This episode is packed with the wisdom of the classroom trenches as I share the arsenal every educator should have at their fingertips—from the humble pencil to the game-changing whistle. Discover not only my personal recommendations for a seamless teaching experience but also the health essentials vital for keeping you at the top of your game. And, while I sprinkle in some heartfelt tales and useful tips, I also tease a controversial teaching tactic that's bound to spark some lively debate. So, tune in and be equipped not only with the tools but the tricks of the trade that will transform your educational journey.
This episode is packed with the wisdom of the classroom trenches as I share the arsenal every educator should have at their fingertips—from the humble pencil to the game-changing whistle. Discover not only my personal recommendations for a seamless teaching experience but also the health essentials vital for keeping you at the top of your game. And, while I sprinkle in some heartfelt tales and useful tips, I also tease a controversial teaching tactic that's bound to spark some lively debate. So, tune in and be equipped not only with the tools but the tricks of the trade that will transform your educational journey.
We have had so many new subscribers in the last couple of years that I'm going to play an archive episode from before that. Since we've had this podcast for five years, I want you to hear some of the episodes that made this podcast popular. So enjoy this archive episode this week that you probably have never heard before. One of the first things I saw on websites when I started thinking about substitute teaching is what do you put in your substitute teachers bag? So why have I never talked about it on the podcast? Let's do it, episode 34.
Speaker 1:Substitute teachers Wow, alright, guys, hope you had a good week this week. Substitute teaching as I mentioned last week, we had a couple of days off, so had a short week this week. I also wanted to mention that. You know we live in Kentucky and we're used to at least some snow during the winter, but here it is February now and we still haven't seen any snow. We might see some this weekend, so we'll see how that takes our schedule into consideration next week. So the seasons are changing. I understand. I heard this week that Punx-Otani Field, bless His Heart, is actually wrong like 60% of the time, so I guess that means you get better odds just flipping a coin, but I like the tradition. I'd like to go up there and see that sometime, but that's the way our weather is flowing here right now. I hope you're having good weather and you get lots of substitute jobs in. So I wanted to mention first of all.
Speaker 1:I've talked about Buzzsprout before. There are free options for podcasts. I've had several people ask me about creating their own podcast. Buzzsprout is about 12 bucks a month. I think it's worth it. I think their videos alone about how to do things is worth that, and their customer service is just unbelievable. And this is not a commercial. I'm doing this for free. I might eventually they have an affiliate program that I might start including their link at the end in my code, just for the heck of it if you want to get started. But the reason I bring that up they just introduced a whole new stats package that I was excited about it. Last week I talked about it a little bit, but I'm even more excited when I watch the video that explained what we could do with it.
Speaker 1:So here's what they suggested. There is a page now on the podcast that I think you'll agree with. This list the number of listens that you got in the first seven days of when each podcast was released and I thought well, you know, that sounds interesting, it'll tell me what's most popular. But what they suggested to do with that is to look at what your most popular episodes have been and then see if it has a common trait, and that will help you determine what your listeners like most. And boy, I mean, I had an inkling of what that might be. But, sure enough, the most common trait is obvious when I look at the stats. I'm looking at my page right now.
Speaker 1:First of all, by far and away the fastest listened episode, the one that got the most listens in the first seven days, was two weeks ago, the volleyball players talk subs, court side and which reward systems work. So that was our most popular. That was when we had students interviewed. Remember that students interviewed, so that was the most popular. I did it through a revised version. I was wrong, by the way, voll does not generate that revised version, just like it was a new one. It's just that if you should go back to that, that's the one that you would then receive, other other than the one that was released first. So that was by far the most listened to. Second was episode 25 called recorded live from the classroom. It's STL 25. So that's the one in second place. And then in third place is way back at number episode 18, talking about subs with students Jonathan, camden and Lily.
Speaker 1:Now let me ask you something what do you see in that? I see that the episodes you guys like to listen to most are the ones in which we have the students involved, and that is so refreshing for me. I joke with my students that tell me they're listening to the podcast. I said do you find it boring, since I'm just talking to other substitute teachers and they say no, you talk about students all the time. That's why we're listening to it. I think that's why they're excited when they see me roaming down the hallway recording some things and recording it games and all that. So I'm thankful that that information is now given to me by Buzzsprout. It's very valuable. I am going to try my best to get as many student interviews as I can into this podcast, because obviously that's what you enjoy.
