The landscape of teaching is one of constant evolution, and nowhere is this more evident than in my own experiences as a substitute teacher. My journey through the educational system has led me to a crossroads: to maintain an approachable, friendly persona, or to adopt a sterner, more formal demeanor in the face of shifting student behaviors. It's a candid exploration of how the subtleties of respect and discipline play out in the modern classroom, and the internal debate that rages within any educator who has felt their kindness mistaken for weakness. As a volleyball coach, the parallels between coaching and teaching are striking, and they've offered me unique insights into how authority, when wielded with care, can be the cornerstone of both leadership and learning.
The landscape of teaching is one of constant evolution, and nowhere is this more evident than in my own experiences as a substitute teacher. My journey through the educational system has led me to a crossroads: to maintain an approachable, friendly persona, or to adopt a sterner, more formal demeanor in the face of shifting student behaviors. It's a candid exploration of how the subtleties of respect and discipline play out in the modern classroom, and the internal debate that rages within any educator who has felt their kindness mistaken for weakness. As a volleyball coach, the parallels between coaching and teaching are striking, and they've offered me unique insights into how authority, when wielded with care, can be the cornerstone of both leadership and learning.
Guys, I'm telling you right now. To me, over the last six years, substitute teaching has changed. I've gotten to the point where I only want to do high school. I had a day recently scheduled in middle school. I wanted to try out a new. I don't know if I want to call it personality, but maybe I'm too soft and it's time to be a little stricter. Let's talk about why I got to that point and what happened in the class when I tried that Substitute teacher's lounge. All right, here's the deal.
Speaker 1:Recent classes that I've had have made me decide that students have changed so much, and I won't even get into blaming the COVID break and all that kind of stuff. I think that's definitely a part of it. I know the teachers I worked with today, as a matter of fact, thought the same thing when I brought it up. I ran into a student at my church this weekend who said we spoiled you, greg, that's why you don't want to go back to middle school. And I actually thought she was talking about their sixth grade was so good. She's a junior now. Their sixth grade was so good and students just aren't like that anymore. But she was actually talking about you've been with us high school students so much and having normal conversations and things you can really discuss and not have to call us down, so to speak. She was talking about that. Am I just too soft now to substitute teach the way I used to? Am I only going to quote enjoy this in the future if I change from being a nice guy? I've even told students I think you're taking advantage of me because I'm a nice person.
Speaker 1:A recent class, which I will not return to, I even promised them some kind of like small candy prize if they would behave during the class. Well, they were terrible. And then some of them actually had the nerve to come back to me and say, hey, who got the candy? And I said, well, what was the promise? And they admitted it and I said you know, I don't think I'm going to come back for a while. And then they felt bad. But it was only when I got to that point that they backed down a little bit.
Speaker 1:So I thought I would at least try, instead of just writing off classes and that kind of thing. Well, what if? Have I in fact gained the reputation as a very nice teacher? He won't make us do anything. He'll let us do whatever we want to, he won't ever write us up. Is it time for me to change?
Speaker 1:So what I did in a recent class is try to come across a little tougher Now. I guarantee you it's not going to be mean, really, although I think the way it worked out it surprised a few. I did it in a class whose students I had never had before, and I knew that was the only way this would work, because obviously, if I go back into a class and the students know me already, they already know who I am. So, in effect, I was changing my substitute teacher personality to see if that would help in the class. And what I'm going to do. I'm going to play you about a minute and a half.
Speaker 1:I recorded my opening spiel to a class that I recently taught and after that I'll tell you where I'm going from here. All right, guys, listen, look up at me for a moment. Put your pencils down, look up at me. I'll tell you my expectations. Okay, I'm Mr Collins. I am a very good friend with your teacher. I substituted her kids back when. I'll wait until you put your pencil down and look at me. Okay, she trusts me with every decision in this class and I try not to let her down. One thing she didn't tell you is, if anybody acts in a way they're not supposed to, I'm just supposed to write your name down. I'm not even going to tell you about it. I will write your name down and give it to her. She trusts me Her daughter, who is a senior next year. I've substituted to her since the sixth grade, so we're pretty good friends. So I just wanted to tell you that. Feel free to ask me any question you want to. I like the attention right now. That's good, just do your work, do what you're supposed to do. I'll try to call attendance from the seating chart or take attendance from the seating chart or take attendance from the seating chart so that I don't mispronounce anybody's names. I'll try it that way. All right, so not as vicious as you were probably expecting Out of character for me. So here I now have to describe what my new character is going to be.
Speaker 1:Now there's two parts of this. I've already told you that I think I just will avoid middle school. I do have friends who are teachers that will call me to substitute their class and it's going to be difficult for me to say no. Difficult for me to say no. So I do have that to think about. There's also going to be I don't know new students in high school that haven't met me before. Is it time for me now to be a tougher persona? For instance, you heard in there that I introduced myself as Mr Collins and I didn't tell anybody they could call me Greg. I got away from the first name just to make it sound a little bit more formal.
Speaker 1:As that class progressed, a couple of times I did get rather stern and I could see the reaction in their faces. And again, that's out of character Maybe I should say out of old character for me. I'm not sure exactly where I'm going to go from this, but I think it's going to be something to the effect of I'm still not going to be a yeller, but I will be somebody that speaks very sternly about what I think needs to be done in the class. I will especially continue doing high school now instead of middle school, because the volleyball team that I'm working for, open Gems, are starting here soon and it just makes more sense for me to sub at that school and we'll go from there. So that's why I came up with this idea. Maybe it's time to get a little bit tougher and we'll talk a little bit about the changes in the students.
