It’s December: with the departure of leaves on the trees, a teacher suddenly departs from their classroom. A new long-term substitute has entered Liberty High School. The teacher walks into their new classroom for the first time, greeted by a silent horde of skeptical students. Some may ask questions about their previous teacher’s absence, some are panicking over their recommendation letter considerations, and others do not care. The long-term substitute will do their best to instruct all of them.

“I’m doing the best I can to make sure everybody gets what they need,” math teacher Julie Sinnott said. 

Sinnott is the long-term substitute for math teacher Jennifer Poulson, who is on leave for the first semester of this school year. A few weeks into the term, her long-term substitute was replaced due to student criticism, stirring both gratitude from concerned students and sympathy for the teacher. 

“Teachers who are trying their hardest still might not teach very well. However, as long as a teacher is trying to improve, they should be guarded from criticism,” sophomore Tyson Hardtke said.

A student body can be very scrutinizing, especially under new authority, and there’s a split in the Liberty community on how much to critique long-term substitutes. Some students use their voice to advocate for what they need in their education, like sophomore Matthew Ung, and others do the best they can with the instruction they’re given

“Teachers shouldn’t hold their students to high standards if they aren’t teaching to a high standard as well,” Ung said.

Although it wasn’t smooth sailing for Poulson’s previous long-term substitute, the student body is not as cutthroat to all teachers. According to sophomore Alexis Matin, the chemistry between a class and the educator depends a lot on the content. 

“There are classes where you have to have a good teacher because instruction is the majority of your learning,” Matin said. 

A teacher who knows their curriculum well is integral to student learning in subjects that depend on notes through lecturing, like math or science. However, different people may be suited to different subjects. Fit is necessary for a positive classroom experience, especially for teachers that will only be in the classroom for a short while.