Mr. Teacher

Other readers' comments on this article:

1. People who think teachers get 2 months off for free in the summer have just never had to teach.  Yes, we get a little time off, but it's because we're basically laid off for two months!  We are not paid for that time.  
    
   And during the school year, the hours are not easy.  I am on duty beginning at 7:30 (7:15 on Wednesdays), and I am required to stay at school until 3:30 in case a parent calls.  That's eight full hours, and no, I don't get a lunch break.  Technically, I am allowed to eat lunch while my class eats lunch, but I am still on duty, and if they are loud or unruly, I am responsible because they are my students.  
    
   What do I do with all my "free time"?  I spend a great deal of it planning, creating materials, writing notes, writing tests, maintaining a website, grading, cleaning my room, and contacting parents.
    
   I've had 9:00 - 5:00 jobs.   Those are the jobs where 5:00 means quitting time, no customers call you at home, you're guaranteed a lunch break, and whatever you don't get done will still be there tomorrow.  Those are the jobs where calling in sick doesn't mean you need to go in early to set stuff up for the sub.  To me, those are the REAL part-time jobs.
    
   I teach because I love it, but it's darned hard.  It's not for the faint of heart! and it's sure as hell not a part time job!

   Posted by diarykid on Jul 8, 2008 6:54 pm

2. And one more thing -- if you have a regular job, they probably buy you whatever office supplies you need to get the job done.  I frequently have to buy my own.

   Posted by diarykid on Jul 8, 2008 6:56 pm

3. On the notion that teachers get entire days off to plan their lessons...This is the point I've heard a lot of complaints about recently because our district has 4 planning days the throughout the year, which the district usually schedules around a holiday weekend so the ungrateful families can have 4-day weekends.  People may not realize that these planning days are the only extended periods of time that we can meet as a staff to get on the same page about issues.  Those meetings are usually training sessions for teachers, and we are often responsible for implementing new concepts and techniques in our classrooms after the training.  The training sessions don't usually include planning time to actually implement the changes.  
   
   Now, I know we teachers have some strong feelings about these planning days, as they seem like a waste of time.  My theories on that are off-topic here, so I'll skip it.  The bottom line is that on these planning days we rarely get to do actual planning, and the result of those days is more usually work for us teachers.  WHEN we find the time to plan and implement those new concepts and strategies is up to us teachers.  
   
   So, yes, teachers get entire days of torture that results in more work for us.  We are so lucky.

   Posted by HappyChyck on Jul 8, 2008 8:10 pm

4. I do actually leave fairly promptly at the end of the school day - i.e. about half an hour after the kids leave. However, that's to pick my own kids up from school. Once they're in bed at night, I sit down and do school work again - sometimes till the wee hours. I remember loving it when I had jobs where I could walk out at 5 and not have work to bring home. They were nowhere near as rewarding though, which is why I'm still teaching after 20 years.
    
   As for time off in the summer - that's when I actually get a huge amount of my planning done. My brain never really switches out of teacher mode - I'll constantly be evaluating books I read, news items, movies, etc., etc.,  for how I can use them in my teaching. Believe me, you wouldn't want me teaching your kids if I didn't get the summer 'break' I get - I would be more exhausted, less inspired, and less enthusiastic.
    
   Oh, and I've spent several hundred dollars so far this year on teaching materials that my district couldn't afford to buy . . . Not that I can 'afford' it either, but it makes it so much less stressful to teach when I have materials to use that don't require me to reinvent the wheel every day!  

   Posted by Teacher Lady on Jul 8, 2008 9:19 pm

5. I thought you might like to hear defense from someone who is not a teacher.  Well, I guess I am kind of because I'm in corporate training, so I teach adults. My mother and many personal friends are teachers (including Mr. Teacher). I have absolute respect for what they do. I put teachers in the same category as police, firefighters, and other public service people who are overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated. The small time that they get for the summer is like hazard pay and still not enough. Hug a teacher today!  And better yet help them with school supplies and defend their honor when it is questioned.

