I have friends that arrive to school hours before they need no and stay much latter than they are required as well. This seems to be something that teachers have done for years and sounds like a real good trait of dedication. My teachers contract states that I need to be on school grounds from 7:45 am until 3:00 pm. anything i do beyond that I do free of charge. Am I any less of a dedicated teacher if i do not arrive early and or stay late? I have all materials prepared for class ahead of time and i feel as though I teach every class with a high level of enthusiasm. I love teaching and I would not want to do anything ells at this point in my life. So this is the dilemma... Do I stick to the contract and only work within the hours I am required like any other profession or do I stick around and make more work for myself? The hard thing is that I come from a wold of punching a clock and not working past 5 pm. you will never find a mechanic that wants to stay late and work on a car for free just because he really wants to please the customer. Or is staying late as a teacher the thing that really sets teaching apart and above other professions. Let me know what you think.
Greg
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This is almost a dangerous post for me to have read. This idea has been the bane of my existence since last March. My position at my school was almost docked in half. Had I accepted my contract I would have been at 60% teaching load. But I can guarantee I would have been doing over 100% of the work I did in past years, just with a LOT less pay. I have been the teacher that has put in ample over time day in and day out. Why? Because I love what I do and because I want to give my students the best experience in my class room as possible and that will require preparations outside my contracted day. Needless to say, I did not take the contract for this year, and will have to seriously consider it when I return from sabbatical next year.
ReplyDeleteMy question to you is how do you manage to get it all in during the day without having any extra time to put in after the contracted day?
Maybe this is where my frustration comes in. In a vain effort to try and salvage my full time position I became aware of schedules of other teachers at my school that had much more free time than I did during the day, and yet I was being cut back because I supposedly had too much free/prep time. I did not want to make another teacher get cut back because I truly feel all teachers in our school work hard and do a good job. I just wanted to be recognized equally to them instead of “just the music teacher”.
A teacher can be spending time before and after school for many reasons. Maybe because they have a very busy schedule and don’t have time during the day to get correcting or planning done. It could also be because they might be terrible at organizational things and just squander their time during the day which then leads to having to spend time after school. So, just because a teacher may stay after school doesn’t put them above and beyond anything or any job. You are absolutely right about a time clock punching job. You do NOT stay a second longer than you have to. It is sad to say that is how I now feel about my job if I was to go back. It seems the board has put so little value on my position and the job I do that I don’t feel compelled to give any extra than what I am required!
Greg,
ReplyDeleteYour writing made me realize that teaching really is different in Georgia than it is anywhere else. We have no teacher union and often get the short end of the stick. This year we were furloughed three days of pay the beginning of the year. While others went to work in their classrooms for free I refused. I will not support furlough days, but I will support my students. I get to work early everyday and I usually leave late every day, but I would not show up for a furloughed day. Do I think the teachers who showed up and worked on the furloughed days are crazy? YES, because it proved to our county that teachers will work for free. I think teachers who are able to get their work done in the short amount we have each day are amazing. I know that I am not able to because my planning periods are filled with meetings and duties every day. In my county, we are also required to stay after school for meetings at least two times a month for at least an hour. We are also required to work at least three sporting events. We are also frowned upon if we do not show up for more than the three. So do I think you’re less dedicated? Not at all, I envy you for being able to get your work done.
Blaire
Greg -
ReplyDeleteI am one of those people who like to stay a while after the bell rings just to encourage kids to come in if they have questions or just need to talk. However, this does not mean I stay all night! I show up at 7:45 and stay until 3:30 (waiting a half hour after school releases). There are teachers in the building who leave no later than 5:00 and I have to ask myself the same question you are and that is: am I that much less dedicated than they are? Should I feel bad about sticking to the parameters of my contract? I have a friend who teaches across town and he did not come one minute early or stay one minute late but because he did not follow the informal norms of the building of coming early and staying late out of charity, he was shunned and the administration basically told him to get with the program or they would make his life miserable; so he quit. I think there are many schools and other salaried positions within the business world who operate under the same principle: we understand that you signed a contract that says you only have to work 40 hours a week but we don't care and you are expendable. We live in a society where free time is becoming more and more valuable because it is harder to come by. While I don't have any problems staying late I don't like the fact that I should feel pressured to do so. We don't get paid enough to put in 60 - 80 hour weeks!
Cheers,
ct
I too stay a moderate time after school, 30-45 minutes on average. I do this in part because much of my lesson prep involves getting out supplies and setting up tools; basic shop organization. It sounds like you devote some time out of school to prepare lessons etc. Some of the teachers stay after school to do prep as they have young children and it is just easier to focus at school. The second reason is I feel it is beneficial for students to be able to step in for a little help.