Speaker 1:One other thing that the new stats helped me identify and I kind of knew this from the beginning, but I've talked to you about the most popular episodes so far. Number one is episode one where we talk about how it's my first time as a substitute teacher. The title was I'm finally approved as a substitute teacher, and so it begins. And then second place is episode two when I say, yes, I got the substitute teacher job. I want it before anyone else. Those are the top two. But listen at this the first place has 40% more listens than second place, and when you first hear that you might say, hey, I'd be excited about that, about mr Collins. But you know I'm not. And here's why. Let's think this through People that are looking for substitute teachers resources. They find the podcast, they listen to it. That means anybody that finds it and wants to try it out Will be listening to episode one. So the real telltale sign is, if they continue to lesson two now a lot of them do. A lot of them Do or it wouldn't be in second place, but some do not.
Speaker 1:And I remember back in June of last year when I recorded the first episode, a lot of anxiety there. You know, am I going to get like 10 listens a week and it'll really be a, you know, just a silly effort that won't pan out. Obviously. It ended up being very popular. I'm excited for that. I'm glad you guys are listening. But as I go back and listen to that, there's not a lot of attention grabbers.
Speaker 1:I didn't hadn't gotten good with editing yet. So here's what I did. I printed out a script. I wanted it to be virtually the same as it was before. I did add a few little things and this week I Rerecorded episode one. If you want to hear it, if you click on episode one, you can hear the new version. It's around 17 minutes, just like the old version was. I did mention that I'll be having student interviews. I hit that a little bit harder than I had before. I did do a different opening this time. I love the opening with the kids, whether you guys do or not, sorry, guys, that's not gonna matter to me, because that was that was so special to me. That probably gonna always be my opening until I Record it with a new group of kids. But I rerecorded episode one.
Speaker 1:Here's what I'm hoping now, when people discover the podcast that they'll stick around a little bit longer. Most of you do, but you know I guess three quarters of you do if we calculate the statistics. But you know I want to grab as many people as I can. I want your ideas. Today's gonna be a good one that you can provide ideas. So I want to do that. So go back and listen to that first episode. I would love for you to tell me at Greg Collins substitute at gmailcom, what you think about it. Remember, you can also send me audio bites and We'll go from there and and we'll see how that goes.
Speaker 1:All right, I remember an old song from when I was a teenager called troglodyte k-man, who said we're gonna go back Way back back into time. That that's what I want to do right now. I'm gonna go back about. I guess it's been almost 18 months when I first thought about Substitute teaching and I was looking for ideas everywhere and I came across probably the most, most popular topic that ever came up what do you put in your substitute teachers bag. And you know I read some of those. You know some of those.
Speaker 1:I'm thinking All right, do you go in there with a wheelbarrow or what exactly is it you're carrying all this stuff in? Do you leave them in your car? I knew I wasn't gonna do that right off the bat, and here's why I want to take you back to that point too. There are a lot of you out there. Well, in fact, let's start with the ones that have been doing this for a while. Think back To your first days and you were trying to decide how much should I take with me. If I was a betting man, I would say that now, looking back, however long ago that was, you'll admit that it was probably too much. Here's what I decided to do.
Speaker 1:I'm kind of a practical guy. I'm also a tightwad with certain things, so I try not to buy things unless I Really find out that I need them. And you'll find out what I came up with here in just a moment. That ended up being important to me. But I look back at all those lists and I said you know, I'm not gonna buy those yet.
Speaker 1:So my first point to you guys if you're just getting ready to substitute teach, if you're just putting together your first substitute teachers bag or packet or supply list Whatever you want to call it, wait a little while. Just go with the basics you need. I mean, you're gonna need some ink pens and maybe some Post-it notes and things like that. Go with that first and after you substitute taught for a while, see what's important to you, see what you need to take with you. That worked out with me. I didn't take reams of paper. I in fact I never really bought paper Until I got it to be a long-term sub, and we'll talk about convenience here in just a moment. That you know it's just like going. You know convenience is why we buy things. It's just like that's why Things are more expensive at convenience stores and we pay that price anyway, because it's convenient. We don't have to go to a big, massive Supermarket to buy things. So that's what you're going to see if as I go through my list a little bit. But before I do, I want all of you to think back to what you bought if it ended up being a goodbye, and please Contact me, greg Collins, substitute, at gmailcom. I want to add good ideas. Let's keep our substitute teacher supply list going and improving and I'm sure that you guys, once you mentioned some things to me, I'm gonna say, well, why in the world that I'm not think about that? And, to be honest, when you hear some of my list, you're gonna say I'm not gonna buy that, and that's up to you. I think that's why this is important that we get through this.
