Game On! Podcast featuring guest Toby Price
In this episode of GAME ON, Adam Bellow interviews Toby Price, an educator and former elementary school principal who made national headlines for reading a children’s book called “I Need A New Butt” to his students. Price shares his origin story, his passion for teaching, and how he became a principal. He also talks about the challenges he faced and how he overcame them, including his dismissal for reading the children's book.
Despite the setback, Price remains optimistic about the future and the opportunities that lie ahead. He has continued his path to being an advocate for diversity and inclusion in education. He has also written a series of children’s book starring “Tytus the Monkey” which he hopes will promote kindness and understanding. Despite the challenges he has faced, Price remains committed to his passion for education and helping children succeed while having fun.
About Toby Price
Toby Price is a former teacher and elementary principal. He is a husband, an educator, a writer, a story teller, an artist, and the King of Dad Jokes. He spends his time advocating for students and kids with special needs. As @JediPadmaster, on Twitter, Mr. Price loves connecting, learning, and laughing with other educators and parents. He believes that kids need access to all kinds of books, especially silly books. He is a father of three beautiful kids, two with autism. He has been married to his lovely wife, Leah, for 21 years. He lives with his family in Mississippi.
Connect with Toby online at Twitter / Buy The Almost True Adventures of Tytus the Monkey
Game On! – Guest Toby Price - Transcript
Introduction: Hello, and welcome to The Game On Podcast! My name is Adam Bellow. I am the CEO and Co-Founder of Breakout EDU, but I'm also a father, a serial ed-tech entrepreneur, and an advocate for positive change in the classroom. Each episode of The Game On Podcast is going to feature a new voice from someone who's making an amazing impact in helping to pave the way for the future of education. We're going to get to explore their ideas and opinions as well as learn from those successes and failures of these amazing educational gurus. All right, let's get started.
Welcome to The Game On Podcast, I'm your host, Adam Bellow, and I'm so excited to be joined by an incredible educator, a principal, a writer, and a really awesome guy, Toby Price. Toby, thanks so much for being on the show.
Toby Price (00:47): Hey, how are you? I'm very excited to be here. Thank you so much for having me.
Adam Bellow (00:52): Oh, it's, it's my pleasure. I'm sure we'll talk about it more, but we have seen you all over the place, or at least heard of you. I'm sure we'll get into that story, I'm sure everyone listening knows your story as of late. But I'm super excited to kind of ask some questions and learn a little bit more from you. So, for those of you that don't know, Toby, Toby, why don't you give a brief introduction to yourself?
Toby Price (01:17): I'm a Scorpio, I like long walks on no... recently most people know me recently, they'll come up to me and say, aren't you that principal from the tv? And I'm like, yeah. That was me, I was recently terminated from my position for reading a book. That's it, some people like the book, and most people like the book. Apparently, one or two people about three actually didn't really like the book, so I was terminated for reading the book, I've been fighting to try to get my job back, in the meantime, I was fortunate enough to be able to write and have someone help me publish a book of my own, which I'm really pumped about. So, it's been a mixed bag, but I think in the long run, this is going to be something really, good's going to come from all this and it kind of has, but it's just going to get better and better.
Adam Bellow (02:09): Yeah. I mean, it is a wild story. And for those of you that don't know the full details you certainly could find it, whether it be on a Saturday Night Live clip, which is unreal to me. I still couldn't believe that we saw that.
Toby Price (02:23): When somebody... who was it? It was Jeff Bradbury. Do you know Jeff?
Adam Bellow (02:26): Of course.
Toby Price (02:29): You met Jeff before from the TeacherCast. Well, he was texting me and he's like, I loved it. I loved your spot on SNL last night. He's like, whatcha talking about? Because he normally comes up with stuff like that all the time. And I said, right, and he said, no, seriously, and he had recorded it with his phone and just like, oh, wow. I couldn't believe N Seth Myers, and I was just like no.
Adam Bellow (02:49): It must have blown up.
Toby Price (02:50): I mean, whoa. That was just...
Adam Bellow (02:52): I can't believe they didn't mention your name though. It was just like, you know, it's one of those if you know, you know, type of moments. It's so crazy.
Toby Price (03:00): It was one of those, but I'm just like, you know what? That's ok. I know.
