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I agree. Im not a teacher, but I'm pretty well-versed in watching many. I think that the demands of teaching to test as required by legislation/administration vs. being able to teach the way they know best plays a part (i.e. micromanagement). Also, having to be the police, social service agent, and pseudo parent (in some cases) cannot be easy either.
Add to it the fact that they are often criticised for working only 180 days a year when in fact (in most cases) they work evenings and/or weekends. All of the "other" hours put into classroom maintenance, paper corrections, pupil evaluations, and class planning take additional time, but apparently can be done while they're teaching.
I used to marvel at a parent of another team member on my son's baseball team. She would cheer her son on with one eyeball peeled on him and the other scanning the tests she was correcting for her 6th grade class. She didn't have time to do it directly after school because she had a mandatory faculty meeting. I think her ability to multitask was one of the reasons her students did well.
I strongly suggest that anyone who wants to understand the hours the teachers in their community work should perform the following test. While not 100% accurate it will provide great insight. I call it the parking lot test. Drive by your local school especially elementary and middle school or any of them on weekends and see how many cars are in the parking lot. Try 1/2 hour after the work day and 1 hour after the work day. Make sure there are no community or after school activities taking place. High schools are difficult ot measure because of sports etc. If you see a lot of cars then you can assume teachers are still there working. Very few cars oh well you know about your local community at least. Weekends the same test. Doesn't tell you if they are at home working or taking classes but it does tell you if they are still at school doing it.
LOL locker rooms still exist and get used but showers don't. If the locker room is bad can you imagine what the shower with nude bodies would be like? How many teachers want to take the risk of supervising and watching 30 nude 17 year old's in the shower. To not provide proper supervision oh well that's another law suit.
hey when you work on a nuclear sub you stay submerged a long time but you do get to see the world. A teacher gets to leave during the day for inservice and not much else. They all have their perks. But you must admit that serving on a nuclear sub is unique and probably not comparable at first to your life activities prior to the service.
LOL! No doubt.
Sadly, I'm 4F (blind as the proverbial bat), so I have no firsthand knowledge of nuclear subs. Probably just as well, since I'm also mildly claustrophobic.
I agree. Im not a teacher, but I'm pretty well-versed in watching many. I think that the demands of teaching to test as required by legislation/administration vs. being able to teach the way they know best plays a part (i.e. micromanagement). Also, having to be the police, social service agent, and pseudo parent (in some cases) cannot be easy either.
Add to it the fact that they are often criticised for working only 180 days a year when in fact (in most cases) they work evenings and/or weekends. All of the "other" hours put into classroom maintenance, paper corrections, pupil evaluations, and class planning take additional time, but apparently can be done while they're teaching.
I used to marvel at a parent of another team member on my son's baseball team. She would cheer her son on with one eyeball peeled on him and the other scanning the tests she was correcting for her 6th grade class. She didn't have time to do it directly after school because she had a mandatory faculty meeting. I think her ability to multitask was one of the reasons her students did well.
You learn to multi task really fast as a teacher. I bring papers to grade to just about every activity we do. I grade papers/work on lesson plans while my dd has her piano lesson, while my husband is driving us somewhere, even while standing in line at the grocery store. You learn really fast to use every minute you have. Otherwise you run out of minutes.
The school parking lot test, suggested by another poster, is a flawed test. Many teachers choose to do their grading and lesson plans at home. I worked through all last spring break in my basement building what I needed to get an air track simulation going. If you did the parking lot test, I wouldn't be there.
I would say most teachers take work home. There are a few, at my school, who prefer to take none home. They stay until they are done and leave everything in their rooms. When I don't have kids at home, that will be my choice simply because I miss being off work when I leave work but I have to work around my kids schedules so you'll see me in the bleachers at my dd's basketball game grading papers.
You learn to multi task really fast as a teacher. I bring papers to grade to just about every activity we do. I grade papers/work on lesson plans while my dd has her piano lesson, while my husband is driving us somewhere, even while standing in line at the grocery store. You learn really fast to use every minute you have. Otherwise you run out of minutes.
The school parking lot test, suggested by another poster, is a flawed test. Many teachers choose to do their grading and lesson plans at home. I worked through all last spring break in my basement building what I needed to get an air track simulation going. If you did the parking lot test, I wouldn't be there.
I would say most teachers take work home. There are a few, at my school, who prefer to take none home. They stay until they are done and leave everything in their rooms. When I don't have kids at home, that will be my choice simply because I miss being off work when I leave work but I have to work around my kids schedules so you'll see me in the bleachers at my dd's basketball game grading papers.
Reading for comprehension is fundamental to being a teacher or engineer. I clearly stated that the parking lot test only tells you if teachers are still at school as many claim to be in this forum and elsewhere. I clearly state it doesnt tell you if they are working at home or taking courses else where. Now how is that flawed? I am sure with your many years in engineering you understand flawed testing. If the cars were there and are now gone how is it flawed to think that the teacher went with their cars? Hmmmmm?
As you would tell your students, try reading the paragraph again and come up with a different answer. I will give you a hint just like a good teacher or at least one who enables does. Read the last sentence and try again. Flawed? Wowser!
I don't agree that having been a student contributes to teacher burn out. If that were true, no one would go to college to become teachers in the first place.
Burn out in teachers comes from basically the same places burn out in other fields come from.