Speaker 1:First, I'm going to talk a little bit about stuff for the classroom, actual stuff that you're going to be using in the classroom. Here are the ones that I ended up coming up with and, to be honest, there's only a half dozen. Some of you are going to think I'm crazy, but there's only about a half dozen. Two of those you're probably going to choose not to use anyway. So here's what I started with, so definite top two. Top one, of course, is ink pens. Now let me get you started, and you might be a pencil person. Go ahead and take some pencils with you if you want. You're going to be making notes. You're going to think that you don't really need to write things down and you don't really need an ink pen because the teachers are there.
Speaker 1:I have gotten myself into trouble I'm kind of saying that tongue in cheek by losing teachers' pens. So buy some pens of your own. Try to buy some that are conspicuous, that there's no doubt you're going to remember later that those were yours, and I'll make this recommendation Don't buy one good one. Buy a pack of ones that are maybe lesser quality, because you aren't going to lose them. It kind of becomes a standing joke with me, with all the kids in my classroom of how many things I leave around the classroom and have them have to look for me. Teachers will often leave answer keys to projects we're doing. I'll leave those laying around everywhere. I'll take my if I'm eating a snack or something. I'll leave it laying around. I'll leave my soda laying around they just get used to bringing it to me. I remember when I me and my wife did church camps, I would leave my organizational folder everywhere and there'd be a different student bring that up to me every day. So, trust me, you're going to lose some of these pens. So buy you know a dozen or so, keep them into whatever I carry a laptop sleeve that I don't use anymore, that I carry my supplies around in. So it's not very large. In fact, the bulk of it is made up of my iPad and a folder that I keep some papers in. So that's the first thing Ink pens.
Speaker 1:Now let me tell you what you're going to notice, especially as you go to several different schools and several different teachers. They all have those whiteboard jet. I haven't seen a chalkboard yet. Maybe you do in your area and you can prove me wrong, but you're going to pick up the marker to write something, it's going to be dry or faint. You're going to pick up another marker. It's not going to work either and I'll be honest with you, more classrooms than not I'll pick up a marker on the board and it won't write.
Speaker 1:Now I have a hunch that some of those teachers actually have a supply stash somewhere so that they don't get lost or they don't dry out. You know they dry out because the kids write with them and I'm okay with that. It doesn't bother me if they do that. They're just kind of channeling their creative energy. But you're going to need those markers. So Bayou has said a multicolored dry erase markers for the whiteboard. You'll need those to write things. If nothing else, you want to write your name in bold letters when they come in the room so they can get used to you and maybe write a couple of quotes so that they can tell that you're. You didn't just come in and show up, that you kind of gave some thought of what you wanted to talk to them about. So I would buy the markers.
Speaker 1:Now let me tell you this about pencils Every substitute teacher goes into the classroom feeling the same way. These kids need to provide their pencils. That is what they need to do. I get tired of kids not bringing their own pencil. I said that for months. You can say that all you want to. It is just going to make your life easier and less disruptive if you buy some pencils. Now let me tell you what I did. It was the best eight dollars I ever spent on Amazon. I found a box of number two pencils a hundred and forty four for eight dollars Best eight dollars I ever spent. Because let me tell you what I went through before that.
Speaker 1:I first I asked other teachers not just substitute teachers, but teachers that deal with this every day, especially as I got to a long term role. I said how do you keep track of pencils? Do you provide pencils? Well, here's what some of them said they did. I started first by buying about I guess it was ten cheap mechanical pencils. I kept them in a jar with a sign up sheet next to them. So that was the theory right, you sign in, you sign out when you bring the pencil back.
Speaker 1:Well, sometimes we'd get in a hurry. I would forget to make them sign it. Or I might even say go ahead. I saw that you take it and then, of course, I would forget it, and then they wouldn't maliciously keep it. But they just kept it. You know, there's pencils all over the floor all day. You think you could keep everybody supplied just by picking them up off the floor, but that one didn't really work.
Speaker 1:I also got an idea of a. This came from an elementary school teacher. When they get a pencil, they have to leave the right shoe or a shoe, I don't guess it has to be your right shoe, and that way for sure they'll bring the pencil back. That's all. Then get their shoe back. Well, it's funny.
