how many hours a week do you put in as a teacher?

[Anonymous]

OP, check out the podcast and blog Angela Watson's 40 hr teacher work week. There is a paid club (which I don't do as my job is unique and has different challenges than a classroom teacher) but I've found the pod casts and blogs help me be more intentional with my time. It's not an easy job (I do thankfully love what I do) but this helped me to feel better under control.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am putting in at least 60 hours a week, sometimes more. I'm a veteran teacher, so this is not cause I'm new. I have taken on a bunch of new responsibilities, and teach some extra curricular activities (unpaid), so that's part of it. But I'm exhausted. I'd much rather teach from August 1 to June 30th and have a week off every 2 months than a long summer and this kind of workload. I'm even working in my building on the weekend. I get that other professions work long hours, though I'm curious how many other professions making 65K a year are working 60 hour work weeks.

OP what do you teach?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's 3 weeks into the school year and I'm already having a flare of my autoimmune disease due to stress. I don't think I'm cut out for this gig for many more years. Unfortunately I'm only 13 years in. I've cut things out like running after school clubs (stipend was removed years ago) but that only gives me back a few hours a week. I feel guilty because I use up all of my patience during the day and have none left when I get home for my own kids and husband. For me it still wouldn't be worth it even if I was paid more.

Ok, how do schools get teachers to agree to running these after school clubs if they aren't paid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:60 hours a week x 38 weeks = 2280 hours per year.

40 hours a week x 52 weeks = 2080 hours per year.

A full time year round employee who works 44 hours a week works the same amount as a teacher. Most professionals I know work this and then some. I get the exhaustion that comes from long days with other people's children, but the amount of complaining is really unwarranted.

How many professionals work 52 weeks a year? Most people get some kind of vacation time. And most professionals earn considerably more than teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous[b wrote:]There are many excellent teachers who do this and it's really more of a calling than just a job.[/b] On the other hand, my children had some middle and high school teachers who were really slacking, especially spring semester, when it wasn't uncommon for them to turn their classrooms over to student teachers and disappear. I specifically requested that my son NOT be placed in classes with student teachers for this reason and was refused. These same teachers did not come to parent teacher nights or IEP meetings. The principal said they couldn't require attendance. My mom was a teacher for 30 years and was expected to remain in her classroom, if not in meetings, until 4:15 each day and she did. I think attitudes have really changed, partly as a result of AP and AAP type programs. The most dedicated teachers are assigned to these, full time. The remaining teachers feel slighted and burn out very quickly.

I hate this attitude that teachers should willingly take on this ridiculous workload because it's a "calling" Do we expect accountants or lawyers to feel that way about their jobs? Yes, there are some teachers who feel its a calling, but it's unrealistic to think that will be the majority. Look how many teachers are needed in this country. Is it really reasonable to assume that these jobs can all be filled by people who willingly give up all their free time to do so? Yes, teachers like kids and care about their students otherwise they wouldn't choose teaching as a career, but they still want their own lives just like everyone else does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:60 hours a week x 38 weeks = 2280 hours per year.

40 hours a week x 52 weeks = 2080 hours per year.

A full time year round employee who works 44 hours a week works the same amount as a teacher. Most professionals I know work this and then some. I get the exhaustion that comes from long days with other people's children, but the amount of complaining is really unwarranted.

Most professionals I know make way more money than teachers do, as in twice or even three times more than the average teacher. OP at 65,000 makes more than most teachers I know. The average among the teachers I know is more like 50-55,000 and most of those have 5+ years experience and advanced degrees as well. You could (possibly) be correct that, over the course of the year, other professionals may put in more hours than teachers do but it is nowhere near 2-3x more hours spent working to make the pay at all comparable. Not a fair comparison. Teachers are woefully underpaid.

Ok, I agree that teaching sucks, but Prince William County starts beginning teachers at $50,000. We win no points by exaggerating things. There's plenty to legitimately complain about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:60 hours a week x 38 weeks = 2280 hours per year.

40 hours a week x 52 weeks = 2080 hours per year.

A full time year round employee who works 44 hours a week works the same amount as a teacher. Most professionals I know work this and then some. I get the exhaustion that comes from long days with other people's children, but the amount of complaining is really unwarranted.

Except most of us also do unpaid work during the summers. For me, it's typically training and writing curriculum, but I'm also expected to attend summer IEP meetings.