Adam Bellow (03:05): Oh, I'm sure you do.
Toby Price (03:06): It's pretty cool.
Adam Bellow (03:07): I'm sure you do. And the book that you read. So, what was this horrible, awful, terrible thing that you read to children?
Toby Price (03:13): Well, here it's called Need a New Butt by Dawn McMillan.
Adam Bellow (03:17): I Need a New Butt.
Toby Price (03:18): I'm joking around and I think I'm not going to joke around anymore. Because I joked around a couple of times and told some folks, look, it's an in-depth profile of a young man growing up in the sixties, and it talks about Mississippi. No, it doesn't about any of that. It's, about a kid, a picture book, he falls down and realizes there's a crack in his butt and he thinks he broke it and he's going to have to buy a new one, and he's very worried. And that's it. It's pretty funny kids are in on the jokes, the fact that's not broken. We all have a crack back there, and you don't have to sell your dogs, to try and afford a new butt. Although having a rocket butt would be really awesome. That's one of the features of the book. And that's it. I tell folks too as far as a book, this is not some fringe title that I picked up. There are four books now. A fifth one comes out this Christmas. My Butt's Silly at Christmas, translated and I think different languages all over the world, multiple award-winning, awards that are won. I didn't just pick some underground indie comic. I mean, it's...
Adam Bellow (04:22): And even if you had...
Toby Price (04:23): You can buy it at Walmart, you can buy it at Target.
Adam Bellow (04:25): Yeah, even if you had thought, I mean, the story is surreal. Although the times we live in seem to be surreal as well. Now, my question for you is, has the author reached out and thanked you for probably what I'm sure is the biggest spike in sales ever had?
Toby Price (04:41): Which is funny, at first she couldn't, because of some contractual obligations. A couple of internet friends reached out to them at first and she couldn't. But then on Instagram, see we had been friends on Instagram for a while. I mean, like Instagram friends for whatever that is. I'd see a new book and I'd post it and like, and I'd see one of her new books and I'd post about it and we'd talk, well, she's a grandmother. When she wrote the first book, she was still a grandmother, but she wrote and was more concerned about my family and what had happened, and she reached out in a more of a, oh my goodness, I cannot believe this happened to you the kind way. Please make sure you and your family are okay. Let me know if there's something I can do, the illustrator of the book reached out to me too and said, wow. He said, I'd like to thank you, I'm sorry for what happened, but my wife, and I'd like to thank you for the world. He checked the came last month, they had us by in sales.
Adam Bellow (05:39): Yeah. Oh, I would imagine.
Toby Price (05:40): One life the funnier ones. Well, one of the funnier ones was the guy who wrote the Wonky Donkey wrote me, and he said, next time you get fired, I need you to get fired for reading one of my books, and I was like, there you go, makes sense.
Adam Bellow (05:52): Well, I hope...
Toby Price (05:53): That totally makes sense.
Adam Bellow (05:54): That's incredible. Well, I hope that she names her next wing in her house or her next car after you. I think that's only fair.
Toby Price (06:00): I want to be in the next book. I need to ask her, put me in the next book.
Adam Bellow (06:02): Oh, I think you should. I mean, I think you've certainly more than earned it, more than earned it. But all kidding aside, I'm stoked to have you on, and I'm excited to kind of go through our interview here for the Game on a podcast. We do have a format and it's we're going to kick it off with our level one question. So, Toby's play is really important here at Breakout EDU, we're all about playing games. I want to know, what was your favorite game growing up and what's something that you're enjoying playing today? Could be a video, game, a board game, doesn't matter.
Toby Price (06:35): All right. When I stewed over these questions, because I grew up in the golden age of Nintendo Man, and I was just like, alright, everybody would say Mario three because Mario three changed all our lives when that raccoon suit came out. But I was a big fan of... and I'm not this kind of thing now, but Contra, did you ever play Contra when it first came out. It was such a side scroller, but it was just so much fun. That one just stuck out in my brain. If I had to pick a favorite now something more modern, with my two oldest kids having autism, and right when my son was born, this kind of explains our video game systems in the house now. When he was born, he bought four years old, I brought home Super Smash Brothers for the first time, not knowing what would happen. Played it for a few minutes, got off of it, he walked over, jumped off the back of the couch, and karate-kicked his mom. Ever since then our video games have been kind of mild. So, if I had to pick a favorite from now Mario Kart, I can't ever get enough of Mario Kart.
