Debunking Emergency Sub Plan Myths

Here’s some tough love for you:

You can always give a reason or excuse for why you can’t put together your emergency sub plans. But, like anything in life, having an excuse doesn’t always mean it is true.

We know how stressful it can be to be absent from your classroom. There is freedom and relief in having your sub plans ready to go ahead of time. We don’t want you to miss out on that.

We know that getting your sub plans ready IS something you can and are able to do.

Here are some reasons our followers have told us that they don’t create emergency sub plans… and we’ve debunked them all!

Myth #1: “I can’t create emergency sub plans because our sub plans have to be exactly what we would have worked on that day if I was there.”

Maybe that would be ideal for planned absences. But, you can’t plan when your child is going to start throwing up all night or when you get a positive test result and need to quarantine. Having SOMETHING is always better than having nothing.

But that’s not all. Contrary to popular belief, if you plan ahead, your students can have high-quality material that involves real learning when you have a sub. Yes, ANY sub can use high-quality sub plans that involve actual teaching and learning. It may not be exactly what you’re working on at the moment, but it will be much more productive than just busy work or watching videos.

Myth #2: “Sub days are going to be a waste anyway.”

I hear this all the time. “I don’t need to put much effort into sub plans because no matter what, it’ll be a waste of a day.” 

Like I said above, if you plan, real learning can happen when you are away. When you leave good material for your sub, the day doesn’t have to be a waste. 

Yes, it may not be what you would have done had you been there, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a productive day.

Myth #3: “I can’t create emergency sub plans because we don’t have any subs.”

I think this is all the more reason to have emergency sub plans ready. You may need to be out, and you don’t know who will cover your classroom, so you need great materials ready to go.

It may be true that there is a sub shortage right now. But, as stated above… that doesn’t mean that things won’t still happen, and you may need to be out despite a sub shortage. 

And if you have excellent sub materials, as soon as a sub comes into your classroom one time, they’ll LOVE coming into your classroom and will prioritize your classroom. We’ve had hundreds of teachers who have used our sub planning materials tell us that their subs LOVED the sub plans and were very impressed. 

We share more about tried and true tips to help substitutes prioritize your classroom here.. <link prioritizing sub-plan post>

Myth #4: “I can’t create emergency sub plans because I’m teaching online.”

This is not true!  Yes, you need to take a few extra steps,  such as having an excellent digital sub binder with all of your login information and troubleshooting steps your sub will need to take to help everything run smoothly.  Online sub-planning is possible.

In fact, we just finished with another blog post all about planning for an online substitute. We share our best tips AND tips from our teacher audience in this post.

Myth #5: “I can’t create emergency sub plans because I don’t have time.”

I know you’re busy. It can be hard to find time to create a contingency plan for something when you’re already so swamped in the day-to-day. I get it! You need to make the time for it. 

The truth is, it doesn’t have to take a lot of time… especially if you use our Ready To Go Sub Plans. Over 50,000 teachers have used these sub plans and loved them.

Every minute spent preparing your emergency sub plans will be worth it when you can simply make a quick phone call to take a day off instead of stressing about writing last-minute sub plans or dragging your sick self into school. 

Check out our Comprehensive Guide to Emergency Sub Plans. This post tells you EVERYTHING you need to know about putting together sub plans! 

Stop making excuses. Remove the stress around absences and sub-planning.  Let us help you make your Emergency Sub Plans today!