Why do teachers have inset days (for training and developement) during term time?

Question

Allowing for school holidays, half term holidays, bank and public holidays, kids are away from school for over 25% of the available weekdays in the year. Throw in a further 5 inset days, that figure rises to over 27%. As an irelevant point of interest, if you were to include weekends in the above equation, kids are away from school for almost 48% of the time. I know that teachers, like all other professionals, need to hone their skills with ongoing training and developement, but surely this can be done during the many school holidays.

My, I've obviously hit a raw nerve with the teaching proffession. It certainly wasn't my intention to cast dispersions or offend, but merely to get an answer to a simple question. I have learn't from the answers posted, for example, I didn't know about "baker days". I would point out a couple of things though. It has been suggested that parents either don't know or are not interested in what to do with the kids during the school hols. Both my wife and I work full time (we have to) and have 2 small children. As we only get 4 weeks each, working our hols in with theirs to cover is hard enough work without the schools taking "extra days" for inset. A family holiday for instance is out of the question. Schools seem to think that they can just close when they like and that families have a full time mum or dad on hand to cover. In the "real world" as some have mentioned, this is simply impossible without risk of losing one of your jobs, or an income to childminders.

Answer 1

I'm assuming this is the same for all states, but NC students are in school for 180 days of a year. That's exactly half the year. Your calculations were pretty close. :) Teachers probably work 195 days (on the clock). For people who work 5 days a week, they get 100 days off a year (weekends) plus vacations (let's say 2 weeks) and holidays (let's say 5). That puts "regular" jobs at having 119 days off, meaning they work 241. While they work more than teachers, they probably DON'T work over the weekends planning what they'll do during the week. They probably DON'T attend workshops during their vacations to improve their performance at work. They probably do this during normal business hours, and they probably get paid for it too. It all comes out in the wash if you ask me.

To actually answer your question though, you're right, it could be done during workdays rather than during school hours. I don't like going to professional development when my students are having class (though I jokingly say it's great). I'd rather be there with them. Unfortunately, many of the workshops we MUST attend are only offered during school hours. I've noticed that the workshops we've had to attend as of late have been offered after school hours or during our planning times- and they're usually workshops that are a complete waste of time. Short story long, you're super right. Teachers should take more professional development when students aren't in school. If you ask me, this means better workshops need to be offered during mandated workdays.

Answer 2

Inset days are often at the end of the term so pupil's holidays start a day earlier, or at the beginning of the term and pupil's have an extra day to their holidays. To answer your question directly inset days being held during term time is a very rare occassion, for the above reasons. If an inset (in-service training) day has to be held mid-week it is usually in a school during the (UK) local elections which occurs in May every year and by law the school is a polling station and so pupils do not attend.

Answer 3

teachers do not have 'an easy time of it' -not at all. when you work in an office or similar, you can 'take 5' when you like. teachers cant, they cant walk out for a breather, or have a coffee when they have a constant stream of 30 plus children in their charge every day. imagine if you wanted to just go to the loo, or breath some air, just for a couple of minutes, well we cant! its intensive, hard work and sometimes your head is buzzing by the end of the day, add to that the fact that we cant take our holidays when we please, and we have to pay twice as much as regular employees to be able to go away in school hol time-tell you what, i'll give you 32 14 year olds for 1 hour, then see how much you need a break!! those who say 'teachers have an easy time of it and dont understand working in 'the real world'-how dare you!! the real world IS a classroom, with real kids and real issues, and we have much more impact on childrens lives than anyone apart from parents, the only reason parents moan is beacuse they have to actual THINK about what to do with their children in the school holidays!!

Answer 4

Point 1: everyone who works has a right to the statutory Bank holidays and Public holidays, all of which are encompassed within school holidays.

Point 2: Children, in common with adults, have their limitations concerning concentration span and need reflection time away from the demands of the school curriculum; they also have a right to rest and recreation time in which to enjoy simply being a child. The grind of a working timetable will come soon enough, and even then, weekends are free to the majority of working adults.

