What the Dog Whisperer can tell you about substitute teaching

I finally had Kaitlyn in a class that I substitute taught last week so I was able to get some honest feedback about how I was doing.  I asked her how I did and she said I was good and probably better than most of their subs.  This made me happy because 1) I do try hard to be good at this job and 2) I knew Kaitlyn wasn't lying to me because she's brutally honest about pretty much everything.

When I asked her about how I could be that different from their other subs she said it was because the kids walk in, and I immediately tell them what we're doing and to start doing it.  I don't talk my time and talk sweetly and softly to them.  I just lay out their tasks, right there.  And this is true, because that's how I tend to talk to everyone in my life.  I'm straightforward like that.

Kaitlyn then pointed out that it's not just what I say, but how I say it.  I use an authoritative tone of voice (again, how I tend to talk in real life) and it's apparently very effective.  Here are Kaitlyn's exact words:

"You know how the Dog Whisperer says that with a dog you have to immediately assert yourself and be stern with it so it knows you're in charge?  Yea, that's like what you do with substitute teaching."

Then I laughed hilariously because 1) this is what I do, and 2) I find it amusing that the techniques used to control dogs are equally effective when controlling teenagers.  I now believe that everyone should read his books before becoming a teacher.  I think they'd learn more than they expect to.