Teachers, Don’t Feel Guilty About Sub Shortages! [episode 2]

Hey there, I’m so excited you are joining me today. Today’s episode is all about the sub shortage. This topic has been a real struggle these past few years and has been a hot topic over on our Instagram. We’ve had teachers tell us that they’ve had to split classes, having to find their own subs, teachers getting burned out from feeling guilty and not taking days off. And teachers even being discouraged from taking their days off. However, what I’m here to tell you today is that you should not feel guilty taking a sick day even in a sub shortage. And the truth is, I think deep down a lot of you agree. We posted an image on our Instagram that said simply please don’t punish teachers for the substitute shortage. And it was one of our top posts last month. In fact, that’s why We Are Teachers published a recent article by me and my team about this very subject. I’m going to share some more perspectives about the tips from the We Are Teachers article in this podcast today. So you can finally stop feeling guilty and take your sick days. Now let’s get to the show.

If you’re a teacher, or if you know one, you’ve probably heard somebody say, I would take the day off, but there isn’t a sub to cover my class. In nearly every school district right now, there is a sub shortage. It’s a really unfortunate fact and for so many reasons, but it definitely boils down to COVID. You know. But whatever the reason, these are the cards we’ve been dealt as a school system. And it’s the reason teachers are experiencing things like what I shared in the Instagram comments earlier in this episode. But teacher if no one has told you this, it is not your fault that there are no subs. Not only is it not your fault, but you also should not be punished for it. Teachers not taking sick days is not the solution to the problem. But unfortunately, even before COVID teachers were well known for not using their sick days. So in some ways, I think the sub shortage is just another reason teachers don’t use their sick days. But it’s also a much bigger problem than that and it’s been going on even longer.

So let’s talk about some of the reasons you should not feel guilty for taking a sick day. Whether there be a sub shortage or not. Reason number one, nobody wants your germs, plain and simple. There seems to be a martyrdom mentality about going to work sick, like going to work sick shows that you’re more dedicated to your job. But I call BS on that, my friends that couldn’t be further from the truth. All you’re doing is spreading around your germs and no one wants that. University of Arizona did a study on the germiest jobs and teaching was number one. And I don’t think any of us as teachers would be surprised about that fact. But you know, at the end of the day, it’s just not fair to your class, your co workers, or even yourself to go to school while you’re sick.

Number two teachers not taking sick or personal days leads to burnout. As I’ve talked about already, I’ve been on a mental health journey and I believe that mental health is just as important as physical health and not taking sick days can lead to burnout. The World Health Organization defines burnout as a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions: feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, increased a mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job and reduced professional efficacy. Remember, you are replaceable at work I mean, we don’t want to think about that, but really, we could be replaced. You may not be replaceable long term though, which is kind of the point be replaced in the short term in your classroom. So you can be there for your students in the long term. And remember, you’re not replaceable in your personal life. When you need time to recover from an illness or take care of sick family members, attend a family event or even take a mental health break, that should take priority because you are important, my friend, you are so much more important than your job.

Number three PTO is a benefit of your job. So the phrase teaching is a calling, I get it, but let’s get one thing straight, it’s still a job, right? We still get job benefits, you get health insurance, retirement and PTO with a teaching job. And we should expect to be able to use our benefits, right? You are given sick days, and personal days, vacation days, whatever your district calls them as part of your contract. They are a promise job benefit, and teachers should not feel guilty for taking that time off.

And another reason that I didn’t outline in the We Are Teachers article, but that I wanted to bring up today in the podcast is that your class will be okay. I know a lot of us worry about how our class will be when we leave them to be with a sub, and especially when there’s a sub shortage going on. But when you take care of yourself when you’re sick, you’ll recover faster, which will actually help you teach better as soon as you’re feeling better. You may worry about who will end up with your class, but they will be okay. Even worst case scenario, if they have a terrible sub or classes need to split. That’s what teamwork is there for. And if your class needs to be split, you’ll be able to return the favor to your coworker another time. We’re a team we’re in this together. The sub shortage is hard. But that’s why we need to work together because we still need to take those days off.

Plus, there are a few little things you can do to help subs prioritize your classroom. So hopefully you will be able to get a sub that you like. Some of these include leaving a thank you note for your sub, having great sub plans that subs are like, Oh, I can count on. There have been good plans in this classroom because like I said, I’ve been a sub and if I get a request from a teacher who I know that it’s going to be a good experience, I’m going to have good plans then I will definitely take that class over another class. So that is something to consider make the experience as great as possible for subs, so they’ll want to come back to you. Because there are subs out there. We did a reel to a trending sound back in December, and it was to that, Where are you Christmas, why can’t I find you? And I did it about subs, it was like, Where are you substitutes? Why can’t I find you? And we actually had several subs comment they are out there. So if you can make an experience really good for them, they’ll more likely come back to your class. And I can guarantee you that if you find a sub and even get a really good experience for them, they will like to come back to your classroom.

