OTT 266: What Saved Me When I Had to Call Out in November

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The quiet snap of November hits hard: the adrenaline fades, the sinuses throb, and suddenly “powering through” isn’t noble—it’s costly. We open up about the annual crash so many teachers face and lay out a calm, practical path to protect your peace without sacrificing your students’ progress. No fluff. Just a clear system for calling out with confidence, and a reminder that rest is part of the job, not a privilege you have to earn.

We walk through how to build reliable emergency sub plans that actually match your pacing in November—seasonal but standards-aligned, low-prep yet high-clarity. You’ll hear simple structures that help a guest teacher keep your room steady: time-stamped agendas, predictable routines, and tasks that reinforce learning rather than introduce fragile new content right before a break. We also cover how to reduce behavior friction with transparent student roles, quick-reference norms, and a single flow a sub can run across multiple sections. Think five days of coverage that preserve momentum, manage materials, and keep expectations consistent.

Along the way, we challenge the guilt narrative around sick days. A reactive, exhausted teacher isn’t a superhero; they’re a human running on empty. Preparation is the professional move: a sub binder with ready-to-go lessons, clear objectives, and built-in checks for understanding. We share free resources to help you start today and explain how to tailor plans for uneven attendance, end-of-term fatigue, and seasonal engagement. If your throat feels like sandpaper or your energy’s tanking, you deserve a plan that lets you step back and heal while your classroom keeps learning.

If this helped you breathe a little easier, follow the show, share it with a teacher friend, and leave a quick review so more educators can find practical support when they need it most. Your rest matters—let’s plan for it together.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

Free Sub Plan Guide

November Sub Plans

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🌿 You can’t pour from an empty cup — but with the Sub Survival System, you’ll never have to panic when you need a day.
Ready-to-go sub plans designed by a teacher who’s been there.
Because rest isn’t a luxury — it’s part of the job.

👉 [Explore the Sub Survival System on TpT]

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
Welcome to One Tired Teacher episode 266.

(00:03):
What saved me when I had to callout in November?
Oh my goodness.
Hi.
Today we're talking about thething that no one really wants
to talk about.
And that is the moment that yourbody just quits on you in
November.
And you're like, what am I gonnado?

(00:24):
I mean, I've gotta get through.
Like, we're almost toThanksgiving.
But what happens when you'reflat out sick with nothing but
guilt and no subplans in sight?
Let's talk about it.
Hope you stick around.

SPEAKER_00 (00:44):
Welcome to One Tired Teacher.
And even though she may need anap, this teacher is ready to
wake up and speak her truthabout the trials and treasures
of teaching.
Here she is, wide awake.
Wait, she's not asleep rightnow, is she?
She she is awake, right?
Okay.
From Trina Debori Teaching andLearning, your host, Trina

(01:05):
Debori.

SPEAKER_01 (01:08):
Hey.
Oh my goodness.
Okay.
So every year in October, notOctober, every year in November,
it was like clockwork,clockwork.
I would get strep throat.
Like strep throat, I had strepthroat every single year from
the moment I started teaching in1997, all the way until well

(01:29):
into a little bit past my 40s,even.
And I also had chronic sinusinfections and it was just, it
was just miserable.
And strep throat, it would tookme down.
Like it took me down hard.
So one year I got it the Fridaybefore the dreaded three-week
teaching.
You know, the three, the schoolsthat make you go to school

(01:52):
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesdaybefore Thanksgiving when you're
like, come on, at least give mea day of preparation.
That's how it kind of started inmy district.
And then we did finally getWednesday off.
So it was like we had to workMonday and Tuesday, which were
crazy because half the kidsdidn't even come.
So it was like kind of an easyweek, to be honest with you.

(02:13):
Um, it was a little harder wheneveryone showed up and you're
like, oh, I gotta really focus,even though I I've got so much
to do in my own house and my ownfamily.
But then my district finally gotwiser and realized that the
absentee list just wasn't worthit.
And let's just have the wholeentire week off and thank
goodness.
However, when there's ahurricane, those are often the

(02:35):
days that they're like, oh,nope, we're gonna work.
So some schools still do that.
Some schools you're stillworking at least Monday and
Tuesday.
So this was a year that we stillhad three days Monday, Tuesday,
and Wednesday.
And I got sick on Friday,always, always on the weekend.
But I couldn't move.
I had a fever, I had chills, mytonsils.

(02:56):
I feel like I was swallowingglass.
And I was panicking aboutsubplants because I knew the
moment I got sick, it wasn'tlike over and done in 24 hours
or even 48 hours.
We're talking, it often took mea week to recover.
And then I would be left weakand completely depleted and
exhausted, and it was just notfun.

(03:17):
Sometimes it took me longer thana week.
It was really crazy.
Anyway, I was so thankful that Idid have my emergency subplans
ready.
I always had my go-to five-daysubplans.
They were good, but I so badlywished at that time of the year
that I had something morespecific, something that we were
actually working on in November,something that matched where we

(03:41):
were in the year, whichactivities tied to seasons, like
the pacing that actually alignedto where we were.
And that that was rough.
And I usually I spentThanksgiving sick alone.
One year that same year, I mythen husband at the time took my
our children to his dad's, and Igot left at home eating a

(04:05):
chicken pot pie.
So, which was actually hardbecause my throat hurt.
But on the other side, or theother hand, the house was
blissfully quiet, no familydrama, but it was lonely and
painful.
And honestly, it doesn't have tobe that way, even when we get
really sick.

