...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)

And..? I don’t get the picking dc up comment
Obvious to me - many teachers on this thread are claiming they don't leave school until 6/7/8/9 pm.

My friend’s children attend the same school where she teaches and she still has to use their wrap-around ‘extended’ childcare (wtf is that 😂😂) because she is too busy from 8-9 and 3.30-5.30/6 to just have them with her in the classroom while she gets stuff done.

To be fair, I am a young teacher (late 20s), and know lots of young teachers who currently work full-time and tutor in the evenings.

They do it because the salary is so crap they can't make rent plus bills as a single person.

The knock-on effect is that the evening work has to start later. Or earlier. My friend, a young male teacher, gets up at 4 to mark before work.

Yawn. Must try harder, OP.

Clav some teachers don’t leave school till late because they don’t have kids to pick up or want to clear their desk before they go home? The ones that have kids to pick up do the same work but later in the evening.

The ones that have kids to pick up do the same work but later in the evening

That's exactly what I said in my original post!

That would make sense Sacha, as I say I don't know of any younger full time teachers who tutor, but I apologize as I now see that there must be some. Although the thought of teaching full time with all that goes along with it, then having the energy to still be in performance mode and tutor children for an hour or so, before even starting the evenings work is pretty horrifying.

There was another thread like this not long ago about whether teachers have the monopoly on stress. Yes, it is a goady post.

Unless I have worked in every profession, I cannot possibly say whether I work harder in my job than I would in any other profession. In my experience, I prefer it to working in a kitchen or in retail and they are hard in other ways. At least with retail, I went home and forgot about my work.

It makes me sad to see a general lack of respect for the profession and many good, well qualified and experienced teachers are leaving for various reasons. Our previous HOD recently left due to stress and then worked elsewhere in a very junior role.

Clavinova I left work at 5 to collect dd from an after school event. She is now off the laptop so that I can go and complete the rest of the admin crap that I'm meant to have done earlier.

Okayyy but the posters working till 7 might well have partners who also collect the children? Is collecting your children early a sign you have an easy job, is that it?

Icerebel, 11plus tutoring is quite an industry where I live. In my social circles every parent pays for additional tutoring for 10 and 11 year olds. A lot of working primary school teachers do several hours of tutoring a week.

It’s not it just very young teachers who do this - in fact it tends to be more experienced teachers who are most in demand. I haven’t heard of any retired teachers on the market. To be honest I would prefer someone who is actively teaching. As the tests change so often.

This of course doesn’t mean those teachers work short days, it just means they have the skills for a lucrative second job and sacrifice some free tim for extra cash.

Unfortunately my work area doesn’t have an obvious side line, so quite jealous really!!!!!

The thing that really pisses me off about these endless teacher bashing threads, is the teachers who reply.

Ffs stop feeding the trolls and the fuckers might just go away.

Oh, for goodness sake!

This is what I posted:

For many teachers the flexibility to take work home could be regarded as a perk.There must be thousands of full-time teachers who offer private tutoring straight after school for example - these teachers are obviously leaving school by 3.30/4pm to get to their tutoring jobs. Likewise, teachers who prefer to collect their own children at a reasonable time rather than rely on extended childcare

How is this goady? Flexible working is a perk.

Also, the idea that those in the private sector have a cosy office, a water cooler and get paid huge amounts of money is just funny.

Yeah, annoying, isn't it? When people make assumptions about jobs they know nothing about?

There's this assumption that if teachers complain, they actually mean they have the hardest job anyone has ever had,when in reality what they're saying is that it's not as easy,9-3 ,13 weeks off , running around in flowery fields job as it seems. And most complaining is prompting by goady posts like this.
I work as a TA and there's no way in hell I could ever be or want to be a teacher. Bring on half term(and more goady posts)!

Yeah, annoying, isn't it? When people make assumptions about jobs they know nothing about?

Yep, also taking one quote out of context. You have to wonder how some people manage in life if that’s the extent of their argument.

I’m a teacher. When I was 22-25 it wasn’t too bad. I was in school 7.30-5.30 and did marking after dinner. I planned for a few hours on a Sunday.
What I didn’t realise was just how incompatible teaching is with having your own children. My kids’ school breakfast club opens at 8- I work half an hour away. Briefing is at 8.25. I can’t even drop my children off at breakfast club. I can never pick them up from school, I can never go to assemblies or shows.
I try to be home by 5.30 so I can see my children for a couple of hours before bedtime. But that means bringing lots of work home which gets done later in the evening.
The school holidays are a time to recuperate. However, at least two days of every half term holiday I need to go in to school and probably ten days in the summer holiday are spent wrapping up one year and preparing for the next.
I still like teaching, but it has nearly broken me more than once. One year, in the summer holiday before we’d even started, two children in my class lost their mothers. The emotional demands that year tested me to my limits- that’s before you consider the ‘normal’ demands of the job.

The point is not the amount of hours worked but the level of responsibility that teachers have. I don't envy them and think they deserve our respect.

My partner is a teacher and they have regularly worked 90 hour weeks in the past
I do not have any doubt that teachers work hard, but I am quite sure those were not regular 90 hour weeks.

Nah it's difficult. I've worked as a classroom assistant and that was bad enough. No paperwork and no rows. It's all go during the day then seemingly in your own time , you need to be getting on with the rest of your job. Planning lessons , marking etc. It's ridiculous for the amount you get paid.

If anyone is expected to regularly work a 90 Hour week there is something very wrong either with the job or the person.

I have done this on occasion, but only for short bursts. Working more than 12 hours a day, for seven days a week is not sustainable or healthy for more than two or three weeks in a row.

OK, so I think we've established in the main that we teachers work hard.

HOWEVER, I'm going to stick my neck out and suggest that some of us are our own worst enemies with regard to that workload. There are definitely some things that people could ditch, without there being any ill-effects to the kids.

Oh god yes.

I think FINALLY the government and teachers are waking up to this.

There's lots of ways we can improve our workload.

It's about what the students LEARN and not proving what we or they have done.

Activity doesn't equal learning. Simpler lessons, frequent low stakes testing with while class feedback and reciprocal work to revisit weak areas

To be fair, and I know I’m in the minority as our school really emphasis work life balance BUT, I never stay at school past 3.30pm unless it’s a meeting or parents evening.

I do get in at around 6.30am, and I take roughly two hours work home a night.

I private tutor three hours over the weekend, and I don’t do any work other than that on a Saturday. Sunday I have to myself and my family.

I don’t work in the holidays, except for the first day of every holiday I do a full day in school 7-3.30 and then keep the rest of it to myself.

I could work more. I could find 101 things to keep me up all night, and working on the weekends but I’m not going to. My pupils make good progress, I’m an outstanding teacher, I have fantastic feedback from OFSTED, but at The end of the day I have my own life too, and my own children. So no my lessons aren’t constantly all singing all dancing, I don’t mark my books within an inch of their life, I don’t use props, I don’t run an excessive amount of revision classes and I don’t do anything that’s going to damage my mental health for what is effectively a job.

I think schools need to help their teachers to strike a better work life balance, because having a school where there isn’t any emphasis or support in place to help teachers manage their work loads effectively, which is most of them, then it’s like drowning.

That being said, although I feel I have a good work life balance I do work around 55 hours a week, and I would say that compared to teacher friends at other schools, that is on the lower end of teaching hours.

Simpler lessons, frequent low stakes testing with while class feedback and reciprocal work to revisit weak areas

And bring back text books! Ours were all burnt in 1998.