I can’t tell if I have it good or I am a mug

[Cherryana]

Hello,
I work four days per week.
On my day ‘off’ I always work usually for 6 hours but has been closer to 13 often.
I also worked 32 hours in the Oct half term.

This means I finish at 4.30pm every Tuesday- Friday and never do work in the evening or Saturday and Sunday.

I have limited frees and at the end of the day feel like I have been in a whirlwind and think I would get I’ll quickly if I had to work in the evenings. My school is a RI school with poor behaviour, lots of conflict and lots of observations.

I oscillate between this unpaid working day gives me certain freedom and thinking I am a complete mug.

But if I went full time - they would just fill my timetable up and I would have to work evenings and weekends.

What do you, as other teachers, think?

I work four days a week and if we don't have a meeting I'm out of there before the school buses leave. I use everyone else's lesson plans to cut down planning and work solidly through my breaks and lunch and obviously my frees. This way I usually work at home, on my day off, once or twice a month when I have to mark the half termly assessments and need to mark them in one go to make sure my marks are accurate. I certainly don't work at the weekends or in the holidays

I have been teaching for over 20 years and find this works. I get excellent exam results so no one ever questions me running out of school. There's no way I'd do as much work as you on my day's off. I am earning less money, and taking a hit to my pension, so I can have fun and enjoy myself.

As a teacher, there is always more to be done. Work out what you can get away with, without the students being affected, and just do that. You don't get paid anymore for slogging yourself to death.

I think doing 6 hours on your day off is a fair trade-off for leaving at 4.30pm the other days (it wouldn't be in most jobs, but is in teaching!) It allows you to have a life presumably during the week. But working 32 hours over half term is ridiculous! What on earth were you doing all that time?

Thanks @bridgetjonesmassivepants and @CeciliaMars

I get in such a tizz every Monday. Partly thinking this is so good - I get to have my nails done and do my work and then feeling bleugh because my work hangs over me and I hate the feeling.

What did I do over half term - four schemes of work but they are not like sow you have ever seen. They have to be in the house style, every instruction has to have a specific picture, all resources, all videos sourced and embedded, homework tasks organised - I have been known to make YouTube videos to send to the school refusers..if I don’t do them in the holidays I would have to do it during term time.

There was no sow when I arrived and I am the only member of staff. They take a min of 5 hours each, but once they are done they can be reused. General catch up admin - 1 hour, marking and a 12 hour online training course. Et voila!

Today, I have been editing videos because the exam board requests a 10 minute video (per student in my class) of the rehearsal process from first rehearsal to dress rehearsal including excepts from multiple lessons.

The time involved - not just recording the excepts but dowloading them, editing them, compressing them-is unbelievable and unnecessary- I also don’t believe anyone is going to watch them. Plus how can you have an off script, in costume, final performance without a rehearsal period.?? Why do we have to ‘prove’ it happened?

I am almost at a point where all my Sow are done - so that’s a point in my schools favour and will free up time in the holidays.

I know it’s tough but from your description it sounds like there’s things you’re doing that you’re taking on yourself rather than expectations?
do school refusers need videos? Can’t they use the ppt everyone else has? If you feel they do then try recording the lesson as you go (use the narration record on ppt and send that). Do they actually watch them?

and the drama does sound a nightmare. Anyone else in dept got tips? Obv you can’t not do it if it’s exam board required but could someone in IY help with the editing if you give them the files and timings you need cutting together?

having to do a house style sow is a pain but as you say, once done they’re done to tweak so that will get easier. If you need more later in the year could you just do them and edit them into the house style as you go perhaps?

12 hour training course, if required by school, should be within directed time. In future, make a polite email response asking when the time will be given for this or putting in a cover request. It’s not a reasonable expectation to do at home.

Thanks @Mary7241 - those are some really good points. I do need to review what I am doing and what is necessary. You have given some things for me to think about.

I have a similar dilemma in reverse. I'd love to go down to 4 days so I get my weekends back, but then I get resentful, thinking it would make much more financial sense for to stop doing all the unpaid extra curricular stuff I do and just doing the job I'm paid for for 5 days. I know if I go down to 4 I'll end up doing just as much extra curricular and HOD stuff for less money. The problem is I feel so guilty for stopping extra curricular, plus I do actually enjoy it. I just wish full time teacher workloads weren't so insane so we didn't have this dilemma!

Just read back in more detail and it looks like you're a fellow Drama teacher. I feel your pain re all the coursework and video admin!

Thanks @ValancyRedfern
I wish we had a job which was more reflective of what a person can actually achieve in a day.

It’s a lot!!