To have underestimated how demanding teaching is

[Makingplansfornigel2]

I was naive to think I could do the planning and marking in my frees and go home on time, I absolutely can't.
And this is with me using already planned lessons from TES. Either that or I print a worksheet and then create activities based on that, but this takes no more than 5 mins. I learned from the PGCE days that it's really not worth spending hours making fancy glittery PowerPoints.
We can't mark work in class as it's a school where they don't want you to tick things, they want written feedback in every book, and haven't got time to do that in lessons.
In between this there's tidying classrooms, adding on merits/behaviour points, contacting parents etc. And just having a break.
Would love to hear from anyone who gets it all done in school hours or stays the bare minimum after school!

Oh, absolutely, I am a regular user of TES. I also appreciate that at the beginning of the ECT year it can be a bit panic stations and just doing what you can, but using something on TES to adapt or build on and carefully consider how it can actually be used to cover the syllabus and fit the needs of your class is different to spending 5 minutes planning based on a worksheet off there.

I’m a few years in and couldn’t do that effectively. As a one off or like I said, at the start when everything is overwhelming it’s fine, but not sustainable as regular practice.

Depends what you mean by leave on time? If you mean leave when the kids leave then yes you are being a bit unreasonable to think you can get it all done, it's not an 8.30-3 (my school) job (6 hours a day take out a lunch 🙄) imagine the hourly rate that would equate to for 40 weeks a year (inc a week for INSET). If you mean 5 o clock then no you're not being unreasonable.

Yes we have a tough job but no tougher than a lot of other jobs who are worse paid. Can you not ask the students to come up to the desk and mark a few/make comments during lesson time whilst they are getting on with a task. This will depend on what subject you teach too I imagine. Teaching isn't what it used to be - the joy isn't there as much now it's changed to a lot of box ticking and paper work etc.

I’m also going to be frank here.
You just can’t consistently plan lessons in 5 minutes around a TES sheet.

Glad this was said. I used to pour most of my time into creating really good resources.

But, yes, in the first years of teaching it is all consuming. You work long days and weekends.

After a while, you should have built up a bank of really effective resources so that year on year you only need to tweak them. Yes, there will be other things to master, but the resources should be ok.

However, the workload in some schools is crippling. I left teaching last year because I knew it would make me ill. I was being micro-managed by a HoD far less talented than me, in a really toxic environment generally, and I had to just get out. I am now re-training.

Tips from an old-timer:

Get displays set up before term starts, then all you have to do is add good work as it comes in.

Look at the pinch points for the term/year in advance (usually around assessments) and clear your diary for those weeks. You'll be in early and home late just to keep your head above water.

Be ruthless in establishing a calm and orderly classroom, otherwise you'll waste hours of every term dealing with pointless and demoralising behaviour issues.

The rest of the time, work with ruthless efficiency to get planning and marking done in school hours. Don't chat to colleagues during lunch breaks. Avoid unnecessary meetings. After assessments, plan lessons which require minimal teaching/intervention from you so you can mark the assessments.

Remember that formative feedback is more meaningful than summative, but it can be delivered to the whole of the class, and they write targets based on your verbal feedback. See also self and peer assessment for useful marking techniques.

Make use of digital resources where you can, to avoid photocopying.

Create a bank of comments for reports and assessments, and tweak for different students. Cut and paste, but be vigilant in not making silly errors.

Contact parents early with concerns. Use the heads of year or other pastoral colleagues to ensure you don't lose control of behaviour.

Have fun in your spare time. A rested teacher with an interesting life will always be better than the jobsworths.

Did you think we all lied, and you'd be able to do what the rest of us can't?

You'd be put on competency procedures and managed out.

Yes. I was threatened with this but left first.

Also good advice from @AgnestaVipers above.

This term is a twat. And the first week back is always horrendous. I worked over the summer. I'm 20 years in. But I've still been working until 930 or 10 every night and looking forward to the weekend, so that I can catch up. Currently, I'm wondering hour o managed to work so much and still have so much to do. I'm also wondering how tf I will keep on top of my workload. But I always do. Just.

Granted, I haven't actually had any frees yet, and i lose an hour every evening eating and catching up with the dc,but an hour in a day in school is often just enough time to take a breath, respond to emails and tell umpteen kids to GET TO YOUR LESSON.

I get through it by having no fun during the week, bar a gym class or 2.

It's no way to live. Yet, also, strangely addictive.

This is what I say, every time I do the cycle of: what else can I do? What do I like? I like people. I like talking. I like telling people things.

