As a teacher, I really appreciate half days, especially when we have two of them in a row. We have structured our schedule over the next two days to do classes that are 60 minutes long, so instruction is actually a bit longer than on a full day. Then in the afternoon, teachers benefit from being able to conduct conferences or complete other work, while students get a couple of extra hours to catch up or simply to relax. When we run one half day and classes are shortened, I simply use the time to structure a shorter, focused lesson. Half days provide a different structure, but are certainly not worthless. I like them much better than full days off that extend the school year unnecessarily.

Anonymous wrote:No one is forcing you to be a county teacher. Stop with the martyr syndrome. You don’t even actually do direct instruction anymore. You have incredible benefits. We actually don’t even have kids in the schools anymore (they weren’t being educated - just introduced to topics). Just surrounded by MCPS employee-neighbors who just won’t stop complaining about how trapped they are due to having to have to work for their too generous pension.

I guess you would never qualify to be a teacher. What a bully and loser. I wish your kids didnt learn this bad attitude from you.
Signed
A parent

I assume the HS kids (where there are no conferences) just have 1/2 days because of the busses? They never used to..

Because we have to take off for religious holidays like Yom Kippur and Eid now. So teachers don't get full days off anymore for work days. They are half days.

Three in a row is excessive. And honestly, conferences are the BIGGEST waste of time. I much rather have a detailed email with pdf's of a few examples, test scores now and again in March. If I feel I need to see the teacher in person, I will set up a conference after that. Most of the kids that need the conferences have parents who don't sign up or show up.

I used to work in the county. I left because of a combination of factors, mostly related to lack of autonomy and bad leadership. I was in MCPS for a while, but trust me, that so-called “fat pension” isn’t so fat. I’ve never regretted walking away from that benefit in order to feel I could do what’s right for kids and for my sanity. To the bitter PPs who are lumping all teachers into one greedy, lazy entity, though, if you learned any critical thinking skills from YOUR teachers, you would know that 3 bad teachers does not equate to “every teacher is bad.” Also, the teachers on this board typically are responding to barbs, not launching the complaining. They’re constantly being put on the defensive on DCUM. Of course there are some rotten apples and plenty of bad school-based leaders (and some downright crazy ones), but I think most of the problems you’re blaming on teachers stem from policies and procedures and culture/climate decisions that are coming from well over teachers’ heads. A conference day is a beast and a marathon, not a day of relaxing self-care. I had plenty of colleagues who were hard working, lovely people who are giving, smart and great with students, but many are burning out after years of not being trusted or treated like a professional, of getting disparaged or abused from parents and/or school admin, from unreasonable expectations, and from the sense that decisions are being made in the name of optics rather than common sense. We are experiencing the tip of the iceberg when it comes to teacher shortages, so let’s encourage and support the individuals who want to work with and educate our children, not shame them as a group.

MCPS does half days because they count as a full day of instruction. So instead of doing one full day, they prefer two half days because it gets an extra day of instruction counted toward the 180 minimum. I was hoping this will change with the end of the Governor’s exec order, but I saw that there are still a bunch of half-days on the proposed calendars for next year (though thankfully not as many).

I hate half days. Kids really don’t learn at all on them.

Anonymous wrote:No one is forcing you to be a county teacher. Stop with the martyr syndrome. You don’t even actually do direct instruction anymore. You have incredible benefits. We actually don’t even have kids in the schools anymore (they weren’t being educated - just introduced to topics). Just surrounded by MCPS employee-neighbors who just won’t stop complaining about how trapped they are due to having to have to work for their too generous pension.

First you call conferences “me time” and then you accuse the responder of being a martyr when they explain what they are doing those afternoons and evenings. Other counties have 1.5-2 days off for conferences and grades. One way or the other, they are expected to occur. Your county just happens to schedule them as half days.

Anonymous wrote:I searched and didn't see anything on this. Can someone explain the logic of having three half days in a row: last friday, then tomorrow and Tuesday. Why wouldn't they just give kids a full day off for veteran's day, and a half day friday? I don't want to open a huge can of worms, I'm just genuinely perplexed.

OP, Friday is a half day because it's the end of the quarter and the teachers need the time to get the grades in. It used to be a full day off (i.e., a full teacher workday), but then when the governor's Ocean City executive order was in effect, there wasn't time for that - so a half day of school, which counts as a full day towards the required 180 days.

And Monday and Tuesday are half days for parent-teacher conferences.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one is forcing you to be a county teacher. Stop with the martyr syndrome. You don’t even actually do direct instruction anymore. You have incredible benefits. We actually don’t even have kids in the schools anymore (they weren’t being educated - just introduced to topics). Just surrounded by MCPS employee-neighbors who just won’t stop complaining about how trapped they are due to having to have to work for their too generous pension.

Love this!

+1 9th grader has 3 teachers who don't teach in W school She teachers herself English, Math and Biology. We are horrified. English teacher gives busy work and doesn't lecture. They do the work in class while he gmails his wife on the computer (DD saw it when she went up to ask him a question) Bio teachers is nasty and yells at the kids if they dare ask a questions - she should be the last resort for questions and they should ask their friends first. handouts worksheets also to work on during class. DH and I are horrified and want to find a school where the teachers do direct instruction and where she can learn...
Pitiful. Just pitiful.

This sounds horrendous. Which school is this? The biology teacher tells the students to ask each other to explain concepts??

Whitman

I love teaching and love my students, but hate the parents who don't parent their children. And that is 90% of kids in MCPS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one is forcing you to be a county teacher. Stop with the martyr syndrome. You don’t even actually do direct instruction anymore. You have incredible benefits. We actually don’t even have kids in the schools anymore (they weren’t being educated - just introduced to topics). Just surrounded by MCPS employee-neighbors who just won’t stop complaining about how trapped they are due to having to have to work for their too generous pension.

Love this!

+1 9th grader has 3 teachers who don't teach in W school She teachers herself English, Math and Biology. We are horrified. English teacher gives busy work and doesn't lecture. They do the work in class while he gmails his wife on the computer (DD saw it when she went up to ask him a question) Bio teachers is nasty and yells at the kids if they dare ask a questions - she should be the last resort for questions and they should ask their friends first. handouts worksheets also to work on during class. DH and I are horrified and want to find a school where the teachers do direct instruction and where she can learn...
Pitiful. Just pitiful.

This sounds horrendous. Which school is this? The biology teacher tells the students to ask each other to explain concepts??

Anonymous wrote:Because the teachers need their "me" time, it's in their contracts.

You’re just nasty, pp.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because the teachers need their "me" time, it's in their contracts.

You're right, that's totally it. I enjoy all the "me" time I get teaching until 1:00 pm and then holding conferences until 8:00 pm on Monday, and then doing it again on Tuesday until 6:00 pm. I have lunch from 10:45-11:15 on both days and then don't have a break long enough to eat again until I leave in the evening. Who knows, maybe I'll even get a chance to pee a few times on those days! Whoo hoooo!!! Loving the "me" time!!

Why would you even respond to such drivel?

Anonymous wrote:Because the teachers need their "me" time, it's in their contracts.

That must be it..

Not going to quote (too long), but pp is right on target. Those who whine or complain about teachers, should try it. I don't think you'd last a week.

And by the way, those excellent benefits come at a cost. Those in the private sector make a lot more than a teacher. For years teachers have given up pay increases to maintain their benefits. It's one of the great things about being a public servant.