If you do unpaid work, don't complain about it. It's your choice. I get paid to come in to do summer IEP meetings and so do other teachers.

That's so true. I hate when other teachers set the precedent that they will work unpaid. The ones who go in every summer to work on their rooms for days before preservice starts, attend leadership team meetings without a stipend, run after school clubs unpaid etc. Because so many do it on their own free will, there's no pressure for us to be compensated for doing those things. One year I was asked to be team leader, which is an unpaid position for teachers in my position. I declined due to the fact that I wouldn't be paid for doing the same work and putting in the extra time that 7 other people would be paid for. I told my principal that once it became a paid position for my specialty then I'd be happy to do it. My principal then listed about 6 people who weren't paid but still agreed to serve as team leader. I guess she thought since they chose to work for free that I would too?

What annoys me the most about my fellow teachers is the martyrdom. Always agreeing to take on more even when they're not compensated for it. Yes, it's obviously important "to do it for the kids", but the reality is that it is my job and if I wasn't getting paid for doing it then I wouldn't be there. I've learned that it's really not ok to voice that opinion while working in a school. You'll get looked at like you have three heads.

This is why it's so important to have a union!

[Anonymous]

I hate this attitude that teachers should willingly take on this ridiculous workload because it's a "calling" Do we expect accountants or lawyers to feel that way about their jobs?

I am a litigating lawyer who works in the public sector, and yes, absolutely, people expect public sector lawyers to feel that way about their jobs. I work many, many uncompensated hours and don't get a high salary. I'm not saying that teachers shouldn't be paid more than they are, but not every lawyer is racking up the big bucks. Lots of jobs that are public sector jobs or jobs focused on helping others are underpaid. It isn't just you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm on year 6 and just when I thought I hit my stride a year ago, they got rid of our old ESOL curriculum and told to teach what the teachers teach. Um, okay. How about some professional development for that? No, none? My principal keeps switching the grade levels that we teach so we are guaranteed to never get good at any of them. I wonder how they choose the people in charge. Drawing straws? Dartboard?

I'm also an ESOL teacher and we haven't had a curriculum for years. We also change grade levels pretty much yearly depending on the master schedule. After all of our entry testing etc. we just figured out our schedules today and will start teaching on Monday, so I have to learn 2 new grade level curricula over the weekend. I spend a ton of money every year buying resources on TpT because we are provided with nothing and need to develop our own lessons that align with the language indicators taught within content. Plus create a curriculum for newcomers every year which needs to be highly differentiated.

What gets me is having to be "on" all the time and having every minute of the day proscribed for me. Last year my lunch was at 10:45 and this year it's at 1:30. I just want to be able to choose when I eat lunch and choose when I can go to the bathroom or make a phone call if necessary. I want to be able to sit down and return an email without having to watch the clock to make sure I'm not late for dismissal duty every day. Or finally sit down to scarf some food at my computer only to be interrupted by a fire drill or a kid who just threw up in the class across the hall and needs to be escorted to the nurse. Now that I've been teaching for 13 years, I think I'm much better cut out for a job where there's work to be done and as long as I get it done well and have it done before the deadline I can choose when to eat lunch and when to go to the bathroom. Sometimes it feels like I'm in jail when I'm at work. I know that's kind of dramatic, but it's how I feel.

20:32 again. I could've written this word for word. Last year, I easily spent $500 on TPT. Four grade levels per day with no curriculum and very few resources. Oh and no common planning time with the classroom teachers. Ridiculous. I start teaching on Monday too but thankfully this year, I have the same planning time as one of my grade levels so hopefully they will help me with their curriculum. Hardly any of our students tested out last year and the powers that be seem perplexed by this. Hmmmm. Maybe it's because we aren't teaching to our standards anymore.

Yes, at my school we are required to plan with the classroom teachers despite lacking a common planning period. We are just expected to come in early and stay after school to do it. If co-planning is a job requirement, wouldn't you think the schools should schedule time in your day to do it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, check out the podcast and blog Angela Watson's 40 hr teacher work week. There is a paid club (which I don't do as my job is unique and has different challenges than a classroom teacher) but I've found the pod casts and blogs help me be more intentional with my time. It's not an easy job (I do thankfully love what I do) but this helped me to feel better under control.

