Teaching and time management?

Question

Hi, I was wondering about how many hours a week an average teacher will spend outside of school working? Also, what makes you stay there and do you think it is worth it?

Answer 1

A teacher will always put in an eight-hour day at work. If they arrive at 8:00, they'll stay until 4:00. A teacher normally gives up one or two lunch hours each week to supervise activities. On top of that, most teachers are involved with extra-curricular activities. If a club meets twice a week after school, that's an extra three hours each week. In terms of marking and lesson planning, it works out to an average of about five hours per week. A good strategy is to leave schoolwork at school. When you start bringing work home it all seems to add up, but it's better for your mental health to just stick around at work until 5:00 and then have the whole evening for your personal life.

Answer 2

Wow, I've never really thought about it. When I was a brand new teacher, I spent at least 6-7 hours, outside of the workday, everyday preparing for the next day. I would get to school an hour early and then stay 2-4 hours after that and still sometimes bring stuff home. That was mainly because I was new and doing everything for the first time. I am now in my 14th year and I don't spend that kind of time on average everyday. Certain times of the school year I spend more time--like doing assessments and at report card time. I still put in anywhere from 2-3 extra hours a day preparing for the next day. I'm not even counting the extra hours spent serving on district committees throughout the school--but I think you get the picture.

I think teaching is completely worth it. It is the only thing I ever wanted to do since I was 6 years old. It is extremely frustrating and exhausting and difficult every year with so many needy students and so many requirements heaped on us. However, I teach 1st grade and the greatest thrill I get is to see a child come into my classroom at the start of the year unable to read and write and see them grow and blossom over the school year and be able to read and communicate through the written word. They also get so excited when they can do something independently for the first time. That keeps me coming back year after year.

Answer 3

I no longer do it , but generally I worked at least 3 hours in the evening, marking work, preparing materials for lessons the next day or even writing lesson outcomes and lesson plans .

On the weekend, depending on if it was report card time or not , I still had to mark work and do room redocorations so 3 hours four nights a week plus 3 or 4 hours on the weekend that 's an additional sixteen hours besides teaching six or seven hours a day. I usually was there before 7 and left around 5 pm. I think most elementary school teachers keep the same sorts of schedules if they are the least bit on track with their kids.

Answer 4

First year teachers often spend more time working than anyone else. In my case, one hour before and 3 hours or so after school, Monday through Friday. For a few years after that I was in teacher heaven. It was hard and very stressful and the pay was a joke, but I was born to teach. It was worth it until the district went TAKS test crazy and took away our freedom of creativity. I quit a year ago.

Answer 5

I am an English teacher. I spend about 50+ hours in the building and another 10-20 hours of outside planning, grading, and reading. It is a tough, but extremely spiritually rewarding, job. I often wonder what it would be like to pay a bill on time, not have to "cut corners", drive a better car, or live in a better neighborhood.

Plusses are:
Job security
Tenure
Watching students mature and grow.
Being creative on a daily basis.
Constantly learning and growing yourself.
NEVER being bored at work!

Minuses are:
The Pay bites!!
Defending the profession and its actual workload to ignorant people who chime, "Yeah, but you get summers off!"
Dealing with moronic administrative decions made by individuals who have never taught or haven't taught since the seventies.
Occasional students and their parents who have an insane sense of entitlement and treat you like "the hired help".

Peace.