Miss Nelson is a kind elementary school teacher who always tries to be nice to her students.  Sometimes, that’s a problem.  Her students like to push her to her limits, misbehaving, refusing to do their work, etc.  But, there are consequences for that sort of thing.  Whenever her students go too far, Viola Swamp comes to visit their class as a substitute teacher.  Viola Swamp is exactly the opposite of nice, sweet Miss Nelson.  “The Swamp”, as the kids call her, piles on homework, barks orders, and won’t put up with any nonsense.  She whips the class into shape so hard that they are extra nice to Miss Nelson because they’re so grateful to have their sweet teacher back once The Swamp leaves.

But, the joke of the series is that Miss Nelson and Viola Swamp are the same person.  It’s never explicitly stated, but there are plenty of clues that Viola Swamp is Miss Nelson’s alter ego.  It’s a sad fact of life that people who are generally pleasant and don’t like to fight with others are often taken advantage of by people who like to push the limits and get away with anything they can get away with.  So, what does a nice person do?  Be as mean as those who like to take advantage?  Feel bitter and dejected that others won’t let them be as nice as they really want to be?  There are at least two sides to everyone, and just becomes some people prefer to be nice doesn’t mean that they can’t get tough when necessary.

Miss Nelson found a creative solution to the problem of people trying to take advantage of her niceness.  When she’s Miss Nelson, she can be the nice, sweet, even-tempered person she wants to be, not having to raise her voice to get attention or threaten punishment to get cooperation.  But, for those times when it doesn’t work, she can turn into Viola Swamp, who can be the harsh disciplinarian, yelling at the kids and being as tough as she needs to be to get them to do what they really need to do, without ruining Miss Nelson’s reputation for being likeable and easy-going.

Books in the Series:

Miss Nelson is Missing (1977)

Miss Nelson’s students are always misbehaving and never get their work done, no matter how nicely she asks.  Then, one day, Miss Nelson disappears, and the children get a nightmare of a substitute, Miss Viola Swamp.  Suddenly realizing how good they had it, the students start to wonder where their nice teacher went so they can get her back.

Miss Nelson is Back (1982)

Miss Nelson tells her class that she’s going to be away for awhile, having her tonsils taken out.  The school principal ends up being their substitute for awhile, but he’s so boring that the kids pretend like Miss Nelson has returned so they can do what they want.  But, in trying to trick their way out of their arranged sub, they end up getting Viola Swamp instead.

Miss Nelson Has a Field Day (1985)

Everyone is disappointed in the school’s football team.  The team itself seems to think that there’s no point in even practicing because they’re doomed to lose, and the coach is mentally cracking from the strain.  Can Viola Swamp whip them into shape and lead them to victory?