The Substitute Teacher Effect: A novel study on student misbehavior in school

Why are students so apathetic and chaotic when their regular teacher is gone for the day? Is this a natural mindset, or is it learned? If the mindset is learned, do our schools play a role in developing it? Do cultural factors play a role? …And why are these questions so rarely asked? The students seem to be at their worst on sub day, but it’s not so clear why. We could be lazy and assume, as we often do, that this is simply childhood.

But perhaps the folklore is not accurate this time. There must be some better explanation why the students break down (and turn up) at the sight of a substitute teacher.

Teacher and writer Sammy Kayes spent several years attempting to understand this bizarre phenomenon, as he worked full-time in over twenty schools, hundreds of classrooms, and with thousands of students. This journey solidified his suspicion that the sub effect is far more than a simple nuisance. It is a visible sign of a dysfunctional school and social system: authoritarian rather than democratic, valuing obedience over judgment, and dismissive of the importance of childhood itself.