The Substitute

The youngest Walton son Jim-Bob, played by David W. Harper, is mysteriously absent from The Substitute (1973).

The children go from having separate classes according to age group, though all taught by Miss Hunter, to all being in the same classroom together. In Season 1's The Star, Ben is shown having Miss Hunter give a spelling bee that only Elizabeth knows about until after it is over. Also in Season 1, in The Fire, John-Boy and Jason are shown having a science class, also taught by Miss Hunter, with only students of high school age. After the building is burned to the ground, she goes to Ike Godsey's store to find a classroom for the older high school students. She says she has found alternative classrooms for all of the other students except for the older ones. Now she is suddenly the teacher for children of all ages in the same classroom.