot of leadership abilities, like making sure all the the kids are following directions, no one gets hurt, following the teacher's rules, etc. Like I get it, the whole " you are following a set of instructions that the teacher left you," thing, but have you ever seen how bad high school kids can be???? I question so many things after a day of subbing teenagers. I felt like that was more important as a skill than being in a E-board of a club where all you do is collect materials and help organise events, where most of the time the president of the club has to deal with that burden, and tbh I think hiring people, maintaining security, and sanity is more of an exprience doctors/pre-meds should have, especially considering how sometimes hospital environments, and patients can get a little crazy. Things like subbing, or starting a company, and hiring people, like the person above stated, seemed more realistic and relatable to real life situations in the hospitals, or clinics. But I can see why some people don't look at this in that light, and for those of you don't look at this as a leadership, can someone tell me how one can attaint a leadership position, outside of school, I go to a very small university, with very controlled and monopolized environment at least in E.C, either you must be really good buddies with people, or be part of that organization for over 4 years (I exaggerate) but you must live, breathe, eat, sleep, and brush your teeth in that organization to even let them cut you a break, and I commute over 50 minutes, so I cannot always be there for clubs and activities in my school, due to timings and security (my school is not in the most safest area of the US lol). So I want to ask, how can one demonstrate leadership outside of school, with little money.

 

[DBC03]

Honestly, training people as a hostess is no small feat - I think that demonstrates both a very strong ability to work with people, and an ability to lead. Just make sure you describe it well!

Also, some of us have been out a long time (15 years) so our experiences will vary greatly. I would say your hostess experience required more responsibility than many club leadership positions.

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[Sugarplum94]

Honestly, training people as a hostess is no small feat - I think that demonstrates both a very strong ability to work with people, and an ability to lead. Just make sure you describe it well!

Also, some of us have been out a long time (15 years) so our experiences will vary greatly. I would say your hostess experience required more responsibility than many club leadership positions.

Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Wow! Thank you! I shall try to make sure that I put that in my resume.