Things like:
Coming up against dead ends while dealing with clients (parents/children), peers (co-workers), management (admin)
Hitting the ceiling on salary levels.
Hitting the wall on promotion opportunities.
Physical or health issues.
Personal fulfillment.
I also believe that comparing attending school to the job of teaching school is not comparing equal positions.
While the 'bones' of the schedules and structures are similar, their functions are far different.
The goals are completely opposite as are the benefits and outcomes.
Teaching also encompasses many different aspects that students themselves never experience.
I've got tons of teacher friends/family and none ever left the job because they were tired of being in school. Those that have left, did so because they ended up against a dead end/wall/ceiling they couldn't penetrate or they had severe health issues. Those that left really missed being in school after wards, they just didn't miss the reason they left.
I don't agree that having been a student contributes to teacher burn out. If that were true, no one would go to college to become teachers in the first place.
Burn out in teachers comes from basically the same places burn out in other fields come from.
Things like:
Coming up against dead ends while dealing with clients (parents/children), peers (co-workers), management (admin)
Hitting the ceiling on salary levels.
Hitting the wall on promotion opportunities.
Physical or health issues.
Personal fulfillment.
I also believe that comparing attending school to the job of teaching school is not comparing equal positions.
While the 'bones' of the schedules and structures are similar, their functions are far different.
The goals are completely opposite as are the benefits and outcomes.
Teaching also encompasses many different aspects that students themselves never experience.
I've got tons of teacher friends/family and none ever left the job because they were tired of being in school. Those that have left, did so because they ended up against a dead end/wall/ceiling they couldn't penetrate or they had severe health issues. Those that left really missed being in school after wards, they just didn't miss the reason they left.
I will miss being in school once I'm back in engineering but I will not miss working without the resources I need or the low pay, which are the reasons I'm leaving. I just can't work in a situation where my pay is, rediculously, low AND I have no choice but to spend my own money in the classroom to do my job. My family deserves better than this.
I'll miss the kids. I'll miss doing demos and experiements. I'll even miss coming up with lesson plans (I won't miss grading papers ).
I don't agree that having been a student contributes to teacher burn out. If that were true, no one would go to college to become teachers in the first place.
Burn out in teachers comes from basically the same places burn out in other fields come from.
Things like:
Coming up against dead ends while dealing with clients (parents/children), peers (co-workers), management (admin)
Hitting the ceiling on salary levels.
Hitting the wall on promotion opportunities.
Physical or health issues.
Personal fulfillment.
I also believe that comparing attending school to the job of teaching school is not comparing equal positions.
While the 'bones' of the schedules and structures are similar, their functions are far different.
The goals are completely opposite as are the benefits and outcomes.
Teaching also encompasses many different aspects that students themselves never experience.
I've got tons of teacher friends/family and none ever left the job because they were tired of being in school. Those that have left, did so because they ended up against a dead end/wall/ceiling they couldn't penetrate or they had severe health issues. Those that left really missed being in school after wards, they just didn't miss the reason they left.
Hmmmm the point was that what you love for 30 years can get old after 45-50.
I strongly suggest that anyone who wants to understand the hours the teachers in their community work should perform the following test. While not 100% accurate it will provide great insight. I call it the parking lot test. Drive by your local school especially elementary and middle school or any of them on weekends and see how many cars are in the parking lot. Try 1/2 hour after the work day and 1 hour after the work day. Make sure there are no community or after school activities taking place. High schools are difficult ot measure because of sports etc. If you see a lot of cars then you can assume teachers are still there working. Very few cars oh well you know about your local community at least. Weekends the same test. Doesn't tell you if they are at home working or taking classes but it does tell you if they are still at school doing it.
My oldest daughter and my second oldest are both teachers. They both spend about 60 hours a week working on average. After adding in the end of year stuff, summer in service or prep for the new year and you are talking about 42 weeks of the year they are working. That's about 2520 hours. It's also about 500 more hours a year than the average 40/hour week employee.
I think more people understand that than not.
My oldest daughter and my second oldest are both teachers. They both spend about 60 hours a week working on average. After adding in the end of year stuff, summer in service or prep for the new year and you are talking about 42 weeks of the year they are working. That's about 2520 hours. It's also about 500 more hours a year than the average 40/hour week employee.
I think more people understand that than not.
I did 36 plus years as a teacher and administrator and my wife over 37 as a special education teacher. I understand the hours and I understand the time OFF. I also have sons who work very long hours in professional jobs and have relatives and neighbors who do also. I also understand that teaching occurs often in communities and not downtown. I also understand that teaching hours in the building afford teachers in metropolitan areas to duck the major commute traffic. When you factor in commute times it can become a great equalizer in many communties etc etc etc. Please don't think folks in the private sector are reading this about working 42 weeks a year and not subtracting it from 52 and coming up with a solid 2 months off. Also I don't think they equate working at home with working on the clock and under the watchful eye of the boss. We as educators are evaluated on the time in the building not out of the building. The work done outside of the building complements the work done in the building but is not formally evaluated. What the public so often knows is that when they get home from work ( remember commute time) their teacher neighbor is already home and has mowed their lawn if they wanted to.
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I will miss being in school once I'm back in engineering but I will not miss working without the resources I need or the low pay, which are the reasons I'm leaving. I just can't work in a situation where my pay is, rediculously, low AND I have no choice but to spend my own money in the classroom to do my job. My family deserves better than this. 