I can just sit and play it for hours and just be like and I've become one of those people now where I even move the controller to make myself... I mean I'm all over it Mario Kart is a favorite now. We have pretty violent games of phase 10 in this house. If you were going to pick a card, game 10 stands out, it gets pretty rough and there have been some accusations of cheating going on in the house when we play phase 10. My youngest is terrible. She'll hide some cards. Oh, she's so bad at it. But it's a difference we recently got one of those games the one with the rings on the string that you've seen, like on the internet probably. And my wife and I sat there and played that for hours the other night. We were terrible at, you got to just throw the ring on the hook and try to get it to the string. The ring is on the string and you got to try and get it on the hook. We played that for hours the other night trying to win. I was terrible. She beat me quickly.
Adam Bellow (08:30): Oh, that's quick. That's so funny. My kids, my kids pick games that I'm no good at. I'll tell you that their joy in life is to find something that I'm just not adept at. Which is easy because there are not many things I'm good at in that realm. But Mario Kart, I mean, total tangent, but I think at some point you guys should check out... I think they're building one either in Florida or California. The Mario Kart park, like the ride, the Mario Park ride from Nintendo World in Universal.
Toby Price (09:02): My son would flip out, Lego Mario has been his thing for the past I guess year now, and he's even started building his own Lego Mart for characters that they don't have yet, or he doesn't have. They'll start building his own and customizing them... if I get pieces, he gets pieces from the princess sets or from the other sets that have them, and things that he needs. Customize his own, I have a few months of Legos that I just keep on watch because I know you are going to get one of them back there. Just to go back there and make somebody different from the back in the room.
Adam Bellow (09:33): That's awesome. Well, level two. So, we talked about kind of where you are now, but let's go back. Let's talk about your origin story, right? I know you're a big comic guy and a big superhero guy, let's talk about your origin story. What put you on the path to being the principal that was reading this horrible, atrocious offensive literature to children way back when?
Toby Price (09:54): Well, I was teaching, I always wanted to teach mostly because, I tell folks, I wanted to be a superhero, but I would look terrible in tights, first of all, and being a teacher is the closest thing you can do. But I became a principal when my kids, my kids were really young, and one of my principals was like, you know, I don't have any more staff development to send you to. Why don't you go back to school? And I'll be like, oh, that's great, as long as I found the money to pay for it, and the next day she brought me a pamphlet for Jim Barksdale's, principal Corps. And I filled it out, turned in my stuff, went on a couple of interviews, and turns out boom, I got it completely paid for it.
It was a year-long internship work through college while you do it. And I call him Uncle Jim Barksdale, not to his face. He paid for everything. And I ended up getting a principal's job in the district there. And I did it for a while and running my own building is, oh man, it's tough. And it was wearing me down. And I stepped down, I wanted something easier where I could be at home more. So, I took the job as assistant principal at a pre-k through second grade, love that. I found out really quickly those are my people. For some reason we connect, whether we're on the same mental plane or what, or we just played with the same toys. I don't know, was there for three years going on, four years this past year.
And I enjoyed every minute of it. As it says in like here on the Tytus book, everything was great until it wasn't. I loved it there, and I miss it, I really do miss it. The last days everybody posted their awards day and school stuff has been, you know what? I bittersweet, I just keep scrolling past it but it was a long journey and I don't think it's done, I just have to figure out what the next step's going to be because I can't walk away from education kids. I know I can't. But I don't know what the next steps going to be.
Adam Bellow (11:56): And again, just for color, for listeners, like, I did not reach out and say, oh, hey Toby, come talk about this thing. I read about your story five minutes ago. You and I followed each other on Twitter and social media for a long time, and before you read this book to kids, which again, I personally think was hilarious. You've done so many other things and advocated and just had such a good humorous and kind and very honest and open voice. I think sharing the stories about you and your family has been inspirational. I think talking from a leadership standpoint and being human is, is something that we should have more of.
Toby Price (12:46): Thank you. I appreciate that.
Adam Bellow (12:47): I know the best is yet ahead for you. I'm sure that this is a surreal moment and I can't imagine what it must be like for you, but I'm sure that there will be a second act that dwarfs the first.