Speaker 1:I teach so many sixth graders. They ended up kind of making a game for that. You know whether, whether they needed a pencil or not, they wanted to go with one shoe offer the whole class. So that didn't work as well and, just like signing in and out, we would get in a hurry and forget. So I decided hey man, amazon is a great service. I've got free shipping. I'm going to spend eight dollars for a hundred and forty four pencils. They basically I just ran out and I bought them a year ago, so that might be the most valuable purchase I ever made. Here's the deal. You're going to get interrupted so many times by kids who didn't bring a pencil, or whether they're telling the truth or not.
Speaker 1:I would ask some kids that asked for a pencil you know the last two periods of the day, you know it's the sixth or seventh period. What did you do the rest of the day without a pencil? Oh, I lost it. Mr Collins, I'm sorry and they were sorry, but you know they're kids, they're going to lose their pencil. Buy some pencils. Obviously I shouldn't say obviously. The ones that are unsharpened are cheapest. I know I got that box for eight dollars. I just looked it up while I was talking about this on Amazon and I see it's up to 999 now, but I didn't shop around anymore either, so you could probably get those fairly cheaply. Eight dollars it's, you know, eight dollars. You know, stretch that out over the year that I asked me. You know, all of a sudden that's sounding like less than a dollar a month. I think that worked out well for me. So now this next one might surprise you a little bit too.
Speaker 1:One class that I went into. Often the kids had to sharpen their pencil. Often not only was it very loud, it was kind of in disrepair and the teacher is the only one that knew how to use it, and she showed me how to use it one day. And keep in mind that this was as a class, that it was a class, that they were some of the shorter periods of the classes I've been to. They were like 50 minutes. So if you have to stop even 30, 45 seconds to sharpen somebody's pencil several times during the class, well, that waste time, that gets you out of your flow.
Speaker 1:So guess what? I spent another in this case it was nine dollars and I found what I thought is a very good pencil sharpener, so much so that I'm going to recommend the exact brand and model. This too was an Amazon purchase, but the reason I liked it and I can't remember now if I ordered a different one first and send it back. But this one was so much quieter, it was so easy to use. It's a model that the kids actually they put their pencil in the pencil sharpener hole and they don't even have to lift it up every few seconds to see if it's sharp. It actually stops when it's sharp. Now that it must be a fairly popular brand, because I spent $9.99 and I might have bought it while it was on sale or something, and I noticed it $16.99. But again, to me it was a very worthwhile purchase. It is a jar link brand, that is J-A-R-L-I-N-K and I noticed its model number is OP 007D. That first O is a letter O, so it's OP 007D. We love the pencil sharpener. It's kind of funny. The kids enjoyed the pencil sharpener so much, I guess, compared to the one they were using before. But I noticed even this last time when I did long-term sub, I finally remembered to bring it in and they lined up at it because they liked it a lot. All they had to do is put down any kind of pencil in there and it shut off automatically. So that's that's two of my favorite purchases and that's how I solved the pencil situation.
Speaker 1:Other stuff that I bought besides markers and pencils and ink pens I'm an official but so I always have whistles. Take a whistle in with you. Someday you're going to be asked to teach a physical education class. You'll need it for that. Sometimes you might just need a little slow whistle blast to catch everybody's attention. I would recommend a Fox 40 whistle. They have a good sound. It's a whistle the referees use. I would not get the micro. I like using that for volleyball but it's much louder A little bit loud for the classroom and there's some even louder than that called Sonic. Sonic's mention is meant for outdoors and that could literally blow your eardrums out. So don't buy that one. So Amazon or Amazon. You can get it on Amazon. It's a Fox 40 whistle. Those work real well. The other thing that I would I've used it mainly when I'm in a long-term sub, but if I even if I'm there for more than a few days, I find that found a cheap small whiteboard that I could just stick up on the wall outside the classroom when I'm there for a few days and either just leave a corny joke or something that they would be excited about coming by and reading what I had to put up there, and I thought that was just kind of a cool break the ice come in the classroom type thing. So that's my basic stuff. I bought my own dry erase markers. I bought a box of pencils, a pencil sharpener, a small whiteboard ink pens and a whistle.
