Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

So which teachers worki the hardest...

65 replies

mnistooaddictive · 29/06/2010 10:40

I have ruffled a few feathers on aniother thread by suggesting that RE teachers DO NOT have the biggest workload! I am sure they work hard but don't all teachers? I am a Maths teacher myself and although I often ended up doiung extra classes every day of the week I would never dare to suggest I work the hardest.

My vote goes for Drama/Dance/music teachers. They have the same issues as RE teacghers with huge numbers of classes meaning huge numbers of reports but they have crippling extra curricular demands. Those amazing school productions/choirs/orchestras take hours of time including evenings weekends and often precious sleep time. I just want to say I appreciate you!
Anyone else want to have a vote?

OP posts:
littleoldme · 01/07/2010 19:41

I'll vote for English. It's a core subject so SLT are constantly on top of you; there is piles and piles of marking and you classes three or four time a week so there is less opportunity to duplicate lessons.

That's why I left it

PosyPetrovaPauline · 01/07/2010 19:43

don't care but they all get long holidays

daisymiller · 01/07/2010 19:44

I do very little in my holidays so that is me out of the running then!

stressheaderic · 01/07/2010 19:49

Another vote for MFL teachers (I am one).

You can only very rarely let them get on with any independent work as it is such a guided subject, plus all the jumping about and acting and sometimes fakeenthusiasm - our 100 minute lessons leave me drained.

BuzzingNoise · 01/07/2010 20:01

100 minute lessons would be awful. I like ours (50mins).

mnistooaddictive · 02/07/2010 13:04

I have taught at the full range of schools helokitty from the sink estate to very high achieveing and no-one has ever said to me i have to get a C in RS to get onto this course! Now I know this is facetious but having to teach the teacher to solve simultaneous equations so they can teach their class is different to teaching them how to have a discussion on euthanasia etc. I would like to say that my RS teachers was one of the best teachers I had as he was genuinely interested in us and I choose it as an oiption at GCSE so I am not dismissive of your subject in case it felt like I was!
I also had the worst MFL teacher in the world who ignored us fpor a year beacuse we were |Y11 and she was scared of us! We were very meek and mild but being allowed to get away with anything meant we often did! That has coloured my judgement even though I know the vast majority work extremely hard and she was an abberation!

OP posts:
lecce · 02/07/2010 14:48

English of course. Not only heaps of marking but it's a core subject so endless pressure from slt.

Wouldn't want to teach anything else though!

Lol at the idea that PE teachers work the hardest!

qumquat · 08/07/2010 23:40

Yes I love it Maria but sometimes I wonder why I am doing it to myself! i was certainly paid more and worked less hard in my previous office-based job, but I did get very bored - that's what I have to keep reminding myself of!

mumtoabeautifulbabyboy · 13/07/2010 09:57

I would go for any subject with a lot of coursework - English of course but also Food Tech.
I think the technology subjcts are often overlooked in terms of how demanding they can be to teach however they usually have less able students requiring a lot of support to get them through the required coursework as well as a lot of energy draining practicals.
I am actually a primary school teacher but have lots of secondary school teacher friends/relatives so thought I'd stick my oar in
We have also learnt NEVER to do the primary/secondary who works the hardest debate! We have all established that we wouldn't want each others jobs so we all must work hard but in different ways (planning/marking/behaviour management/parental involvement/expectations etc)and leave it at that.

ViveLaFrak · 13/07/2010 10:07

The ones trying to get over threshold!

scaryteacher · 13/07/2010 12:13

'I am inclined to think that RS teachers have it relatively easy (having to teach all pupils withstanding) because their examination classes are very straightforward - here are the stock answers so learn them.' Absolute rubbish - we do not know which questions will come up on the paper, and there are no 'stock' answers ime as a senior examiner in RE.

As an RE teacher (KS3,4 and 5) I also taught KS3 Geography, History and Citizenship and had to write Schemes of Work for the latter. I taught in excess of 600 students per week, so you can imagine my load when it came to reports/parents evening, planning, marking etc. I also used to do 4 after schools a week for no pay; G&T, RE revision, and two nights a week full course, for Year 9 on one night, and Years 10/11 on the Friday.

For those uninitiated amongst you, the KS3 RE syllabus also changes every 5 years as the SACRE produce a new one. They could decide to completely change the religions taught, so that one has to get new books, create and differentiate new resources, swot up on the altered religions.

One English colleague was shocked when I moaned about having to write 210 Year 7 reports; she had to write 60 (her Year 7 class and her tutor group). I had to do 2 year 7 Geog, 2 Year 7 History, 2 Year 7 RE, and my tutor group. That was standard for most Year groups - sometimes I got away with only 90, but that was good. Copying and pasting were not encouraged either, and my HoD for RE insisted on at least 7 lines, with set issues in each report.

parnell · 13/07/2010 20:39
  1. English- core subject, foundation of everything else and absolutely tons of marking
  1. RE/History and any other essay bound subjects where marking consists of hours and hours to mark 1 A Level set

Also 2. Music- extra curricular pressures (also prob applies to Drama in most schools though not ours!)

Bottom of the list- PE, Art, Technology- subjects where there is a much reduced amount of marking and a distinct end to the working day.

I am History BTW

primarymum · 13/07/2010 21:32

Given we have to teach everything-primary of course

Musicteachingmum · 14/07/2010 14:05

Defo. music!

Loads of reports (I counted 534 in my last year of full-time!).
Lots of extra-curricular
Lots of annoying children who don't view music as a 'proper' subject.
Serious differentiation, little Johnny had Grade 8 piccolo on his 1st birthday, don't you know!
Lots of pressure from management to 'showcase' the school, as well as produce amazing results "music is an easy subject, after all" NOT!!

Musicteachingmum · 14/07/2010 14:07

Oh, and not forgetting the patience to listen to 30 keyboards/glockenspiels/recorders all at once!

New posts on this thread. Refresh page