When Boswell alumnus Jonathan Bickett found himself as a substitute teacher for EMS-ISD, at first it was something that could pay the bills and had a flexible schedule. But now, after six years of substitute teaching, he’s found that it is also something he can do to give back to his community.
“It’s very invigorating to be able to teach the next generation and especially the students that I have followed up from middle school all the way through highschool, and then into their adult life as we start to meet in the public.” Bickett said. “It’s just a really fulfilling thing that I’m able to do to give back to the community, and of course it keeps the bills paid and that always helps out.”
Like any job, substitute teaching has its ups and downs. You still have to put effort into it, and sometimes students will act out and bring their other problems into the classroom and proceed to make it everyone else’s problem. However, Bickett finds good moments within the classroom and makes the day productive, even if it isn’t easy.
“Anytime that I have a student tell me that I was able to help them understand an assignment where their teacher failed to do so, it makes me feel like I’m actually able to affect the students beyond just being a babysitter for the day.” Bickett said. “It just gives you, like, a tangible happy feeling when people are excited to see you and it makes me want to bring that energy into my next job and continue to make future classes happen.”
Bickett didn’t initially plan on being a teacher. When he graduated from Boswell in 2012, he began going to UT Dallas under a scholarship, studying for a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry or Engineering. He originally planned to hold off on getting a job until he was done there, but his scholarship ran out. While on a train going back and forth to Dallas, Wal-Mart asked him if he could come in.
“That was a fun conversation because I was in Dallas getting the last of my stuff from the college at the time, but I just needed to move into a job now that the state wasn’t paying for me to go to college anymore.” Bickett said. “It was more of a necessity thing than a job seeking thing.”
Bickett used to be the primary caregiver in his house, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when his mother and sister were medically fragile. He would go to the pharmacy to pick up prescriptions and take them to their doctor’s appointments, which required a flexible work schedule.
“They’re on the road now and completely self-sufficient, but that was the reason why substitute teaching kind of called to me, and Walmart called to me because the people in charge are very, very okay with you setting your own hours, which was a necessity at the time for me.” Bickett said.
Of course, with every job comes a little stress and something new everyday. Bickett recalls some of his experiences with his past jobs as a data collector for companies such as Crossmark, a Walmart employee, and now a food deliverer for Uber Eats and DoorDash during the summer.
“Sometimes a job will get canceled out from under you and you’ll need to find something else for the day, sometimes people just won’t order food. Sometimes a customer will knock over a display and you’ll have to pick everything up, and the little stresses can add up over time,” Bickett said. “A couple times I did in fact clock out for the day and cry a little bit, which is just a healthy release, but that’s the sign that you need to probably move on to another job.”
Bickett is now happy with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and communication from Tarleton State University, and he and his roommate want to start a windowsill garden soon. He likes to travel and play card games, and sometimes he even plays a little piano on the side.
“College isn’t really the end all be all, there are trade schools, there are magnet programs, there are apprenticeships, you can go into the military, you can just work straight out of college like I did,” Bickett said. “I see all these juniors and seniors, even all the way down to freshman, just stressing, stressing, stressing, prepping for college for years in advance, and I’ve never seen the need to make your life harder during one of the already toughest points in your life.”