Lockdown has made me realise I work too hard. Aibu to go pt? Any other teachers?

[0None0]

My working hours have been so much better teaching online from home.

Along the lines of 50 hours a week rather than 80. And that is before the commute is taken in to consideration.

I dont want to go back to 80

I’ve got used to this better work life balance now.

So I’m going down to a 50% timetable.

Are there any other teachers doing the same? Found how nice life is with fewer hours? Of course I’ll still be spending half my time on non teaching tasks.

I was intending to retire a year ago, but have stayed on to help see the kids through the pandemic. Which I am still doing, but will only by working 2.5 days a week next year

Things I do not do in lockdown or during remote learning

Break duty
Lunch duty
Setting up classroom
Tidying away classroom
Requisitions
Practice practicals
Set detentions
Run detentions
Change displays
Investigate bullying incidents
Lock up at night
Open up in the morning
Litter picking, or supervising litter picking
First aid
Looking for lost property
Tracing owners of found property
Refereeing sports
Issuing text books
Chasing library books
Assemblies
Checking cctv
Sharpening pencils
Counting equipment in and out
Disinfecting teachers desk
Logging out in one room and logging back in in another
Inspecting uniform and planners
Fielding parental phone calls
Supervising medication
Bodging together the blinds in my room
Rationing exercise books
Confiscating phones, and looking after confiscated phones and other valuables
Issuing merit and demerit points
Taking registers and chasing absences
General admin etc

Actually there is a lot more but I think you get the idea

I’ve long thought that some teaching jobs resemble being trapped in an abusive relationship

I agree. Especially to young and impressionable people.

Absolutely.
As a department we have carved back time with whole class feedback, reduced marking etc. School very supportive. In "normal times" it's manageable. Covid has been crazy for lots of workers, school staff included.

Personally, I am just praying next school year is normal. I think we are all just beyond tired. And also tired of being called lazy, stupid etc. We've worked our arses off through covid and we are tired too.

Hopefully normal life from September.

I think another mindblowing thing has been the rapid technology change. Teaching normally changes with the pace of an arthritic snail. Recenty, my colleague and I had both got off 3 hour Teams calls with our new year 12s (unable to see them in person because they were in isolation due to a positive test in their year group). We swapped notes and we both had had various technical issues (sound dropping out etc) that we'd fixed ourselves. A year ago we'd have panicked but this is our new normal.now. Some of the students, we haven't even met in person yet.

Academics are working that long. But covid made this worse as online teaching has been far more work. Unfortunately we don't get the salary of investment bankers!
Right. Luckily I can see the world of academia from the inside and no, this kind of hours is not the norm.

I am not saying teachers or academics don't work hard - of course, they do. Only that this dramatic exaggeration does not help anyone. So, the OP is in school 13 hours a day, and then adds three hours every day at home, plus full-time hours on the weekend. I don't know a single teacher who has that kind of workload, if I am honest - I don't even know a single career-crazy corporate type who puts in those hours. Because it is unsustainable if it goes on for more than a couple of weeks.

Your maths is rather a lot out @forinborin…

@0None0

Your maths is rather a lot out *@forinborin*…

Ehh... I just picked exactly what you said earlier on the thread - 13 hours daily on site without a single break, another 15 hours at home spread during the week, which makes it 3h/day, and 7-10 hours on the weekend.

How would that add up to 80?

Move to Scotland. I arrive at work at about 8.30 and usually leave before 3.30. Work extra while writing reports but that's it. Can't believe what England demands from their teachers.

@0None0

How would that add up to 80?

I don't know, but these are your own estimates from earlier on this thread, with zero changes - I missed out "the rest spread out" summand as could not even understand how this is even possible. Yes, this adds up closer to 90, right? This is terrible.

So many teachers I know strive for perfection and it is crazy!! They seem frightened to speak to SLT and admit that they are struggling. I am union rep at my school and have so many staff come to me saying they have too much on their plate but they haven’t spoken to SLT. My advice in the first instance is to speak to them and this is normally enough.
You also have to get assertive and say no. Your list is ridiculous and no one should be working 80 hours a week. I would change schools before you quit altogether.

I agree. Being a teacher is difficult and bloody relentless but there is a lot of exaggeration and if you’re working 80 hours a week you’re doing something wrong!!

@fourminutestosavetheworld

I'm a teacher so am obviously very sympathetic op.

But IME the teachers complaining loudest about the workload are either very unlucky with their choice of school, very weak at managing their time or have no experience doing other jobs.

We are our own worst enemy. No wonder our genuine grievances are dismissed by many when there are complaints like this.

"Sorry, wasn't very clear. I meant rushing off at 4.30 to get my kids meaning I need to do extra work at home."