Toby Price (13:00): Exactly. Well, I'm grateful for my wife especially, it'd be years this July. God bless her for me. So, patient, she said, one day, if you're not going in the direction God wants you to go, you know what? He may just come up behind you and push you in that direction, and that's probably... that's the way I look at it. That's what happened, I was maybe comfortable and complacent, and he pushed me in a direction where I needed to be. You know, I've been sitting on the story couple of years now, the book for Tytus the Monkey for a while now. And you know what? Boom, all of a sudden a month after this happened, I've finished the last 20 pages worth of illustrations, and then I'm holding the book in my hand. It's unreal.
Adam Bellow (13:41): Yeah. That's amazing.
Toby Price (13:42): It's unreal when you, something like that's been a part of your life long finally come to fruition and just like, whoa. It's really weird.
Adam Bellow (13:48): Unbelievable. I love it. Well, let’s move on to our level three question here, and level three is all about challenges. And it sounds like obviously, we know you've had a few recent ones, but what has been the biggest challenge or obstacle that you've had to overcome in your journey to get where you are?
Toby Price (14:06): You know, of course, we could talk about being fired for reading the book. That's kind of what people are, this is the principle. I've written a forward for a book. I can't, and I guess I shouldn't say what it is until it's actually out, but we signed off on it. When I signed off on it, I asked, asked the lady, the editor, how can I sign off. And I signed off as yes, I'm that principal from that, but a book and that's been a challenge. But I think the biggest one now, it would be twofold, is adjusting my kids to what the new normal is, especially my oldest two because the routine is way off and has been for a little while now, grandpa was getting us off the bus for a while. And then now dad's home every afternoon. What's that all about? And he's going to make us do chores. So, my oldest Addison, can't speak very well, but she can communicate her wants needs, and desires, don't get me wrong. But she can't speak very well, and I think it's affected her the most. I've seen so many behavioral changes in her. I think she's getting used to it now, and it's getting better. But at first, it was rough, it was very rough getting them used to new and trying to explain them to them. And they like to go up to dad's school is what they called it. And then guys, it's hard to explain to your two kids with autism that dad's not allowed to go on campus right now. It was really weird, the second challenge, I think we talked about it a little briefly, and I talked about it online, is the majority of people who come up to us out on the streets that see us and have been so supportive and so wonderful and so kind.
But as well as I do, you can go the whole day and have a great day, and then somebody comes up and tells you, you look tired. And the only thing you're going to remember is that one person who told you looked tired. Well, I was at the grocery store one night and a guy walked up to me and I could see it coming just because of the way he carried himself, you'd have principal from the TV? Yes, sir. He says, you know what? I'm going to say forking, pedophile, like we were on a Good Place.
Adam Bellow (16:10): Oh my gosh.
Toby Price (16:12): And walked off. And I'm just standing there ready to check out with my Cheetos and my eggs. And oddly enough, the lady who checked me out at the Walmart had been there forever. And we go to the same store forever because our kids like the routine, and she said she heard him, she, and she looked at me and she said, you know what, you come here with your kids, you're a good man, you're a good husband. She said, and I read that book to my kids and my grandkids. She said they got it all wrong. He doesn't know you and he doesn't get to decide who you are. You know who you are. And I could have hugged her if, you know, she wouldn't see me, I would've hugged her. That's been a challenge because now when somebody walks up to me, I'm just like, yes, or are you that principal from the TV? And I'm like, yes. And no one else has been like that since. But I'm a little camera-shy now. When somebody does come up and ask me that, I'm just like, yeah, that's me.
Adam Bellow (17:05): Yeah. I mean, I can't imagine like, I mean, listen, I sometimes have talked to conferences and people have come up and said stuff and recognize me the day after or whatever. I cannot imagine the overnight notoriety, you know, especially in your town and what was going on. It's just, you know, I'm glad most of it was positive.
Toby Price (17:24): It has... most of it, and the majority, most of it has been for the first time, I think in 10 years I've started wearing a ball cap when I go out sometimes because I'm trying to that Marvel cinematic universe disguise where if I look a little different, you know, maybe they won't. But as I said, the majority of it has all been positive. It's been really positive. But that one man, that part, it's like I said though, it hadn't been bad. It was just, you know, it takes some getting used to, it just takes some getting used to.