   Posted by Jester on Jul 9, 2008 4:01 pm

6. I've never run across a group of professionals who whine as much as teachers.  The only explanation I can think of is that since they spend so much time in the company of children, they take on this quality.

   Posted by Roger Hemmons on Jul 9, 2008 4:21 pm

7. Perhaps Mr. Hemmons needs to some guided
   practice to fully understand whining.  It seems
   he has some free time to complain about teachers.  Not all teachers are whiners, Mr. Hemmons.  I'm not sure what profession you have chosen as your own, but maybe the next time you are asked to to volunteer to judge  Science Fair projects on a weekend, stay after school and tutor students for a couple of hours every day (and not
   receive pay), keep an ill child in your classroom
   because the parents just can't break away from their job to come and get them, or stand in the cold and rain directing traffic in the parking lot so that
   no one gets hurt, you will perhaps have a little more respect for those of us doing these jobs as
   part of our daily work.  I, for one, Mr. Hemmons,
   would welcome the additional volunteer in my classroom, so my students could share with you their
   joy of learning.  No whining allowed!

   Posted by Debra Morris on Jul 9, 2008 4:57 pm

8. WOW! Okay, the last comment is exactly what I  have to deal with everyday. My husband doesn't understand why I come home at night and vent like I do. He says if I am so unhappy that I should have found another job. I tell him I love what I do that is why I have done it for 18 years, it is just that to keep sane in the insanity of teaching you need to release the pressure of being in a room with 25 in my case GROWN 5th graders all day minus lunch and 45 minute planning. I just like having an ear and then when I am done venting and taking a nightly walk, I am ready to go to sleep and wake up for another day of HARD WORK!!  I am asked too, "Why do you go in so early when you don't have to start till 8:30 and then your students leave at 3:30, why not walk out with them too, the work will be there when you get back in the morning. I laugh and laugh on that one. Anyone who is a teacher can totally understand why I laugh over that insane comment.  About the summers off, well I say to all the people out there, my husband included, who say we shouldn't have the summers off and slack off or in my case I love to travel so I go places with him or without him. I tell him and many others that if they don't think it is fair, go back to college and get a degree in teaching and you too can have the summers off to "SIT AROUND and EAT BON BONS TOO" I do not do that either, I am constantly busy doing something or other with my house or planning for my upcoming school year.If I had to teach 12 months out of the year straight they might have to put me in a straight jacket. By the last day of school I am itching to get them out of there and by the beginning of August I am itching to get them back into my classroom so I can teach. To Roger Hemmons- Here is an open invitation for you to come up to Anchorage, Alaska and sub for me a few days- let's see how you feel after that.  

   Posted by ITeachKids on Jul 9, 2008 5:02 pm

9. Diarykid, yes we are REQUIRED to stay until 3:30, but most teachers I know stay past that, especially when there are staff meetings, parent conferences, etc.
    
   As for Mr. Hemmons, he's exactly the type of myth-spreader I was talking about.  I'll just say that you're entitled to your opinion, Mr. Hemmons.  But I'll also remind you that opinions are like rear ends.  Everyone has one, and most of them stink.

   Posted by John Pearson on Jul 10, 2008 1:52 pm

10. I have to agree with Mr. Hemmons. Teachers whine more than any other professional group. Do we put in long hours? Sure. I am in the school from 6:30 am (or earlier) till 4:00 pm almost everyday. However, I know of many, many friends who are working in the business world who put in many more and are at the beck-and-call of their bosses 24/7. I don't even bother justifying the vacation time. Really, we deserve 10-12 weeks of vacation because we work that much harder than everyone else? Give me a break. It is a perk of the job, and I will not try to cast it in any other light. If we have any reason to complain, it is that we are not respected nor compensated as professionals in other fields with similar workloads. Of course, it could be worse, we could be social workers who work more hours, have fewer vacations, and are paid significantly less. Being a child of two social workers is proof enough of that for me. My philosophy is to do my job that I chose of my own free-will, do it well, and be proud of what I am able to accomplish with my kids. Whining only diminishes my profession.