There aren't many jobs where you are allowed to rush off at 4:30 because you want to pick up your kids, and it's perfectly fine to finish your work later at home. In most jobs you'd be there until 6 and picking your kids up at 6:30 or whenever.

Like most jobs, there are long days and busy periods of the year, offset by other advantages

Excellent, balanced post. As you say, the teachers complaining constantly, either work for a absolutely rubbish school with little or no management. Or the teachers themselves, just have very poor time-management and don't know how to organise their own workload.

The list of things the OP claims she has to do in the school she works at is farcical. Anyone would think she is the only staff member in her school!

@forinborin

I am not saying teachers or academics don't work hard - of course, they do. Only that this dramatic exaggeration does not help anyone. So, @0None0 is supposedly in school 13 hours a day, and then adds three hours every day at home, plus full-time hours on the weekend.

I don't know a single teacher who has that kind of workload, if I am honest - I don't even know a single career-crazy corporate type who puts in those hours. Because it is unsustainable if it goes on for more than a couple of weeks.

100% this. Never in my life have I ever known a teacher who works/has worked this many hours per week, (and who does it constantly.) And like you, I don't know anyone else who does this many hours constantly either. Even though some people on mumsnet will claim otherwise.

As has been said by a few posters, exaggerating wildly about your hours and workload doesn't help when teachers have GENUINE grievances and complaints.

@ladyvimes

I agree. Being a teacher is difficult and bloody relentless but there is a lot of exaggeration and if you’re working 80 hours a week you’re doing something wrong!!

Sorry this was in reply to forinborin.

Work in an MOD school abroad. You will honestly never encounter teachers doing so little work for so much pay.

I agree. Being a teacher is difficult and bloody relentless but there is a lot of exaggeration and if you’re working 80 hours a week you’re doing something wrong!!

I agree.

And if this is an easier school than your old one where you were working through the night without sleep for 1-2 nights a week, then that would suggest to me that either you need to find a more efficient way to work, lower your standards or stop agreeing to so many voluntary roles.

Some of your list confuses me - at secondary level, why are you sharpening pencils? Why do you have anything to do with library books? Other bits world only be occasional surely -eg first aid, checking CCTV.

And why are you at the school for the entire time it's open all 5 days. It also sounds like you do break and lunch duty every week etc. Either is an exaggeration or the school and other teachers are hugely taking advantage of you, as you seem to be doing other teachers shares too.

I have many teacher friends, and yes they work hard, but they also have lives, hobbies, balance having families etc.

@letsghostdance

What makes such a big difference do you think? Do you have more support staff?

I was full time for 8 years and now part time as have 2 young kids. I will never be going back to full time. I’m genuinely surprised I didn’t bother getting a blow up mattress for my classroom in my
First 5 years to just sleep in my classroom!

Maybe the OP is a Head teacher or member of SLT who is also covering in class? That would explain why she is opening up and locking up the school whilst also having to do the more menial tasks of sharpening pencils?!?

@Iheartbaby

Teachers moaning again

Bless. Jealous much?

And out comes the ‘Why don’t you just get your support staff to do it?’ line again.

In most state schools, budgets are under huge pressure. Teachers don’t have swathes of assistants hanging around waiting for a photocopying or pencil sharpening job to do. TAs generally work with children who have some top-up funding to supplement the £6000 per child with SEND that the school has to fund, irrespective of whether the child has an EHCP.

And out comes the ‘Why don’t you just get your support staff to do it?’ line again.

Haha absolutely! Support staff come and go with the kids, because we can’t afford anything more. We have to plan them to work directly with groups. If I didn’t do my own admin, nothing would get done.

I work 0.6 and it’s the best of both worlds IMO, I don’t intend to increase it even when my kids are both in school. I feel so much more sane than I did full time, and I don’t get ill every half term now. I also don’t get that proper ‘on my knees’ crawling to the holidays feeling in term time, it’s more manageable and I am far less stressed (and a much better teacher with the kids as a result). It’s worth the pay cut!!

I find what you’re saying quite unbelievable about your duties and hours. Is there only one teacher at the school? Teachers are like everyone else. Some dedicated, some average and some lazy. I come from a teaching family and so does my husband and I hear lots of moaning about lazy teachers that they know and lots of praise for the hard working ones.

Op Mentioned lost property and overseeing medication. Those things have been done in the office everywhere I have worked.

@Wannakisstheteacher

Work in an MOD school abroad. You will honestly never encounter teachers doing so little work for so much pay.

All depends which school it is. Not my experience.

@User5827372728 I really don't know, all I know is that I get all my work done easily within those hours plus my non contact time which we get 30 mins per full day. I have support staff who help with walls and obviously groups but not with marking etc. I honestly don't know what the difference is but I wouldn't even be able to dream up enough stuff to do in that time. At my school we're also really trusted with stuff, so I don't need to spend time doing paperwork just to prove myself.