DCPS teachers work to the clock

[Anonymous]

What are thoughts and opinions of the DCPS teachers working to the clock? What exactly does that mean for our kids?

[Anonymous]

What is working to the clock?

[Anonymous]

working to the clock = working to rule. Not doing anything extra. It's usually suggested by the union. It doesn't help kids, and it doesn't help teachers get good evaluations. DCPS actually pays pretty well, so I don't think a raise is what would make disgruntled teachers happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is working to the clock?

It means that they only work during scheduled hours, so tasks that they would ordinarily do outside of the 8 hours they are contracted to work are left undone.

So, it might mean that assignments would be left ungraded, or that a teacher would cancel lunchtime tutoring sessions in order to grade. Or it might mean that a teacher would drop out from chaperoning a field trip that is expected to arrive back at school late. Or that activities like science experiments and guided reading groups, that take substantial outside of school time to plan, are replaced by other, easier to plan, lessons.

I haven't heard that DCPS teachers are or aren't planning this, just explaining what working to the clock means. It's a step that a union takes when they are trying to avoid a strike.

[Anonymous]

They should do this to avoid the strike.

[Anonymous]

The point is that teachers regularly work beyond what is required of them under their contract. Most teachers are willing to do for the kids but want recognition of this when it's time to renegotiate the contract. Work to rule is a way to demonstrate what teachers do every day beyond the call of duty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The point is that teachers regularly work beyond what is required of them under their contract. Most teachers are willing to do for the kids but want recognition of this when it's time to renegotiate the contract. Work to rule is a way to demonstrate what teachers do every day beyond the call of duty.

Thanks - seems like they should do it. The teachers need a fair contract and deserve retro pay.

[Anonymous]

So, on the clock. Does that mean working more than the 6 hour school hours?
Does that mean working over Thanksgiving, Christmas and Spring Break, which the rest of the US requires vacation time that teachers don't have to work?
What about the professional days that always seem to fall around long weekends?
Give us a break. You get 2 months off with a million off days that no one outside of teaching gets.
And PS., the majority of the US population only gets 2-3 weeks of vacation. Stop whining.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, on the clock. Does that mean working more than the 6 hour school hours?
Does that mean working over Thanksgiving, Christmas and Spring Break, which the rest of the US requires vacation time that teachers don't have to work?
What about the professional days that always seem to fall around long weekends?
Give us a break. You get 2 months off with a million off days that no one outside of teaching gets.
And PS., the majority of the US population only gets 2-3 weeks of vacation. Stop whining.

Yes their workdays are longer than 6 hours and would be if they worked to the clock. No they are not paid for summer (unless they are in an extended school year school or teaching summer school). They do not control the scheduling of the PD days.

They aren't whining.

[Anonymous]

+1,000

[Anonymous]

We would never ask other (majority male) professions to volunteer their time like we do teachers. Imagine asking a corporate lawyer to give up his weekend "for the client firms." He wouldn't do it, and he would be right not to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, on the clock. Does that mean working more than the 6 hour school hours?
Does that mean working over Thanksgiving, Christmas and Spring Break, which the rest of the US requires vacation time that teachers don't have to work?
What about the professional days that always seem to fall around long weekends?
Give us a break. You get 2 months off with a million off days that no one outside of teaching gets.
And PS., the majority of the US population only gets 2-3 weeks of vacation. Stop whining.

Are you really that stupid? Summer is unpaid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We would never ask other (majority male) professions to volunteer their time like we do teachers. Imagine asking a corporate lawyer to give up his weekend "for the client firms." He wouldn't do it, and he would be right not to.

Are you naive? Professionals of all kinds typically work well beyond a 40-hour week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We would never ask other (majority male) professions to volunteer their time like we do teachers. Imagine asking a corporate lawyer to give up his weekend "for the client firms." He wouldn't do it, and he would be right not to.

Are you naive? Professionals of all kinds typically work well beyond a 40-hour week.

Yes, and they get paid for it through bonuses and raises. Teachers do not.

[Anonymous]

This whole thing is asinine. DCPS teachers want retroactive pay increases-- particularly those teachers near to retirement for whom that pay will have significant impact on their pensions. Many teachers are holding off retirement because of this.

The thing is, that if they just issue the retroactive pay (which they should absolutely do and have done for other city employees) a whole bunch of teachers would retire shortly thereafter. And guess what? Those senior teachers are really expensive. When they retire they come off the payroll and voila, costs decline.