Why don't teachers demand more planning time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seriously. It's insane that teachers are flat out expected to spend hours beyond their contract time just to meet the bare minimum requirements of their job. What little of their planning time they receive is eaten up by meetings, yet they don't say anything. Teachers, why don't you stand up for yourselves and say enough is enough?

Every teacherI know and most teachers’ unions do speak up about the loss of planning periods, but in the end, until parents and politicians agree to safeguard this time, admin will continue to grab as much of it as they can.

[Anonymous]

At my school there seem to be meetings just for the sake of meetings. My principal knows how much she can get away with and will schedule every possible meeting she can within that allotted time. There’s no thought to if the meeting is a actually useful or valuable—just that if it’s an available option we have to have it. Collaborative team planning, data chats, team meetings, staff meetings, CPS meetings, PLC meetings, committee meetings, ILT meetings and I’m sure I’m forgetting a few.

So we sit there wondering why we’re sitting at a meeting instead of using the time to do things we actually need to do and just bide the time until it’s over. Some school administrators actually think whether these meetings accomplish anything or not and then decide to have them or not. My principal doesn’t think it through—she just wants to tell her boss that we have all these meetings as though it’s a positive rather than a time suck that everyone resents and is mentally checked out thinking of what we have to do when we’re done with the meeting. At least let us bring grading to complete or laminating to cut during these meetings!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What makes you think that teachers don't say anything?

Planning time is one of those things that is negotiated in union contracts, at least in union states. But there are lots of issues facing education, and this is just one of them.

Because I used to be a teacher. Teachers don't complain to administration. They just sit back and take it.

Why are you starting threads about what we as teachers do when you couldn’t hack it and left? Don’t worry about what we do or don’t do, it’s not your problem.

Maybe she retired?

Stopped to become a sahm. Always planned to return, but the idea of working 10+hour days depresses me.

Me, too! I dread going back. Trying to talk DH into agreeing that I can take a job where I have to pay for childcare ( effectively a pay cut) to avoid the drastic time suck of meetings, grading, and dealing with parents.

[Anonymous]

They can make me attend these meetings but I just use the time to enter grades, return parent emails, etc.