I've got ads for this, but wondered was it really worth it. In two decades of teaching, I've found that the 40 hour teachers and the 80 hour teachers weren't the strongest ones. And I was an 80 hour teacher my first year and then the first year teaching any new curriculum. I'm at 60 hours on average now and am considered strong enough to lead a team and mentor new teachers. I'd love to be more efficient with my time and technology helps a lot with that. I spend little time at the copier thanks to Google Classroom, for example. I also use Google Forms quizzes when I can since they self-grade. But I still need to write individualized feedback on essays and projects. Can you give some specific hints that might convince me the subscription is worth it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, check out the podcast and blog Angela Watson's 40 hr teacher work week. There is a paid club (which I don't do as my job is unique and has different challenges than a classroom teacher) but I've found the pod casts and blogs help me be more intentional with my time. It's not an easy job (I do thankfully love what I do) but this helped me to feel better under control.

I've got ads for this, but wondered was it really worth it. In two decades of teaching, I've found that the 40 hour teachers and the 80 hour teachers weren't the strongest ones. And I was an 80 hour teacher my first year and then the first year teaching any new curriculum. I'm at 60 hours on average now and am considered strong enough to lead a team and mentor new teachers. I'd love to be more efficient with my time and technology helps a lot with that. I spend little time at the copier thanks to Google Classroom, for example. I also use Google Forms quizzes when I can since they self-grade. But I still need to write individualized feedback on essays and projects. Can you give some specific hints that might convince me the subscription is worth it?

This doesn't necessarily mean anything besides the fact that you aren't on an improvement plan and that you volunteered to be a mentor. It's extra work for people who want the ego boost, like most things in life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's 3 weeks into the school year and I'm already having a flare of my autoimmune disease due to stress. I don't think I'm cut out for this gig for many more years. Unfortunately I'm only 13 years in. I've cut things out like running after school clubs (stipend was removed years ago) but that only gives me back a few hours a week. I feel guilty because I use up all of my patience during the day and have none left when I get home for my own kids and husband. For me it still wouldn't be worth it even if I was paid more.

Ok, how do schools get teachers to agree to running these after school clubs if they aren't paid?

Through pressure and guilt in the form of constant reminders to "do what's best for kids". And just like a PP's example of being expected to be an unpaid team leader while others got paid, it's because the precedent had been set by others that they're willing to take the sacrifice and "do what's best for kids" so if you're unwilling then that hurts your professional reputation around the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread will not end well. DCUM as a whole thinks that teachers are whiners and complainers and that they understand exactly what teaching entails because they spent time as a student in a classroom and that a teacher only works the hours they're with students. I empathize with everyone who has posted but be prepared to start hearing it from the people who have no clue. Then there will be the poster who chimes in that she's in by 8 and out by 3 and loves the flexibility and time with her kids that a career in teaching provides her. She will not answer questions about where she works.

I will chime in on behalf of my neighbor. She's at work by 645 home by 4 and rarely - rarely takes work home. She works in Arlington. We've learned bed beside her for 8 years and have heard about her job in detail. She's been in the system for almost 20 years and very highly regarded.

I'm in the camp of no sympathy for teachers. They get to choose money or time off. They chose time off. I chose money. I get 4 weeks off a year, no sick days or personal days. They get months off. Zero sympathy.

[Anonymous]

*learned bed = lived

iPhone typing in the best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:60 hours a week x 38 weeks = 2280 hours per year.

40 hours a week x 52 weeks = 2080 hours per year.

A full time year round employee who works 44 hours a week works the same amount as a teacher. Most professionals I know work this and then some. I get the exhaustion that comes from long days with other people's children, but the amount of complaining is really unwarranted.

Most professionals I know make way more money than teachers do, as in twice or even three times more than the average teacher. OP at 65,000 makes more than most teachers I know. The average among the teachers I know is more like 50-55,000 and most of those have 5+ years experience and advanced degrees as well. You could (possibly) be correct that, over the course of the year, other professionals may put in more hours than teachers do but it is nowhere near 2-3x more hours spent working to make the pay at all comparable. Not a fair comparison. Teachers are woefully underpaid.

Ok, I agree that teaching sucks, but Prince William County starts beginning teachers at $50,000. We win no points by exaggerating things. There's plenty to legitimately complain about.

Wow. $50 whole thousand dollars? My kids qualified for free preschool and reduced priced lunches for years on my teaching salary. People on DCUM complain that the are barely making ends meet on $150K. $50K a year might go a long way somewhere else but not here (which is why my kids got free preschool and lunch).