ReplyDeleteI certainly wouldn't hang around work so other people felt I was a more dedicated teacher. As long as your duties to students and administration are fulfilled then it's time to go home- guilt free.
Are you any less of a teacher for not staying past your contract time? Absolutely not. But please share your secret on how to accomplish everything during the day. I come to school 15 minutes early and stay at least until 4:45 every day. I prioritize my day by making lists and doing the most important items first. I still never have enough time in a day. I also go in on weekends and usually put in an extra 5-6 hours.
ReplyDeleteIt may be different being an elementary teacher, and also adapting a new reading series this year. But I would really like to know how you can get it all done in the time allowed. But once again, are you any less of a teacher for going home "on time"? No, you are blessed with a wonderful gift of being able to get it all done in the time allowed.
I am one of those that spends many hours at school outside of the normal work day. I go in between 6:00 and 6:30 every morning, because I can get more done with fewer distractions between 6:00 and about 7:15 than I can any other time. I also often stay late because many of my classes require makeup work being done on the computer. Therefore, I stay after school any time a student needs to do makeup. I like to do most of my work at school so I can spend my home time relaxing and for family time. However, if I start spending more time being disrupted at school, then I start taking things home and leaving right after school.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the amount of extra time put in by a teacher is concerned, I believe it depends on the subject(s) being taught. I teach seven different classes during a school year, most of which are advanced classes. Therefore, I feel I need to put in extra time to keep up with changing technologies and grading papers of my students. I believe a true professional will commit the time necessary to provide the best educational experience for their students.
The only time I question the amount of time a teacher puts in is when they are unwilling to take time to keep up on new developments in teaching or their subject area, unwilling to change their methods or lessons regardless of whether the students learn, or won't take the time to legitimately grade the assignments they give to their students. Under these circumstances, I believe laziness is driving them.
Really great responses this week. Well first it’s nice to know that I am far from the only teacher that thinks about this sort of thing. I’m a Technology teacher so all student work is done in class and is performance based in grading. Putting in extra time is not rewarded by the school in any way. I’m trying something new this week. I will respond in the style found below. Let me know if this reads well and please provide any criticisms
ReplyDeleteI learned a few things about teaching in Georgia
Tech Teacher Booth…
Ex: “This year we were furloughed three days of pay the beginning of the year. While others went to work in their classrooms for free I refused. I will not support furlough days, but I will support my students.”
Response:
This makes me thankful I teach in New York. The schools are becoming more and more like the private sector in that they are very bottom line oriented. Perhaps if the school invested in technologies that lower operating costs they would have the money to pay for teachers. The sad truth of the matter is that when ever a district does have some good times they don’t plan for the days that are lean.
CT…
“While I don't have any problems staying late I don't like the fact that I should feel pressured to do so. We don't get paid enough to put in 60 - 80 hour weeks!”
Response:
I fear that once it is done it is expected. Some people ask me how I get everything done throughout the day and the honest truth is that I don’t. I always have things I need to get done but unless I am being paid for the time I put in, I’m not really compelled to give my district a freebee.
Randy B…
“What did you do your first year? A typical day for me was work from 7:00 a.m. and finish up grading after 9:00 p.m. Nobody told me how to organize my time and how to manage a classroom to run itself”
Response:
I changed jobs after my first year. I had mentors that didn’t care about my progress and didn’t help me integrate into the school community at all. I was left out to dry with no guidance. Fast forward to today and I am running my own program and I don’t give myself more work than I can handle.
Allyson White…
“As long as your duties to students and administration are fulfilled then it's time to go home- guilt free.”
Response:
I totally agree with you. As long as my house is in order and I‘m doing the right things I really have nothing to fear. I have an active life outside of teaching that needs plenty of my attention.
Jenna…
“But please share your secret on how to accomplish everything during the day. I come to school 15 minutes early and stay at least until 4:45 every day”
Response:
No secret… the honest truth is that some days I don’t. I do however put in extra time at the end of the day due to having first period classes. I show up early every day out of necessity (Parking sucks). Leaving late is a bit of a necessity as well the parking lot is a log jam at 3.
Randy Wilson…
“The only time I question the amount of time a teacher puts in is when they are unwilling to take time to keep up on new developments in teaching or their subject area, unwilling to change their methods or lessons regardless of whether the students learn, or won't take the time to legitimately grade the assignments they give to their students. Under these circumstances, I believe laziness is driving them.”
Response:
In New York the requirements to keep a valid teaching certificate have changed. The State Education Department now requires all teachers granted a certificate after 2003 (or 4 cant remember) to complete 30 hrs of professional development every five years. In my situation Putting in development time is a matter of necessity.