To think that YES, you can have reasonable hours and a good work/life balance as a teacher

[WistfulForTravel]

I'm 22, a 3rd year Primary Education BEd student, I love my degree and every assignment and placement cements the fact that teaching is my vocation and is what I want to do as a career.

However, I've been getting a lot of negative comments from my aunties and neighbors about how I'll never have a life again, how most of my waking hours will be consumed with thoughts of work, how I'll never even have one day to truly relax during the 13 weeks off, how it'll be a 7am - 9 pm job, etc.

I know teaching is more full on than some jobs, but is it really this intense? I am friends with a few teachers and they seem to have a healthy work/life balance (time for guys/sports/hobbies, at least one full weekend day off, out 1-3 nights a week) They have no kids though. I imagine it would be very different when you have kids.

Is it possible to practice effective time management + work very hard during the week so you can have the weekend off?

As much as I've enjoyed my course and look forward to my first class in September (eek!) my philosophy is more a 'Work to Live' not 'Live to Work'

I'm with you the Gruffalo - in my experience that I gave earlier, school A (the massive work load school) was very middle class, the best in the town, the one every parent wanted their child to get into. Very active PTA, but very high expectations of parents.

School B, much more of a working class, but not inner city area. Kids were nice but not as high achieving. Classroom management harder (but nothing like threats, I was rarely sworn at for example!) but parents had very few expectations! Much easier school to work in.

But of course, every school is different and it's difficult to draw generalisations.

Maybe I am wrong. I taught in some bloody rough schools, tbh.

Yes - at my DD's school the UMC parents are constantly harassing the LMC teachers about their low expectations. Everyone feels cheated - the parents because they have to plug the gaps the teachers don't think need filling and the teachers who I am sure genuinely believe that the parents are asking too much of their DC. It's insoluble!

Not read any if the other comments.

My teaching friends seem to manage to keep teaching 8 till 4 by teaching 3 or so days a week and doing prep/marking/lesson plans on the other two or one and a half days.

More experienced teachers probably do less planning/prep but the same amount of marking.

But wistful they aren't keeping reasonable hours then, they're doing a day and a half of unpaid overtime.

How did I read "motherofpeas" and think "wistful"?

lover not mother

3 Days paid a week but working days term time.

Sorry i don't understand?

I think Lover means paid for 3 days a week 52 weeks of the year but working for 3 days 8-4 and at there own pace at home for 1 or 2 (instead of marking/planning in the evenings) for the term time weeks only.

But surely all teachers get paid 52 weeks? (As in, it is divided by 12 months not just term-time). Feeling sick today so I may be missing something obvious!

But, that has no bearing then on the fact the the teacher mentioned works part-time, but does prep work on her days off (when she is not paid at all)

Surely it's irrelevant where their children are - if someone is employed on a .6 contract, then they should not be working 5 days a week.

It probably is "easier" ie more free time, but at the cost of a whack of your salary!

if someone is employed on a .6 contract, then they should not be working 5 days a week.

I'm on a 0.6 contract and have to teach 5 days a week!

That's crap for you Noble - worst of both worlds!