Speaker 1:You've already heard similar podcast episodes. I mean, I've talked about the COVID break, I've talked about the maturity of middle school students, how it's just changed, and I know for a fact I've talked to some middle school teachers that if they had to base the rest of their career on students that they first taught Five years ago, they fell in love with it and they would say that's going to be my career. In the last two years it's just the opposite. They're thinking there's no way I can do this until I retire. I'm going to have to come up with something else. So you've got all this going on. Bless their hearts.
Speaker 1:Teachers anyway don't make enough money, so a lot of them are already doing sideline type jobs. Seems like real estate is a popular job among teachers. I know of a lot of people at least a dozen realtors who are also teachers. Now you know realty is an excellent career. Now you know realty is an excellent career, but it can also be an inconsistent career. You've got feast or famine a lot. You might have three really good years and follow by three really bad years. So, depending on how you manage your money, that's a good career. But there's no doubt in my mind that something had to change and I'm going to be the one to change. So I am determined to be a little bit sterner in that regard.
Speaker 1:Students now they I'll give you a for instance we were. I was talking to two other teachers and one student just walked up to us and began a conversation and the teacher in fact this was the youngest teacher, this wasn't even a teacher who remembers back in the day when kids didn't speak to adults until they were spoken to first I mean, it hasn't been that long ago she just told them what are you doing, interrupting our conversation? And it was some kind of silly question. I'm sure it wasn't silly in that kid's mind, but it was just some kind of silly question that they couldn't understand why we shut them down, and we did. I remember one of the guys that I was talking with at that time is a basketball coach and I told him you remember back in the day when if a referee made a call, you know, the coaches were allowed to get upset about a call. The players were not tolerated If they started talking to the referee.
Speaker 1:Now watch a ball game at any youth or high school level and college and it is every single call. The players are back talking to the referees and the referees are just letting them do it. And I know back in my day boy, I'm sounding old now, it's a reminder if you've forgotten I'm 66 back in my day man if you said something back to a referee in a high school game after they made a call, you would get teed up immediately. I remember one of my high school games where one of the players got one of our players got called for a foul. I could hear his father shout from the stands. His son heard him and just slammed his. He didn't slam his hand down on the floor, but that was back in the day when you had to raise your hand. If you committed to half, as I did that, I just raised my hand in the air. So I guess I'm talking with my hands now. But he got up, seth, and just kind of slung his hand. Automatic tee, it was a tee. If you didn't raise your hand, if you said anything to the students or I should say the player students to the referees, you would get teed up. All that formality is gone.
Speaker 1:Some of you younger people will laugh right now because you can't believe it used to be that way and you know we just called that respect back in the day. You earn your respect as you get older and treat others with respect. I have told students before and to be honest, I meant to tell them this today and I didn't but I tell students, I expect you to respect me and in turn I will respect you. I will respect your opinion, I will listen to your thoughts. I won't necessarily agree with your thoughts, but I will certainly support your right to say them. So that's how the classes went.
Speaker 1:I have decided now to change my persona, be a little bit tougher, especially in middle school. I'll try this out through the remaining classes I have in middle school. I want to emphasize to students even in the high school I go to often who they know, my personality you know. The other little tricky part about that is, even in the for lack of a better phrase the smart classes, the students that have the majority of the students in there, are A students. Well, even then, we've talked about how you really have to keep their mind occupied or they get way too noisy. Even then they're going to get their work done early. So how much are we allowed to let them get out of hand because their work is done early? Thank goodness in one way for smartphones now, because if they get their work done early they'll just get into a game on their smartphone and I won't have to worry about it too much and we'll just go from there.
Speaker 1:But that's the conclusion I've come to guys. Things are changing. I need to change with them. I will be a tougher substitute teacher than I have been in the past. That will probably come across to some students as meaner than I used to be and I hope that works. It's not something that I'm really looking forward to. To be honest, I don't necessarily want to be the favorite substitute teacher over these past years, but I didn't mind when some students told me that. But now I do kind of question maybe some of the reasons they had for telling me that and we'll just go from there because something has to change and I think it's time that I realize that being a I'll use the word softy being a softy when you go into a substitute teaching situation, I don't think works any longer for today's generation of kids and I say generation almost like post-COVID break and pre-COVID break.
Speaker 1:Students today aren't as I'm putting everybody. This is not good to stereotype, but students today are not as respectful of others as they were in the past, and this is the best way I know how to deal with it. I will continue substitute teaching because I love it so much. It broke my heart a little bit a couple of years ago when some of my first batch of students graduated. This year, another strong batch of students are graduating and next year the group that I'm going to be coaching next year and substitute teaching next year, the group that I'm going to be coaching next year and substitute teaching next year. They will have a special place in my heart as well and I want them to know that, and it almost makes me feel like when they're going to be gone.
Speaker 1:You know some of my best I hate to call them favorites, but memorable students that I've ever had. They're gone now. I remember the ones that graduated last year. I saw them in a hallway. I'm thinking, man, I might not see you again. And guess what? I haven't. I've seen parents, but I haven't seen them.
Speaker 1:So it's time for me to change. I'm going to change my persona. I'm going to try to, even if I had the reputation as a softie. I'm going to try to change that. I'm going to try to be a bit more stricter and you guys might just think this is a bunch of baloney, because you've been strict from the beginning. You've been tough from the beginning. You know. The other side of this is some of our people on our Substitute Teachers Lounge page don't think we should do anything. They really don't. I think the majority feel that way. They don't think we should do any discipline. We don't have to emphasize getting their work done, because that's the teacher's job and they will deal with it when they come back tomorrow, tomorrow. But for me, I'm still trying to be the best substitute teacher I can be, even if I have to change, and I hope you strive to be the best one as well.