And last but not least, are sub plans keeping you from taking a day off. I know it’s always been said that it’s easier to go to school sick than to write sub plans, right? But don’t worry, I’ve got you, I’ve got a way to make it easier to call in sick then to do sub plans. You can download our free sub planning starter kit that comes with lesson plans, you can download and leave. There’s both the PDF version and Google Slides and you’ve got a couple lessons in there. It won’t last the full day. But it’s a great way to get you started. And there’s an e book that we include called The Sub Planning Means Simple that walks you through every step of putting your sub plans together. You’ll also get editable forms that you can fill out about your school schedule and everything. And thank you cards solely for your sub because like I said, giving them that appreciation will make them so much more likely to come back to your class. And if you want even more where that came from, we also have ready to go sub plans and binders in our shop that you can purchase that will make it so you literally hardly have to do a thing is just print and go. And if you also just want more support, with putting together your sub plans, we have a blog post called our emergency sub plans comprehensive guide that walks you through every step of putting together your sub plans and everything you need. And I’ll link to all of these things in the show notes so you can find them.

Okay, so let’s recap what we learned in the episode. We all know there’s been a major sub shortage everywhere thanks to COVID. A lot of teachers are feeling guilty about taking a day off. However, the shortage is not your fault. You should never feel guilty taking a sick day sub shortage or otherwise. Because number one, nobody wants your germs. Number two, not taking sick or personal days leads to burnout. Number three PTO is a benefit of your job. Number four, your class will be okay. And number five sub planning can be super simple when you plan ahead of time and you can grab that free sub planning starter kit to help you get started.

In conclusion, more than ever, you are more than your job. You love being a teacher and your students but your job is not worth more than your health. Keep your germs and illness at home, get well, and come back better than ever. When you return, remember to thank the awesome subs that will cover your class since they’re few and far between. It will make all the difference. Even though these last few school years have been crazy, it’s taught us to use our sick days and look after our own health.

Thank you for listening. Be sure to download your free sub planning starter kit from the show notes. But before you do, don’t forget about our giveaway. We are giving away a full year of Wife Teacher Mommy Club to one listener who leaves us a review on Apple Podcast and sends us an email with a screenshot to hello@wifeteachermommy.com. Or in DM @wifeteachermommy on Instagram. And remember, if you don’t use Apple Podcast, you can write the review right in your email or in your DM, and we’ll get your entry counted that way too. And if you win, you will get over $4,000 worth of teaching resources, you won’t have to pay every time you need a resource, you’ll just have access to everything. And you’ll have an area where you can send requests for what you’d like us to create over the next year, you’ll get access to our club group with support and weekly giveaways. You’ll get a stainless steel tumbler in the mail right away. And if you renew for a second year, you’ll also get our one year anniversary gift, which is a teacher bag with lots of other fun items we’re going to add to it. We are also doing a classroom of the month we’ll pick one member of the month to get a pizza party, there’s so much more to come in the club. So this is a huge giveaway. We’ve never done it before. I honestly don’t think we ever will again. This podcast is just so exciting and we wanted to pick a really good price for the winner.

Love the idea of the club, and no you want to join now? Make sure to enter the giveaway. But if you don’t want to wait, you can join now because we are offering our lowest pricing one last time through April 3. If you’ve been following for a bit, you might think oh, I’ve seen her offer this pricing before. But this is really the last time because as you’ll hear more about in episode three, we are adding life coaching to Wife, Teacher Mommy Club. And we are super excited about this. But the coaching alone is worth more than $29.99 a month. And the resources alone are also worth more than $29.99 a month. So the fact that we’re offering $19.99 a month for your first few months or $199 for your first year is an incredible deal. And this is the last time we can offer that. So make sure to go to wifeteachermommy.com/club for more details and to join now, so you can get that lowest pricing right away. And then if you’re chosen as a winner, we’ll refund your purchase but then you can claim the savings right away and get access to the resources and coaching and everything now, so you don’t have to wait until April 1 to see if you win. Thank you for listening. We’ll see you on the next episode I will be interviewing Chrissy Nichols from the Chrissy Concept. She is going to be our life coach inside Wife, Teacher Mommy Club and we are going to talk about how to stop grading on the weekends. It’s going to be great episode. So until then, I hope you have a great day!