I'd like thank NYC Educator for clueing me into a couple of blogs by substitute teachers: "Get Lost, Mr. Chips" (love the title!) and "Just a Substitute Teacher Blog....." Also this week, the New York Times ran a story on Arnold Blume, 81, who was a classroom teacher for 29 years, and in "retirement" has worked as a substitute teacher for another 20 (the companion audio slideshow is a "must see").

Meanwhile, NEA Today has a story this month from substitute teacher Doug Provencio, author of "Standing in Your Shoes," a book intended to help regular and substitute teachers work together. "We're teachers, not babysitters," writes Provencio. "It's better to walk in like a detective, ready to analyze every detail one can find in the room to figure out what needs to be done in the context of what the class is already working on."

Check out NEA's resources for substitute teachers. We also have some great tips for teachers on how to work more effectively with substitutes.

Want to see something funny? Watch Mr. Mike, a substitute teacher from the San Francisco Bay area, as he reads comments left by students in his copy of the school yearbook. (Caution: Mr. Mike's young students write using naughty, adult words, and Mr. Mike reads some of them. Out loud.) Not done laughing? Don't worry: there's plenty more where that came from.

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— Joe Hammond, NEA Interactive Media