Why are the terms shorter at private schools?

[wildscaryface]

They seem shorter by three weeks a term at least. Any reason for this?

For god's sake, read the bloody thread - no state teacher ever, ever said that they worked harder than indie teachers on this thread. We all said we work just as hard, the same, and some indie parents said we don't. That's where the contention has come from. Not one person has claimed that 'these indie schools have it so easy'.

I think we all agree that all teachers work the same amounts, organise differently. No-one has said that indie teachers have it easy (just different arrangement of working time). Stop trying to wind us up!

All I was pissed off about was that a couple of people have implied that indie teachers work that much harder than their state counterparts.

Oh Feenie - we crossed and concurred .

It was stoatsrevenge who was bleating that the prep school teachers get time to do marking when the poor overstretched state school teachers are working. She generalises vaguely about indies. In my DC indie, the teachers double up as sports teachers for the sports they have expertise in - they are presumably selected because they have more than one string to their bow. And whilst their hoem room class is being taught eg French, they will be teaching their on specialtiy - eg history - to another class. Certainly in the indie I know the teachers have considerably more contact time with the children (and also manage to do the marking etc etc, that the tachers in the state school I know do - in fact more marking , as the children have homework every night, not just a token piece at the weekends). Maybe others are different. In the indie I know, we never have supply teachers - permanent staff cover for other colleagues, whereas in the state school I know - we have endless supply teachers, (and also days to take the kids to theme parks when their class teacher is on strike which has never happened at the indie I know...

We need to encourage it more. Driving in London when private schools are on holiday is marvellous.

stoatsrevenge - as someone who works in an indie senior school I have 3x35 min periods free per week (if I'm lucky I may actually have them and not get taken for cover). Two lunchtimes a week are taken with duties and 2 breaktimes a week are taken with club. The school day is longer than I have had in state schools in the past.

So I have less than the 10% free periods that state schools are required to have, the school day is longer, and being the indie sector we don't have the benefit of 'rarely cover'.

I may have slightly longer holidays (though they do tend to be shorter than a lot of private schools) but I don't have as much time during the school week to get planning and marking done as I would if I was in the state system.

Oh yes, I'm not complaining - I love my job and teach some amazing students - just pointing out that it isn't all free periods and no work in the evenings!

Mrs Ghoul - you are winding me up. You are saying that indie teachers work harder than state school teachers. You criticise the statements I made (which, as I said, were based on the experiences of a friend of mine) and then generalise about the amount of marking I do and wobble on about indie teachers having so many strings to their bow.

As before, your implication is that state school teachers are second rate.

Why oh why do these threads always degenerate into a "them" versus "us" bitchfest?

I'm bloody sick of it all - yes there are some frightful misguided snobs in the Indie sector but equally there are some people, including teachers with huge chips on their shoulders in the state sector.

Every time anyone on MN even mentions the Independent Sector, the point of the OP gets lost and it ends up like this!

I namechanged recently 'cos I was so fed up with all this, but I think I might just disappear from MN for good now. The place has gone crazy in the last few months. Big deal I'm sure you'll say, but some of you on here need to take a long, hard look at yourselves, your prejudices and preconceived ideas.

Menorca, if you run back a bit on this thread, all the state school teachers acknowledged that we did the same amount of work organised in a different way.

It is only these private school users crowing about what teachers at these schools do in excess that gets my back up, as I also work beyond my job description, as do all the rest of our staff.

Nothing I've said has been based on preconceived ideas, just on things that teachers from the private sector have told me.

It is the condescending tone of some of the comments that I find really annoying.

to get this thread 'back on track' ds is 8.40 - 5.40. no saturdays. just had 11 weeks summer hol.

I suppose if you add all the 2 hours average extra per day in private, it may even itself out somewhat.

I think that's the conclusion we reached earlier. But I don't know how children can concentrate that long.

I also agree that there is an awful lot of sport during that time. One day he has 3 hours but I like that. Especially for teenage boys. Compared to dd in state, 2 lessons per week of I think 50 mins including getting there, getting changed etc, so probably 2 half hour sessions, wehich is not enough.

stoat - the whole day is very carefully structured so they don't get too tired. They all bring a big snack for morning break & are given juice & biscuits before they start their after school activities or prep. And if they are tired you can always decide that morning to pick them up before activities. I got a huge shock when DD first started to find that the day structures in the odd 10 minutes here and there for things like organisation of trays and bags at the end of the day. It's just all that more relaxed especially when you factor in the smaller class sizes. And yes, that is part of the compensation with longer holidays too - they do need a complete break! Same goes for the teachers.

What do they do in 'prep'? (just interested - this is not a snipe!)

mine does his homework in prep time, or discusses problems with the teachers, or plays sport.

DD does homework or reading in her prep. Generally a group of no more than 20 pupils observed by a teacher.

"What do they do in 'prep'?"

LOL. They do prep. The name sort of gives it away.
Prep is short for preparation, as in 'preparation for the next class' AKA homework

Well actually senua I think homework is consolidation of the previous learning. I see research homework as preparation for the next. This is what I meant earlier by people being condescending. I have never been to private school, so I don't know.

What does the teacher do in 'prep' time when children are reading or doing homework?

Sorry stoat. Couldn't resist it.
I see 'consolidation' as 'preparation': if you are secure in what you have learnt so far (either re-inforced by worked examples, or trying to understand said examples produces lightbulb-moment), then that is a solid foundation for the next step.

Fair dos senua

And I am happy to pay in order that someone else ensures the homework is done, rather than the constant nagging I would have to do