Yeah, I would NEVER work in secondary education again; as someone upthread mentioned I would rather clean toilets, work in a shop etc (no disrespect intended - I just mean that those jobs are available without a higher level of education). I work in sixth form which is still hard at crunch time, but nothing on the scale of secondary. Perhaps (after a year or two of experience building) you could sidestep to sixth form, SEN, tutoring etc - I don’t know if all of those would be better in terms of life/work balance but I know that I would be looking at something different if I was still in secondary.

I kind of agree about the ppts, but I trained when staff were, reluctantly, only just starting to be trained how to make them and you only used them on special occasions.

I have a tendency to veer off on different directions, which doesn't suit all kids. Ppts contain me. A bit.

I hear you. Plus, it's like working in a soap opera. Gripping at times.

But, I got out. I am now re-training so I can work more sustainably into my 60s.

On my first day of placement on my PGCE a teacher said to me he loves teaching but hates everything that goes with it.

I didn’t get what he meant at the time.
Now I say it to my trainees too.

The teaching and being in the classroom, I enjoy and love.
I even enjoy the lesson planning during my PPA.

Everything else I absolutely hate and this is the 2nd or 3rd year where I was planning to hand my notice in but haven’t and I think other teachers feel the same way too, they plan on leaving but just don’t.

Hi @YYale445, I was just wondering how much PPA time you get? I work in a SEN school and we get the standard half a day a week! Curious to know what you get! :-)

Hi OP, the first few years of teaching are really tough. As you gain more experience you sort of learn to work smarter and not harder! I still find it challenging and always will to a degree but as you gain more experience and confidence I hope it'll ease the pressure for you a little. Take care and don't be too hard on yourself!

@RosieRainbow1986

I get a full afternoon and a morning session until break every week. Not bad for 80% FTE!
The afternoon session we can wfh as well so I leave once lunches are sorted if I have all staff in. I do miss PPA some weeks if there is an emergency however but it’s still pretty good.

On TES, it really does depend on your subject. My colleagues in Maths tell me it is a treasure trove, and my DD has come home with some good primary homework sheets. But, for some smaller subjects it really is awful - as I mentioned earlier, we had a member of staff on capability because he insisted on using really poor TES resources. I had a good look and there weren't any appropriate ones for the exam syllabus we do.
OP, be careful with TES and ask experienced colleagues whether they are ok for your subject.

Are you Jimmt Carr's accountant?

I don’t work at weekends, ever. I’m part time and I will do a bit on my days off some weeks, but not all

when you are part time it's much easier to not work at wkends.

That said, I’m secondary. There’s no way my primary teacher friend could manage like this - her workload is frankly stupid

there's many secondaries where the workload is just as big or bigger than primary schools. It depends on the school.

The new Head put a stop to it

Yep see that is the problem here and people appear to totally forget it when they diss out all their solutions on these threads to teachers who are struggling with behaviour,workload etc.

You have to do what slt tell you to do. I even saw a poston another thread where a teacher said she became established by not caring what slt thought or said and doing her own thing-believe me that's never a good idea.

Posters seem to think that the teacher has the autonomy to shut the school down if they please.

Can I add that a big part of school life is following behaviour and work policies that are bullshit and counter productive but you have no choice and follow protocol. If you moan or go against them your card is marked. But that's why schools are impossible places to work in for many these days.

You have to do what slt tell you to do. I even saw a poston another thread where a teacher said she became established by not caring what slt thought or said and doing her own thing-believe me that's never a good idea.

Course you can do your own thing, within reason. Just don't expect to be promoted.

However, if the SLT are that dictatorial, I'd say it's time to look for a new school.

Sadly, a lot of schools are like this. People mistake micro-management for good management.

Course you can do your own thing, within reason. Just don't expect to be promoted

it's not even that though-many couldn't give a fcuk about promotion, it's more that they'll see you as a trouble maker and force you out and give you a bad reference. And I'm sure somebody will be on soon to tell me it's illegal to give a bad reference when this isn't true. I know from bitter experience in teaching that it isn't because I got 1 myself from a head I once crossed, 2 of my colleagues got similar.

However, if the SLT are that dictatorial, I'd say it's time to look for a new school

and as you say yourself many of them are, it's not so easy just to look for a new school always especially if you aren't in London/southeast area or when you become expensive.

Yeah, but there are decent schools out there. That said, I rarely worked in one, which is why I got out.

Yeah, but there are decent schools out there. That said, I rarely worked in one, which is why I got out

agreed but then it depends what exactly you mean by a decent school? They all plasy the ofsted game which makes it a tough gig.