# Substitute Teacher-Colin Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfDppg8EXm0 Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/MfDppg8EXm0 Generated: 2026-01-29T16:31:28.996+00:00 --- ## Quick Overview Substitute teacher Colin Guthrie advocates for structural changes in education, emphasizing the need for more trade school options beyond the college pipeline, increased support for teachers facing severe student misbehavior, and the crucial role of involved fathers in mitigating societal issues contributing to student struggles in South LA schools. **Key Points:** - Colin Guthrie, a substitute teacher working across LA from San Gabriel Valley to South LA, notes that 80% of kids at some South LA schools lack fathers in the picture. - He observes a critical trend where the illiteracy rate in 2024 stands at 21%, up from an 8% rate in the 1950s, suggesting systemic failure despite modern resources like Prometheian screens and Chromebooks. - Guthrie argues against the singular focus on college, stating, "Not all students are meant for college," and points out the lack of trade classes like wood shop, car shop, and home economics that create well-rounded adults. - He details severe classroom challenges, including students cursing him out and one teacher quitting two weeks into the school year due to student behavior, exemplified by a student throwing an orange that exploded on him. - Guthrie highlights a deficit of positive male role models, noting that many schools have mostly female educators, which is crucial given the lack of fathers for many boys in areas like South LA. - He critiques the lack of administrative and parental accountability, stating that teachers often feel unsupported when students misbehave, leading to burnout, citing an anecdote where 80% of teachers at one school expressed interest in not returning the following year. - Guthrie sees hope in the current generation, especially following the ban on cell phones in California, noting improvement in behavior after students returned from two years of COVID-era Zoom learning, which left them developmentally and socially behind. **Context:** The transcript features an interview with Colin Guthrie, a 33-year-old substitute teacher operating in diverse public school districts across Los Angeles, including affluent areas and impoverished South LA. Colin shares his journey into substituting after leaving a restaurant job, detailing his background growing up in Claremont, dealing with bullying that resulted in a felony charge for assault with a deadly weapon, and his personal experience as a neurodivergent individual (Asperger syndrome). He contrasts his challenging upbringing with the resources available to current students while analyzing the systemic issues he witnesses daily. ## Detailed Analysis Colin Guthrie provides a critical assessment of the LA education system, noting the stark contrast in resources and student demographics across various neighborhoods while identifying widespread underlying issues. He highlights severe functional illiteracy rates (21% in 2024) despite technological access, attributing part of the problem to the "dissolution of the American family," particularly the lack of fathers in South LA. He strongly advocates for diversifying educational paths, criticizing the heavy emphasis on college pipelines, evidenced by charter schools naming rooms after universities, arguing that many students are better suited for trades, which are largely absent from curricula now, unlike in previous decades when shop classes were common. Guthrie frequently encounters severe behavioral issues; he was once sworn at, pushed, and had an orange thrown at him by a student in South LA, leading the regular teacher to quit two weeks into the school year. He stresses that teachers are underpaid and unsupported by administration and parents who refuse to take accountability for their children's actions. Despite these hardships, which cause burnout, Guthrie maintains hope, particularly viewing the recent California ban on cell phones as a positive step, as students returning from COVID-era Zoom learning were developmentally behind and susceptible to negative outside influences like watching assassination videos in class. ### Substitute Teacher Experience - Works across LA from San Gabriel Valley to Watts - Left a restaurant job to make a difference - Finds long-term assignments, like a wood shop class sponsored by the Southwest Carpenter Union, more fulfilling than daily subbing. ### Critique of Educational Focus - Notes the heavy emphasis on college pipelines, suggesting it is sometimes for the school's financial benefit - Argues that trade schools and basic life skills (wood shop, cooking) are missing, creating a disservice to students not college-bound. ### Societal and Family Factors - Attributes issues partly to the dissolution of the family unit, noting many South LA students lack fathers - Observes that nuclear families often correlate with better student behavior, citing PubMed articles supporting the benefits of biological parents being present. ### Classroom Challenges and Teacher Support - Witnesses extreme student misbehavior including name-calling and physical confrontation, leading to high teacher turnover (80% leaving one South LA school) - Teachers feel unsupported by administration and parents who deny accountability. ### Neurodivergence and Special Education - Discusses teaching integrated classes for neurodivergent students (Autism Spectrum, ADHD) - Initially found special education heartbreaking due to visible neglect and frustration, but changed his view after seeing non-verbal students demonstrating understanding and witnessing teachers using smaller classroom settings effectively. ### Hope and Future Outlook - Sees hope because students have access to the world via phones, allowing them to research topics - Believes students will eventually face accountability upon turning 18 - Praises the California ban on cell phones, which curbs access to inappropriate content like hacking projectors or watching violence.