Teaching – a 9-5 profession?
A non teaching friend of mine was making the not unusual series of comments about teaching in general and teachers in particular. He commented about the hours we work and the number of holidays we have. I suspect all of us have heard these comments.
As I drove into school yesterday morning at 7.30am I was greeted by the sports fields filled with students and their teachers/coaches having sports practices for soccer and netball. There were students in the library, which was lit up brightly and humming with activity.
On duty at lunch time, my colleagues were running tutorials for students to catch up on missed work and prepare for assessments.
When I left school at 5.30, the fields were still full with a second batch of practices and the occasional competition game, The library and senior study center were still full and the Auditorium was alive with a rehearsal for a show.
When I got home I had marking to do.
The holidays are not so much holidays for many teachers rather non contact time in which to prepare and catch up on work.
I know that many people who are not in education walk out of their work and their day ends there to be picked up and continued the following working day. For us as teachers it doesn’t. The pastoral care aspects of our lives continues. We can not switch off the student in need or at risk. They are in our thoughts at night and on the weekends.
I have to say to people who are questioning the amount of holidays and the apparent short working day we have, would you like to swap jobs? I am yet to see any take up this offer. I suspect that they know that the apparent short days and excess of holidays are actually a sparkling and shiny veneer on a job that requires huge investment of our time, energy, passion, imagination and empathy. It is a calling as often as it is a career. It is also incredibly rewarding.
July 31st, 2009 at 4:34 pm
I agree with the notion of teaching as a calling and enjoy the position where I can compare and contrast between teaching and other work. I spent 30 years in industry as a tradesman and in many other roles before I entered the classroom. I have found teaching more challenging but far more rewarding. I would have been better off in my trade financially but as many older tradesmen come to understand, there isn’t a lot available when you are suffering the effects of years of physical labour.
I agree that our day never really ends and I have also experienced that situation where our conditions are called into question. It is quite a unique experience having been on both sides of the fence but I have absolutely no doubts about wehich side I belong.
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August 1st, 2009 at 1:56 am
I think what many people do not realize about teachers is that we are 9-month employees. The per hour pay (of actual work time) is very low for the level of education we have to have. Although we are not paid for 3 months in the summer, I don’t know any teachers who take the summer off. I work with other teachers to align curriculum with new state mandates and what not.
Some thing my son said (he’s only
that I loved: He was chatting with a friend who informed my son that his mother was more important than I am because his mother is a lawyer and I’m only a teacher. My son replied, “Your mother has had teachers, but my mother has never had a lawyer.”
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August 1st, 2009 at 3:01 am
Yeah, I have been hearing that rap for 35 years. I don’t think it will ever go away – and no one will swap places – or salaries – with the teacher.
The only thing I can agree with is this – when I left K-12 and became a higher ed admin and 12 month employee, I realized what an incredible luxury having the summer off is for teachers. Of course, for many of my years I had to find a summer job, but after my kids were born I took the summers and got frugal and it was great. A CEO would have a hard time taking off for the summer even if he had 10 weeks of vacation time or offered to not be paid for the time – and that really
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August 1st, 2009 at 9:50 pm
I recently heard a teacher telling a non-teaching friend that “holidays” is just code for paperwork and meetings. I guess in some ways it is – I never seem to have any down time. I look forward to the start of term because then I get to “do stuff” (as one put it once) rather than sitting at the desk or computer, or finding resources etc.
I can’t remember where I saw this video – it might have been here, but your post reminded me of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxsOVK4syxU
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andrewch Reply:
August 2nd, 2009 at 6:15 am
Hi Mark
I have to say that the least stressful part of my day is the teaching I do. The video is an interesting one – its a little sharp round the edges but I enjoyed it. Its a very fair about what good teachers do. It shows that its not just about learning facts, its about motivation, about pastoral care and about positive reinforcement of values, ethics and morals.
Thanks
Andrew
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August 4th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
In New Zealand teachers are paid for their summer break (although it is only 6 weeks not 12) and for the other 6 weeks holidays between terms… but we all know that holiday time is not really “holiday”.
I’ve done other jobs that really are 9 to 5, they usually involved turning on my autopilot at 8:55 and turning it back on at 5. Teaching (and learning) is the most stimulating thing I have ever done, the paperwork and managerial requirements are overwhelming at times, but 99% of the time spent in class, with students, is a real joy.
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