...do teachers really work that hard?

[User298895613]

I know the general idea on AIBU is that teachers work load is ridiculous, that they work extra hard and that they never never stop to the point that they r all seemingly leaving the profession.

But, AIBU to wonder if they are any different to anyone else? and actually might have it a bit easier? I mean, I also work myself into the ground, am exhausted, never stop etc... But I don't have summer holidays off to look after my kids, and I often work well into the small hours at night.

I'm not saying teachers don't work hard, but sometimes on munsnet I just feel like some teachers kind of spend a lot of time complaining about the workload, when maybe it's just the same as everyone elses, but with a nice long summer holiday?

(Sorry, I appreciate this will really inflame some posters, but it just had been annoying me lately)

No, not a goady post, at all. Why don't you try it and see?

Could you handle a class of 30 five year olds? Pre-pubescent kids? Teenagers?

I couldn't. Teachers work hard and deserve recognition for that.

What a delightfully original post, that is in no way goady...

Ahh, the Monday morning teacher goady post.

Try it and see. Tell us what you do so that we can compare.

Teachers do work really hard, there are plenty of other jobs with an equal work load but generally they’re much better paid. A high salary somewhat makes up for high stress and long hours. I’d never be a teacher on a teacher’s salary.

My parents were teachers. They worked every night after dinner until the early hours to lesson plan and keep on top of marking. My husband is a teacher and has endless marking, lessons to plan, reports to write, meetings with parents etc. He works at school until 5 pm and then after dinner for a few hours. During school holidays he is often in school planning and preparing and tidying up for a couple of days. So,Yes they do work hard in my experience

There are a lot more teachers on here than the other professions I think

My partner is a teacher and they have regularly worked 90 hour weeks in the past - it's easier for them now, they only work until 8pm during the week and only half a day at the weekend.

So only 60 hours a week in term time now.

What's really struck me over the twenty years of teaching is how different every secondary school is - some are insanely demanding with massive staff turnover, some are more reasonable and want to actually retain staff.

Just because one profession is known to have a high workload, it doesn't mean that other professions don't. We can't possibly compare teaching to all other available professions......?

Yes, in order to just do the basics, teachers work bloody hard. That's just to stay above water. If you want to be an outstanding teacher then you can kiss goodbye to any kind of family or social life during term time and half of the holidays.

Well, I have a very easy low paid job so teachers definitely work harder than me.

Moulding the next generation? Definitely hard. And the pay is atrocious for what they do. They deserve those long holidays.

If it is easier than what you do as you say then why aren't you in teaching?

How would you like to cope day in, day out with classes of maybe 30 of other people's kids, maybe even teenagers! Not to mention some of their unreasonable parents who think it must be so easy.

From my experience teachers start early and leave late. I regularly see my DC teachers still at the school well after 5. They stay late for parents evenings, activities, school discos, music concert they spend there weekends at the school fairs etc etc. They take work home for marking and do prepping at school. This notion you have that they have all the holidays too is a myth. They usually continue to work when the DC are off. I am not a teacher and I am sure they will appear on this thread to outline what they do but I am not a muppet and can see the extras they do for our DC

I'm not a Teacher and I used to think the same as you, OP. Then I went to work in a Secondary School.

I don't know about primary but I can honestly say that the pressure on Secondary school Teachers is utterly insane. The long holidays (which they aren't paid for as many on MN seem to think) are certainly helpful from a childcare pov but in my opinion are not worth the stress.

I freely admit I couldn't do it and I've held down some very stressful jobs in the past (was a senior HCP, long shifts, making life or death decisions) so I have nothing but admiration for those that do. I can completely see why there is a recruitment and retention crisis in Teaching.

i have a lot of teachers in the family and tbh I think that most teachers work really hard and extra hours but there are teachers that don't work hard. In every industry you'll have people not putting the required effort in and giving the profession a bad name. There is a shortage of teachers so lax ones can get away with it.

I also think that comments like "why don't you do it then" are really agressive and don't help. There are more professions that are hard, like nursing, and they can still point out that it's hard work without the arrogance.

That's why I became a teacher. For the long summer holidays.

You're right that other people work just as hard but it shouldn't be a race to the bottom.

Do you leave the house at 6.30am, get home at 7.30pm (on a good day, not including parents evenings/meetings), have half an hour to yourself and then do 3 more hours of work? Every night?

Plus then a further 4-5 hours at a weekend? But sure, the (unpaid) holidays make up for that

It’s Monday morning for fuck sake. Can’t you start this sort of Daily Mail baiting goady-fuckery for a more suitable day of the week?

Actually, I think there should be a dedicated day of the week for these types of threads - how about Wind-Up Wednesdays? Where all those with ‘unpopular opinions’ can name-change and start inflammatory posts to their hearts content about benefits, teachers, stay at home parents, working parents, vaccinations and so forth (or should that be so froth).

Come and join us!

There's a huge staff shortage. For some unknown reason, teachers are leaving in droves. I'm sure this is just because they're bored and it's too easy. Get yourself a nice PGCE and come and see how those of us in the know live.

Work 9-3, and get 13 weeks holiday! Enthuse entire classes of 30+ happy, polite teenagers!
Don't get micro managed as to how/what to do every day and have your efforts checked by management at any time!

Spend your weekday evenings watching telly!

If you're really good, and really lucky, you might get moved up on the teachers payscale once every few years (no guarantee, mind, even if you are good)

Actual work may vary

I only had summer holidays off because I was employed on an hourly contract and only paid for term time work. Every full time teacher I know works throughout the summer holidays, whether that's lesson planning, attending training, dealing with admin or exam administration, or summer school courses (at the college I worked at).

I've also worked in the private sector. I left my office at 5.30pm and I gave zero shiny shits about what was there until the next day. Teaching isn't like that. It was regular for me to be working until 10pm every night during the school week, and on weekends.

So, I guess you're talking bollocks, but I also guess you're just feeling a bit shit about how hard life is and felt like punching down.

I used to teach a core subject at secondary (years 7-11). I am, I believe, average in that I did 5 years before I quit.

I did an admin role in an investment bank for 4 years before that, and am now a support worker in an EU country.

Teaching was the most pressure, the most work because it's never done - the marking in my subject was unreal. Interestingly where I live now secondary school homework is never marked by teachers as a matter of policy. Never, ever. They mark their own in class, though they do a lot of controlled conditions tests in class time which are marked. The country outranks the UK in league tables for maths, literacy and science at age 15.

The main problem in teaching was that a lot of the work was unnecessary and didn't benefit the kids, with initiatives and schemes and data gathering raining in from all sides and changing direction with the wind, and careerist middle and lower senior managers expecting extra work from others to make them look good. On top of massive marking loads and preparation, and meetings, and the small matter of the actual teaching which is only a tiny proportion of the job time wise it was too much, and once I had a child of my own I quit.

Teaching was also the worst paid, though I'm not comparing like for like with my current job, I took a massive pay cut from my office based job to go into teaching. I realised that doing 20 hours per week now I earn what I earned as a full time NQT.

Secondary core subject teaching in the UK is something I'd never do again.

My Dad was a teacher (now retired) and my brother and sister in law are both teachers. They work very, very, very hard - not least because of the levels of responsibility. I’d also say the conditions/ pressure has got much worse since my Dad was teaching. If you’re not happy with your own workload, you should address that - rather than making snide comparisons.

Sorry for the sarcasm but it's may day off today and three guesses what I'm doing?

Marking.

Yup.

Get yourself a nice PGCE and come and see how those of us in the know live.

You forgot a generous bursary which is likely to be more than your actual wage upon qualifying