The Teacher's Resource Depot

The typical class in this school includes a group of loud, screaming kids who never listen to anything I say and automatically assume that they have a free period because they have a substitute. These kids usually sit in the back and play games and distract those who are on task.

Sometimes, the regular teacher never leaves an assignment and when one is left, the instructions left are either too vague or I am not provided with the right materials to properly execute the lesson plan. Once, I was asked to have the students complete an activity on internet research but was not allowed to let the students use the laptops, even though the assignment was to be done on the computer and most of these kids do not have internet access at home.

Whenever situations like this occur I am forced to either improvise or come up with another activity that the kids already see it as a filler assignment and never complete.

I tried asking some of the staff members, such as the dean and the sub coordinator for advice and they advised me that I need to be more like the regular teachers and yell and intimidate the kids to behave

These same people regularly “leave me out to dry” when things start to get too out of hand. Instead they view my inability to discipline and control the class as an indication of my own lack of ability, even though this school is the only one I sub at where I seem to have this problem. It creates a situation where the students know they can do anything and get away with it because I am viewed as too soft and the staff will not do anything to support me.

What would be the best way to discipline these students?