Adam Bellow (17:51): Yeah. I'm sure. Well, we're going to level four here Toby. Level four is about passion I know you're a passionate person and that's part of what led you to write the book Almost True Adventure of Tytus the Monkey. But what is it that you're passionate about either sharing with people or learning more about yourself?
Toby Price (18:10): If I guess, I like sharing stories, sharing and making up stories. When I was going through school, I bartended my way through school forever and I'd come up with the craziest stories in the entire world about what was happening in my life. And nine, tenths of them were true. It's kind of like the Tytus and Monkey stories. And a lot of folks don't know this, but Tytus started off as a story that we told in a bar in o Charlie's when I was a manager, it's kind of where he came from. There was a lady who we were pretty sure was raising an army of evil spider monkeys and was using them to steal kids' school lunches. We couldn't prove it, but we're pretty sure she was.
And when we moved here from Ohio, one of those spider monkeys Tytus got in our truck and came down here with us. And he comes in and out through the back window every now and then he hangs out with the kids. He makes some really bad decisions, but he's good with the kids. So, what can you do? I'm really passionate about the stories. My whole life I've been passionate about drawing and comic writing, some cool stories and just reading kids' books and hopefully making kids laugh. And that's something I've been really passionate about, and I hope to be to continue on that path somehow. I'll figure it out. That's making stories and writing stories and art and just making kids entertain and making them think.
And you know, what the kicker with Tytus is what I try to tell folks if they read the story I sneak in, you know, the stuff about autism, it's not an autism book. It's not like Addison has autism, it's a neurological disorder that inhibits, we're not doing it like that. But it's kind of like what it is through Tytus's eyes and through our eyes as a family and the stuff that we experience as a family because you know what, 99% of everything in that book is true. I tell folks the only part that's not is the monkey Tytus is not real maybe. But the stuff with the soap, the dish soap in the store, it's all happened, somebody coming up and telling us how to parent our kids has happened more times than I can even care to recommend. And you I think my daughter, my youngest says that Tytus is like Tytus, you know, she's like, you're not in the book, and I'm like, I put myself on one page and she says, but you know what, Tytus is kind of like you, but what you would want to do, but probably shouldn't do. And I'm like, that's about it. That's him. Anyway, you can tell I love it. I'm passionate about telling stories, making up stories, man. That's the stuff right there, comics, cartoons, stories. We'll see.
Adam Bellow (20:47): I love it. It's just stuff the kids need. I mean, they need to laugh, they need to relate to characters like this, and I do obviously, I love the morals that got as you say, snuck in. But I think it's really, it's the core of it. You know, it's not fluff the same way that I don't consider any of those books. I remember my kids never read... I Need a New Butt for them. Although they know all about the story now because I told them what it was. But we used to read things like the book with no Pictures and we would read No David and all those other books that kind of fall in that same vein of being fun for the sake of getting kids as you've said and written about and spoken about getting kids to love reading and love to exactly that art of story.
Toby Price(21:09): Exactly. It's just... and if you hook them with the fun books, they'll stay around for the other stuff. Because my parents hooked me with... I guess my teachers were doing the best they could, they picked good books, but a lot of those at the time picked books that they liked. Well, my parents found me books that I liked and I kept reading and these are still sitting around on my desk. But what, I also have a biography of Mark Twain sitting around here somewhere, somebody got me a book about the freeway Phantom from the early seventies in Washington D.C I branched out into so many other things because of those funny and silly books.
Well, during the appeal process, it did come to light that a certain person in the room who I will not name at all, but whose job title rhymes with Superintendent claimed to not know who no David was. And that was the only part where my wife grabbed my leg and was like, you're not allowed to say anything. And then claim she didn't know what Acot was. I was like, no, I was shaking. And then said if I found out any of my teachers read no David, I would do the same thing to them, and I'm just like, you are going to have fire everybody because everybody's read No, David, their kindergarten, some point we can get into why? Because you know what, no David, we make some poor choices. So, we don't do that. That's why you read No, David. But anyway, told you that story to tell you this, I received a message from a teacher the other day and two of our students says, we like this book more than David, and I was just like, that's the greatest compliment I received. That's so David, so amazing. Just tell them, you know, they made me happy cry. It was great.