Speaker 1:Now the next thing I'm going to mention is just in the health environment. I have found that these are essentials. As you go through, you are not going to be healthy. Every day you go to the classroom. You're not going to go in there if you're sick enough that you don't want to risk making the kids sick. But sometimes you're just going to have a slight cough, sometimes you're just going to have an upset stomach. Some of the things that I make sure in that regard that I always have with me are I always carry Dayquil or any type of off brand. Those are the kind that they don't have anahistamines in them so it won't do much for your sneezing because those tend to make you drowsy. Make sure you get the one that's got Day in its title and that basically takes care of coughing, runny nose. For the most part you don't want to have that inconvenience going on while you're trying to teach a class.
Speaker 1:And also throat lozenges Everybody likes something different.
Speaker 1:I use Ricola. Sometimes I've had the Halls Myntholiptus. Probably depends on how severe or what you like. I would also take some of that antibacterial ointment. I haven't been to a classroom yet that didn't already have those in the room for the kids. Take a bottle of your own, keep it on your desk, keep your hands clean, especially after you've been there, and the kids understand that. I guarantee you no kids are going to be offended because you just helped him and then go clean your hands. So have some of that. Then the last thing I would just some kind of digestive tablet. You know, some people like Alka's Celser, some people like other things Just take some of that to. Why be uncomfortable that afternoon? So those are the things that I always keep with me in case I need them. I don't go overboard, I don't take them as a precaution, but if I need them I'll take them. Now, the last things I'm going to mention today are more about things that I would have in your back pocket for knowledge. And then I'm going to save one other thing that you're probably going to disagree with me, but that's okay, I think it's valuable.
Speaker 1:First thing, go on YouTube and look for videos of how to run those classroom overhead projectors. If you don't already know. Most of them are white. Most of them have a white remote control. Most of them allow you to both put a paper on your desk and shine a light, a projection light. All that that will then project it onto the board, and most of them will let you flip between that and anything you have on your personal computer, for instance, if you want to show CNN 10 and then immediately go back to the paper you have on their desk so they can copy notes from you or you can provide maps for them. That's make sure you know how to do that, and there's plenty of YouTube videos online to help you with that. So, while that's not supplies in your bag, that is definitely knowledge, I call, in your back pocket.
Speaker 1:Also, keep some fillers in mind. We've talked about this. What if you have five, ten minutes left at the end of class? Pull up one of those interesting charts on the data is beautiful channel on YouTube. Some of them are fun. You'll find some of them that I guarantee. You'll find some that coincide with what you're teaching that day. Find some good Khan Academy videos so that, if you ever need to get to that point, you can quickly go there and learn about Kahoot.
Speaker 1:And here's what I want you to do. You know I'm a Kahoot guy. I use it all the time. I often hear high remarks, also for Quizlet and quizzes. Please, if you've used those last two, definitely send me a note. I want to know from you how they work. I would love to interview you about how they work. And then the last thing I would keep in my back pocket. You heard this from some of the volleyball players we interviewed a couple of weeks ago. Always go in with those personal stories. Kids love those and then they love sharing their own. So that's just a way to add to the learning.
Speaker 1:The final thing will require purchase. Guys, it's candy. Now let me tell you this. Some of you are going to say I am not going to reward those kids for something they should be doing anyway. Okay, go with it that way.
Speaker 1:Here's the conclusion I went to. First of all, if you're a member of Sam's Club or anything like that, you can get an absolute huge bag of candy for next, maybe $10. That will last you months, and kids as a general rule really don't care what kind of candy. Let me tell you what I'm done. I've kind of used it as a quote bribe on occasions. I'll say at the beginning of the class guys, I've got some candy to hand away to one person in each class today and it's going to be totally random. I'm going to stick my finger on the roster and give it to whoever I land on. So as long as you behave yourselves today and don't give me a reason to not include you in this candy, then somebody's going to get a piece of candy and it's amazing how much just a little package of maybe Starburst is well received by the students in that class.
Speaker 1:So keep some of those around. It enhances some of the games you play. Maybe keep enough to hand out to the winners of each team. But there you have it, guys. That's my sub bag. Not much in the bag. A lot of it's mental, medical. A small amount of that was actually stuff that I make sure I have every day. You've got ideas and I want to hear them. So, greg Collins, substitute at gmailcom or go to the substitute teachers lounge Facebook page. Let me know what's in your goodies bag as a substitute teacher and hopefully I'll have more to share with you next week. See you on the next episode. Music provided by bingsoundcom.