UK Teachers are amongst the best paid and have the fewest hours in the classroom

[Arisbottle]

The story is not quite as simple as the headline would suggest but food for thought.

article from Daily Mail

Habba,

I mark - per day - 28 English books, 24 Maths books, and 33 books of at least 2 other subjects. That is simply marking of what is done in lessons. I also 'level' sudents across a range of their work periodically - which isn't exactly marking, more a kind of 'meta marking' of already-marked work. Some is 'ticking' type marking, but the vast majority - I would say most books on most days - requires proper '2 good things and a developmental comment' type marking.

I also plan (weekly) and prepare resources for (daily) at least 5 lessons a day (depending on the timetable).

None of this is done in my actual teaching hours, with the exception of 1.5 ours of non-contact time once a week when I normally catch up ith e.g. displaying work, year group meetings, work towards my personal targets etc. I do normally manage to get one set of books done at luntime UNLESS I am working with a child or dealing with issues that arise or...or...or, you get the kind of thing.

I do mark homework several times a week - I have just prepared 33 individually-worded certificates to present to children as a result of their latest project homework - but it is not a major part of my marking load. the in-class work is much more significant.

Of course, at some times of the year, things like reports, paperwork related to SEN etc have to be created / revised and that is added to the above daily list.

(I should point out that my preparation load is slightly higher than it will be in a year or so's time, as I have moved jobs within the last year. In a job where one has worked for more than a year, despite the differences between classes each year, it is sometimes possible to re-use some lesson plans with adaptations, or recycle some of the best resources)

What speaks volumes to me is that our teaching workforce is so much younger than in other countries. What the hell is happening to all of our older, more experienced teachers? I can only guess that they decide it isn't worth it. We need to be asking ourselves why they choose to leave the profession.

Teacher here, i fucking love my job, adore the kids (secondary) and am passionate about my subject (students love my lessons, very high percentage choose to study it at A level, all achieve well).
However, I dispute strongly i am well paid. I have a very good, relevant degree, a PhD and a PGCE. I earned more 15 years ago in a different job, despite currently being in charge of GCSEs for a compulsory subject (>240 students/year), head of subject, head of house. Mainly i am not motivated by money, secondly DH earns 5 x what i do so can sub my my poor earnings. Apart from my colleagues i earn less than any of my friends, and work longer hours during term time than any of them, by some. My choice, I love it, just don't call me well paid.

Marking is rarely just a tick too. At least a couple of times a week all literacy and numeracy must be 'deep' marked - written comments re 2 positives and a target and/or challenge. Challenge is something for the child to do when they get their book back linked to their work. This is then to be marked in some way.
Other subjects also need marking.

I would say that planning varies across schools too. At the school I'm in we are required to complete two sides of a4 per teaching session, so at one point I was doing 30 planning sheets - 60 sheets of a4. This, along with preparing the resources, took roughly 10 hours every weekend. Then of course we have the self evaluation exercise that we are required to perform after every taught lesson, which meant 30 of those. I haven't even started on te marking of the work yet... Not just a tick as someone mentioned, but things they have done well and something they can improve on, all linked to their individual targets.

I love my job and am fighting tooth and nail to stay in education, but it does annoy me how often people think its an easy option. It's not if you do it right!

The "during term time" is highly relevant though. The holidays are a bonus worth a lot IMO.

Teachers are poorly paid compared to other jobs for which you need a degree ( GP 60k, in finance 100k plus, consultant 150k plus, these are some jobs friends work in) compare that to a teacher's salary!

Think teacher's pay is ridiculously low for what they do

Most teachers I have come across deserve every penny they earn , I could never do their job .

Perhaps, as per the 'make the Health Minister's team do NHS jobs for a while', we should campaign to make the journalists who write articles like the one quoted teach for a while

Oh well, you see, teachers spend time with children and we all know that you shouldn't have to pay anyone much to do that. It's a shame, really, that children have to get in the way for so long before they are economically useful, taking up so many adults' precious attention when they could be doing something so much more profitable.

Soverylucky teachers at the local academy here get private health cover.

Interestingly teachers are contracted to work 1265hours per year which is £22 per hour using the DM figures

UK teachers have Ba in many other countries you have to be Ma to qualify. In addition secondary education used to be 1 year shorter, too.
It adds up to 3 years.

You see how awful our teachers are? They are so bad, our journalists never learnt how to add up or question the meaning of the statistics they are given.

anitasmall where did you get your misinformation?

was it from the DM?

Teachers in France (I am one) have the following working hours:

Lycée - (15 to 18 year olds): 8 am to 12, 1pm to 6 pm, Wednesdays 8 am to 12

Collège - (11 to 14 year olds): 8 am to 5 or 5 30 pm and 8 to 12 on Weds (lunch 12 till 1)

Primaire (2 - 10 years old): 830 or 9 am to 430 or 5 every day except Wednesday

We have a minimum of 18 contact hours and we don't choose where we work, we can ask for a region but we are sent to specific posts and can't refuse.

I really don't think the pay is disastrous. Comparing classroom teachers with hospital consultants is invalid. If you compared the pay of a headteacher with a senior manager in industry or a senior medical professional, then the comparison is not so far out.

I love the use of the word invalid so close to the word hospital.

Pronounced differently, RabbitStew. It is called a heteronym.

I know perfectly well it's pronounced differently, MrsSalvoMontalbano... I also know what an invalid comparison is... That doesn't stop it looking amusing in close juxtaposition with the word hospital. Or did you think I thought it really meant ill person in that context?... Goes off to suck eggs.

I don't know of any professional work that doesn't involve working more than standard hours - and not getting paid for it. Teaching is the same. Perhaps a few years working 70 hour weeks with only 5 weeks off a year would lend some perspective.