Adam Bellow (23:12): I love it. All right, so we're ready to move to level five with you. So, our level five question is, what is the best piece of advice that you've gotten in your educational journey?
Toby Price (23:20): Oh man, that I've gotten in my educational career, always remember that it's a get-to, not a have-to. Look at your job that way through that lens, especially during the hard times when you're teaching or when you're a principal. It's a get-to, not a have-to, because there's some, and I would always say because somebody told me this, and I would add there's always somebody out there who would love to have your job and these problems. No, guess what? There is somebody out there me who would love to have your job in these problems. So, don't forget that this job is a ghetto man, you get to go home with markers on your hands and you probably have a backpack full of puppets, like me, I got a zombie and a sheep puppet over in my bag over there, and that's all part of your job. Normal jobs don't have that and it's a get-to, not a have-to. Everything about it, it's a get-to, if you can keep that mindset, it's not working anymore, it's awesome, it's a gift.
Adam Bellow (24:27): I love that. And especially, in these past few years that have been so trying and challenging for those people whether they're principals or teachers or anybody who's working with kids is, or anybody in general, I think is such a good mentality to have, it's such a positive outlook, and there are elements of every day that we don't like or enjoy. But I think that there's finding the good in what you're doing and knowing that there's ultimately your choice, and I love that. Get to, I think that is such a powerful message. Well, that's awesome. So, I mean, I want to remind everyone that you are of course the author of the Amazing Soon-to-Be award-winning book, I'm sure of the almost true adventures of Tytus the Monkey. And where else can we find you online, Toby? Where else can people connect with you?
Toby Price (25:19): You know, one of the best places to find me online is on Twitter, my Twitter handle is at @jedipadmaster. I love hanging out on Twitter, I'm on Instagram and Facebook and we dropped the joke of the day. Did we do one today? I don't think we have. We dropped the Joke of the Day online all over the place. All you got to do is use the hashtag #ThatsSoFunny. And you can find our joke of the day if you ever need something just to pick you up and just to help you kind of, I don't know, giggle when I tell, I like to make jokes a lot. I said, but you know what? I laugh so I don't have to cry at some of that stuff.
Ok. You know, the jokes help me get through the day. So, Twitter's the best place, but we're all over the place. So, find me on Twitter come say hi, if you bought the book, and if I could find... not a plug for the book, but if you have bought the book and you want like a signed little bookplate thing, they can DM me on Twitter and I'll send one of those out to you, we're just trying to have fun with it.
Toby Price (26:13): That's awesome.
Adam Bellow (26:15): Well, I know we're audio here, but I have the book right here. I'll have to get you to send me one of those too. I was going to wait until I see you in person, but these days, who knows when...
Toby Price (26:25): I know, right? I wanted to go to ISTE so bad. ISTE is only a couple hours from the house and I'm just like, I think I may have talked my wife into going because it's in New Orleans and even if it's just a day trip for it, an outlet, it would be fun, it would be an experience. Because she's still in education, it would be an ex-work trip, but it would be an experience. But drop me an address in a DM and I'll send it out to you. We're just happy to actually hold hands now and talk about it and share it with people. It's been a lot of fun.
Adam Bellow (27:00): It's remarkable. So, well, hopefully I will run into you at Esty if you wind up getting there and we'll definitely bump into each other at something in the future, I'm sure. But thanks so much for sharing your story. It's remarkable. And I think that hopefully, this got a spotlight on you so you can share all the rest of you that people weren't that wasn't aware of.
Toby Price (27:26): I appreciate your time, man, and I appreciate the distraction. This is a great podcast. Those are awesome questions. When I got the question, I just like, oh, that's nice. So, different for a little bit. So, it's been such a nice refreshing distraction and a cool way to spend my afternoon, so thank you for having me on.
Adam Bellow (27:43): Oh, no, I appreciate it, Toby. Thank, thank you. I'm just starting this, I think it's the fourth or fifth guest we've recorded, we haven't released these yet, but by the time people are listening to this, obviously, it'll be out. But it's great too, I almost see this as a fun excuse to talk to really cool people that I know have something really great to share. So, it's been great to have you on, and until the next time everyone game on.