From the Introduction to the Second EditionPicture yourself in this scenario: You walk into a classroom filled with highly energized students. One of them asks who you are and you reply that you are "the sub". Within seconds you hear things from several students such as: "Oh great, a sub." Or, "I guess this is going to be a free period." or, "You don't look like a sub." or, "I hope you know that this is one of the worst classes in the whole school." Perhaps you hear something supportive from some friendlier looking students, but probably not. The above is extremely common, or something just like it. What happens immediately after you announce that you are the sub for the class is almost entirely up to you, not the students. There are different outcomes depending on what you do and don't do. It has been estimated that substitute teachers will work in a student's class for about six months during the student's kindergarten through senior high years. This is extremely important to keep in mind as subs can become a real contributor to the education of students, or they can become a hindrance.
The Substitute Teachers' Survival Manual was recommended to you/provided for you, or purchased out of interest. Professors of education may also find this manual interesting as relatively few of them have had experience with substitute teaching. It is one of the valuable resources that "subs" can use. This was designed to help make a potentially very difficult job perhaps a lot easier. The manual is designed to help you not only survive but to feel confident and in relatively full control when you are working with students for perhaps the first time. For best results, read through this entire manual, hopefully before your first substitute teaching session.
Most of the information provided in this manual is geared towards middle school/high school but a great deal of it is applicable to younger populations. Ideally, the substitute teacher can work with almost any age of student, but the ideal is not common. Most substitutes tend to work with just the population they feel most comfortable with, and this is often the best thing to do unless the reader has a great need for salary and is willing to take whatever comes around for subbing opportunities.

What Others Think about the Book:
This guide by Jonathan Coron contains sound and practical advice for substitute teachers in elementary, middle school, and high school. The book would also be suitable for beginning teachers, because it gives common sense procedures for dealing with a myriad of potential problems. Many of these problems could be headed off simply by following the writer's examples and guidelines. I recommend this book based on my thirty-one years of experience in teaching elementary school and in supervising college interns and graduate students.
Martha R. Harrell
B.S. and M.A.T. (Master of Arts in Teaching)
Jacksonville University
Jacksonville, Florida

Jonathan Coron has created a unique, useful and highly readable guide for substitute teachers, chock full of good ideas, good advice, and good common sense. Anyone entering the teaching profession, either as a substitute or a classroom teacher, would benefit from reading this little book.
Jeffry A. Hurt, PhD
Professor Emeritus
College of Education
University of Florida