(04:25):
The reality is when you need tocall out sick, that's the way it
is.
Like that's what we have to do.
And you know those days, youwake up, your throat feels like
sandpaper, your sinuses, youjust want to drill a hole in
them to release the pressure.
That was my most hated feeling.
And you're deciding to decide,you're trying to decide.

(04:48):
Am I going to throw up or am Igoing to like gather my work bag
and just hope that I, you know,and the teacher who isn't
calling out, I'm gonna show upand I'm gonna show up sick.
And you ask yourself, am I sickor am I sick sick or am I just

(05:12):
tired sick?
And spoiler, you're sick sick.
Because what normally happens atthis time of year is like we're
go, go, go, going on adrenalinefrom the back from back to
school, and then we like do afinal push over the line for you
know Halloween.
And then we our body is like,that's enough.

(05:32):
Like it's time to take a break.
And what ends up happening is weget sick, sick, and and it
either happens then or ithappens like right before
Christmas, which was the othertime that it used to happen to
me.
And it's the worst timing, notnot that being sick is ever a
good timing, but it was theworst timing.
And we have been unfortunatelyconditioned to feel guilty about

(05:55):
getting sick, but the reality isour job requires us to be well,
and when we're not, our kidsdon't get our best.
We are unable to, you know, beproactive.
We are just constantly reacting,everything feels harder, and you
know, kids sometimes they'rethey can be great and they can

(06:16):
be sympathetic, and and thensometimes they can totally take
advantage of you, and it feelseven harder.
Our classroom community, itdoesn't thrive like that, and we
fall apart.
Okay, so what saved me and whatcan save you?
Having emergency subplans iswhat saved me, but having

(06:37):
November specific subplans wouldhave made everything so much
better.
Now, I always tell teachers andmy friends that are teachers,
and I used to tell myself, like,build in that safety net before
you need it.
That was actually an expectationin my school.
And that is not a weakness.

(06:59):
That is like wisdom, that islike veteran teaching, is having
those emergency subplans readyto go and not being thrown off
guard.
I had no choice but to do thatbecause I was constantly sick.
I was chronically sick.
And if you and you know, oftenwe're thinking, well, I haven't
got around to it yet, but if youhaven't, this is your sign.

(07:23):
This is your sign.
You deserve to rest withoutscrambling because there's
nothing worse than showing up toschool still sick.
There's nothing worse thanfeeling guilty because you don't
have anything together whenyou're not able to move.
Like there's literally no way.
So if you need a starting place,I do have a free day of subplans
that you can grab right now.

(07:44):
It's Trina Deborahteachingandlearning.com forward
slash subplans.
I think that's it.
Subplans.
Let me make double sure becausesometimes I say that and then
it's like that's not it.
And actually, I'm gonna give youa sub guide.
This has like free sub ticketsin it, and it has a free binder

(08:04):
cover, and it has a couple oflittle freebies, and then it has
some links to some really greatresources.
So it is Trina Deborah teachingand learning.com forward slash
sub guide, all one word, subguide, and that will get you,
you know, started on what youyou know may need.
So that'll hopefully help you.

(08:25):
But if you really want toprotect your piece and you need
November subplans, I got it foryou.
You know, I think it was lastyear or maybe the year before
that, I created a growing bundleand I was doing subplans by the
month, and it's five days ofplans for each month, and there
are seasonal options, there areno prep options, or standards

(08:46):
aligned.
It covers five differentsubjects.
I've got you covered.
So if you need that, grab that.
And if not, that's okay too.
Like you, you then keep carryingon.
That's what's the most importantthing is that you do what you
need to do for yourself.
All right, I'm gonna give you alittle bit of words of
encouragement, hopefully.

(09:07):
But you don't have to earn rest.
You don't need to prove thatyou're worth, you know, prove
your worth by pushing throughthe illness.
And you certainly don't need tobe shamed for stepping back when
your body says it's enough, oreven when your mind says it's
enough.
I need a mental health day, Ineed a break.

(09:28):
But what saved me that year wasactually being prepared, was
actually feeling like I havesomething that I can go to that
isn't going to completely derailme.
It's gonna keep me on track andI can actually focus and I can,

(09:49):
you know, I can let myself besick because that's that's the
way it goes.
And that is what matters.
Now, obviously, antibioticssaved me.
It definitely wasn't the pot piethat saved me, but although I am
a fan of pot pies, chicken potpies.

(10:10):
Um, and I am even guilty of likeliking the stofers chicken pot
pies.
But I have a friend that is ateacher best bestie, and also
just a longtime friend now.
She makes the best chicken potpie in the whole entire world.
And I would rather have that anyday of the week.
But having a plan is prettyclose to being right up there

(10:32):
with our chicken pot pie.
It was knowing that I hadsomething ready that that
respected my time, honored myenergy, and gave me space to
heal.
And you deserve that too.
All right, so um, that's it fortoday.
But if I do want to say, ifyou're a part of the We Do Not
Care Club, the teacher chapteron TikTok, then go check that

(10:54):
out because we're gonna use thisas a gentle reminder.
We do not care about perfectattendance awards, we do care
about showing up well, and thatmeans sometimes not showing up
at all.
Until next time, sweet dreamsand sleep tight.