Teacher's please answer!!!!!!!!?

Question

If you are an Elementary or Middle School Teacher please answer my questions!

Could you please tell me the day in the life of your teaching career like what you do from morning until afternoon.

Could you also tell me a little bit about what students do not know about a Teacher's career like how many emails you get daily on average that is work related and what kind of things that you need to turn in to your boss that have a deadline.

This would really help me out because I am only a student and I would really like to know more about the Teaching career before I actually decide that is what I want to do. Thank You!!!!!

Answer 1

You definitely need to spend a few days with a teacher at the elementary level and at the middle level, they are very different and have very different requirements. I am an elementary level special education teacher and have many more requirements than I realized when I was in college.

My day begins at 8:30, but I usually have 7:45 meetings each morning. I have a planning period for 30min. each day, but that is usually filled with meeting with teachers/principals. By the time my students get through the lunch line, I have about 20 min. to eat. The day ends at 3:45, but I'm there till 5ish cleaning up the room and correcting papers. I typically do 2-3 hours of work a few times a week at home also. The amount of paper work required in my field, is incredible and overwhelming at times.

That being said, it truly is a very rewarding job. I get stressed and frustrated, but I wouldn't want to do anything else in the world.

Answer 2

If you are having doubts, visit a career counselor at your university. I should have -- once you spend a bunch of money or go into huge debt, it is hard to get out of a career. Only 1 or 2 of my emails were ever work related. I loved teaching the kids, but I felt like collaborative meetings with teachers, pre-planning, post-planning, writing Professional Development Plans, and many faculty meetings were a complete waste of time. I wanted more time to actually plan my lessons. Also, other teachers get really upset when you show them how easy and enjoyable their jobs could be if they just did it instead of flirting with other teachers and shooting the breeze during the day. If you are really social and enjoy this kind of crap for low pay, go for it. If you really want a career that stimulates you mind and allows you to focus on work, do something else.

Answer 3

Definitely spend a day with a teacher. Elementary schedules can be different than middle school, so you might want to try each one.
I get numerous emails...from the principal, colleagues, parents...it does take time. Grading is a huge part of my day too...not just correcting papers, but also putting them into gradebook software for parent access.
My budget for next year is due in 2 days, and I have not started it yet. If I want new textbooks, I need to choose them now.
I have meetings almost every day after classes. In my 'free time' I do lesson plans, and spend time with students who have been absent getting them caught up. The day goes by very quickly, and it can be very stressful.
I also have a lot of paperwork for state reporting (for career awareness and folders).

Answer 4

I can tell you that if you were in an industry job and had the amount of paperwork, mostly useless but required, that teachers have, they'd hire a secretary to do it so that you could actually teach. I never got any emails about school, we didn't give it out and many of my students didn't have computers. Some didn't even have phones, which they thought meant that they could do whatever they wanted to since they thought you couldn't contact their mothers.

stormy has a point, except that I never saw any flirting, but there were mostly female teachers at my school. There is very little time actually teaching or preparing to teach. Most of it is the useless paperwork that is required but nobody sees, meetings for the sake of meetings, discipline that has little authority because the administration became administrators so they didn't have to deal with kids anymore--and don't, waitressing since we actually had to serve them their breakfasts in the classroom and they included syrup that one principal actually told me I was supposed to teach them how to use, social work and counseling. You get very little support from the administration and sometimes they actually work against you.

I taught 8th grade Science in a Catholic school and it was very interesting and fun, but the pay is pitifully low! Public school, at least in the inner city, sucked the life out of me before I ran for my life, but the pay was great. When I go back to work, I will go for the stimulation and sacrifice the money. Both of us sound jaded and cynical but it's hard to find a good school with interested kids for good money.

Perhaps you could ask the principal at one of the local schools if you could shadow him or her for a day or so to give you a better idea.