    Posted by Michael James on Jul 10, 2008 3:57 pm

11. Let me offer a parent's perspective on why it looks like teachers aren't all carrying the load that is frequently pictured (BTW--I have spent many years as a social worker--glad that Mr. James recognizes that others work hard too). No one answers the phone at the school one minute past bell time. If, as a parent, things are really desparate and you need to talk to somebody in the school, you can let it ring a very long time and maybe a student or a janitor will pick it up. They won't know anything, or know how to get ahold of anyone who does--they just picked up the phone because it was annoying. If, as a parent, you need to have a conversation with a teacher, not only does it have to be in the building (why don't you come in and we can talk about it), but it also has to be in the middle of the day. There is no such thing as a conference after school. When schools are closed due to snow, I suppose one might believe that the teachers cannot get there--but when they close because it is too cold for students to be standing at the bus stop--why are teachers also not required to show up? Seems like an ideal time to get some work done. I try to take a few days off work to be home with my kids during Winter and Spring break (and when they were young I always had to pay a babysitter to watch them if I didn't). These days come out of my vacation days. Many years I have only had a total of ten for the year. One year I had a teacher take a week off of school to take her kids to Disneyland because their district had a different Spring break than ours. I have always had to find ways to make certain that my kids were occupied and supervised after school and during the summer--no such thing as leaving work to pick them up from school. This was more difficult during early adolescence, but I was able to get one of my kids into a middle school afterschool program (and get him transported to the school that it was located at). The principal decided midyear that he didn't want the program to be in the building anymore and shut it down with about a one day notice--it was too much trouble to have in the building when nobody else was around.
     
    I have worked with kids enough to know how simultaneously energizing and draining it can be. But I do wish that most teachers spent a few years doing other things at some point during their careers. I do believe it would make them more sensitive to their students and parents, but also to some of the things that they may be taking for granted.

    Posted by Margo/Mom on Jul 14, 2008 5:46 pm

12. It's true, teachers always think about teaching. I've had kids ask (outside of school) if I ever think about anything else. My husband also didn't like my venting, so he suggested I take some time off from teaching and focus on writing curriculum. I still relate to the teacher comments here, though.

    Posted by tracie on Jul 14, 2008 7:01 pm

13. Margo, I'm sorry to hear that you've had such rough experiences with teachers, but let me assure you that the situations you described are certainly not the case everywhere.
    There are people in the office of my school that answer the phone until at least 5 every day.  I have parent conferences after school all the time; in fact, there are always a few each year that call me on my cell at all hours of the night!  And being in Texas, we almost never have days that we close because it's too cold, so I really can't speak on that regard.

    Posted by John Pearson on Jul 21, 2008 9:57 am

14. There are a lot of myths regarding how "easy" we teachers have it. I retired from a 21 year military career then started teaching. I am currently a third grade teacher in San Antonio. I f you take your job seriously and put a lot of efort into it..you will put in a lot of hours past the 7:15 to 3:30 posted work hours that people do not know about.  I have spent more evenings/weekends then I want to admit grading papers, developing curriculum, integrating technology into my lesson plans etc.
     
    

    Posted by Dave on Jul 23, 2008 12:13 pm

15. My father is a teacher and spends about 6 hours after work every day at school working in his classroom.  I personally don't understand why some teachers are able to leave at 5 and he stays until 9:30 every night.  Every now and then is perhaps understandable, but every night? If you are spending such long hours there after work every day then there is something wrong with your time management skills (as I believe there is with his). That kind of thing puts a strain on marriages and his relationship with my mother is a clear example.

    Posted by Nancy on Sep 24, 2008 10:50 pm