Point three: Teachers are prey to minute scrutiny, observation and biting criticism, not least on the part of parents, arguably to a greater extent than any other profession. In the light of this, constant appraisal of methods and skills is imperative in order to satisfy the ongoing demands for excellence in standards. The training days are, as stated above, taken from the quota of holidays which teachers once enjoyed.

Final point: Schools are primarily educational establishments and not a government - sponsored babysitting service. Parents are ultimately responsible for the care and nurture of their own offspring!

Answer 5

OK, just for clarification. Students go to school for 180 days each school year. Those holidays (AKA Teacher Work Days or Inservice Days) are worked into the school calendar. The students would still not be in school, even if the teachers did not have that work day. If those days weren't worked in, the students would still attend school the same number of days. It has no effect on how much schooling the students get. Teachers, likewise, have to put in a certain number of days each school year (typically 190). Some of those days are inservice days, such as the ones you mention, during which teachers train, hold parent conferences, IEP meetings, School Improvement meetings, technology training, etc. Plus, federal holidays are federal holidays. The school is not allowed to schedule work on those days. They must be closed, even though there are some teachers who do work in their classrooms over the weekends and holiday breaks. I think you'd be surprised how much effort some teachers put into their careers and their students' learning.

Answer 6

There's a joke about a teacher who died an went to Heaven. She's being given a tour of the different sections. An angel takes her to where the deceased doctors live. She sees some golf courses, well manicured lawns and plenty of people outside having fun. They stop next at the part of Heaven reserved for lawyers. It's also pretty nice but not as many people. The angel informs her their next stop is the part of Heaven reserved for teachers. When they arrive she is amazed. The houses are beautiful, there are new cars in the driveways, and more golf courses then even the doctors had, but there are no teachers. She asks the angel where all the teachers are, don't many get to Heaven? The angel replies, we have many teachers here but it's an inservice day, so they are all in Hell until 4 p.m.

Answer 7

Teachers are required by contract to work a specific numbers of hours. This is a national figure laid down by the dfes. Inset time and training is specific time laid aside by county education authorities for teachers in their employ and under county contracts. Further training and personal inset such as further degrees or diplomas are done in teachers own time after school and in school holidays. Don't forget that many teachers give up a considerable amount of their so-called holiday time take pupils on a variety of activities for which they are not paid.

Answer 8

I read with interest ACCESSML's answer to this question, in which he states:

"Those who cant do, teach. Those who cant teach, teach P.E. And those who cant teach P.E, are SCREWED!"

As a PE teacher myself, I have a few points to make:

1. PE is one of only a couple of subjects where you can sit a 4 year honours degree in TEACHING, so you spend ALL of your time at university learning how to TEACH. Other teachers have to do an ordinary degree first and then a one year generic post-grad course. They spend one year learning to teach whilst we spend 4.

2. If you want to go to study PE you need more qualifications than for most other degrees, the main exceptions being the medicines and laws. That means we are not thick. There are more PE staff in promoted posts in schools than any other subject.

3. I teach in Scotland, where there are only TWO COMPULSORY subects on the national curriculum. They are Religious Education and Physical Education. This is because we are very important.

4. ACCESSML - You obviously didnt like PE at school, so you're almost certainly fat and/or crap at sports. UNLUCKY!

Answer 9

To add to the many excellent points made already - teacher training days aren't holidays for the teachers! They aren't sitting around wasting time, you know. Training days are usually longer and busier than a normal teaching day - just because the teachers aren't in a classroom in front of children, doesn't mean that they aren't working hard. Teachers earn the long holidays, and have them for a reason - they are essential for mental and physical health.

Answer 10

No way to kids get almost 48% of the year. I'm still at school, and it so doesn't feel like it! Teachers have inset days during term time so that they can take a break from teaching, and also to help them plan for the rest of the term. Teens like me and my mates love meeting up on inset days during term time, because nothing that teenagers like doing is busy!!!

Don't question something that brings happiness to children and teachers alike!!