Teaching and paperwork/overtime etc., (not a teacher bashing thread please!)…

Scottish system different but heading down the same road as that down south. Been teaching for a dozen years first head was old school, knew the pupils and staff, bought drinks at staff events then left early to allow silliness to start. Loved teaching and really believed that every child deserves the best possible education. Last two heads have come through the system that seems to train managers not head teachers and they have little positive contact with kids. Shame really that it’s about targets that aren’t related to actual teaching. Lot if staff spent last term doing pointless courses to meet their cpd hours.

Working in construction I regularly worked 13 hour days with an hour’s drive to and from work.
That includes 22 days holiday per anum.
makes teaching look not so bad.

Try doing it then

I’ve been teaching 17 years and am an Assistant Principal. I’d agree with what most people have said. Working with kids can be an absolute joy, but it’s not a job you can do half-heartedly. Lots of criticism of Heads on the thread – most, IME, are responding to pressure from Govt./Gove/Ofsted. Realistically schools are Ofsted driven, whether we like it or not. That doesn’t necessarily mean, sadly, things are done in the best interests of the students. The one that gets me is lesson observations – I would argue that what makes an ‘Outstanding’ lesson ob in not always the same as an effective lesson for helping kids pass exams. When I first started teaching my GCSE and A-level results (mixed ability) were very good – but if my lessons had been rated on today’s criteria they would be Requires improvement or Inadequate.

Working in construction I regularly worked 13 hour days with an hour’s drive to and from work.
That includes 22 days holiday per anum.
makes teaching look not so bad.

It’s not the hours – it’s the constant pressure, changing expectations, dealing with challenging behaviour, challenging parents.

Construction -It’s not the hours – it’s the constant pressure, changing expectations, dealing with challenging behaviour, challenging clients

.
With the pressure of all health and safety for your site ie the buck stops at you in court, having to meet crazy timescales and trying to keep it within budget (even when the client keeps wanting more.
Teaching sounds alright.
Come and try construction angallis

Edit PS this is not a dig at teachers. This is just a case of welcome to real life.

er all well and good but the op was asking about teaching/ psych?
everybody can willy wave about my job is harder than yours

I know a lot of jobs are a bit rubbish but you don’t have gove going on tv telling you you’re rubbish all the time

I’m quitting after 2 years. Work life balance?

Work work even on holidays and weekends.

I go home at 1600 to eat, work, mark and plan.

I finish at 2230-0000. The admin is crazy and differentiation can take time preparing materials unless your school has great resources.

You do get faster though.

The politics and bickering disgusts me at my current school.

The kids are the best thing (when they work!) but good planned lessons are the answer.

There are less stressful and higher paid jobs with greater spare time.

I used to work 9am-6pm 5 days a week with more cash.

Just use your summer to plan, work or get materials.

When you get ahead in a good school and care about kids – it’s brilliant!

I like that poem a lot!
And no, I’m not a teacher… 🙂

Is that primary or secondary Frankenstein? If your decided then good luck. If not you really need to sit down with an experienced teacher who is not a worker drone and see if you can work out how to do it better. In general terms plan straight forward lessons and leave all the other bullshit for observations.

I teach and have done for about 10 years, this place (stw) nearly made me quit last year.
Teaching students who dont want to be there (employer/ daddy sends them) managed by unrealistic “yes” men and vilified by the general public.

A student wanted a personal chat at the end of term having gone through some rough time and asked “how do you put up with the abuse, stress etc”

My basic reply is some people are knobs ignore them get on with the job and leave it at wotk when you go home.
A new member of staff is regularly doing +60hrs a week and gets no better thought of.

Edit: that sounds very “black cloud” there are good bits but they are getting fewer.

My partner is a teacher and works long hours too, but she has taken on more responsibility. After the first 2 years the teaching side got easier and it was the responsibility that took up the time. So I would say it does get easier if you want it to.

Teaching is hard but a good job with excellent opportunists to travel. If she is getting down heartened suggest to her to go teach abroad for a year or two. My girlfriend did HK in a international school. Total pay was about the same but lower tax, there was a housing allowence and the life style was great fun, less form filling. She met many who made a long term thing out of the travelling teacher. Got to earn good money all over the world and have their accommodation payed for!

I’ve skipped to the end of this thread

If she is teaching A-level Psychology as 1 person team then she needs to find some experienced teachers to help her work on her work load

I’m lucky with where i work (a sixth form college). Yes we have pressure for results but i do almost nothing that is not worth while. With post 16 kids it is possible to reduce the burdens of the job if you are allowed the flexibility to do so

I find the teaching bit of the day rewarding but exhausting. But I’m not spending huge hours out of work

I’m one of 3 teachers in my college that train other teachers and run work shops on all kinds of things

Here is an example that came up in one of the sessions where we were talking about getting students to respond to feed back. Lots of staff felt they were up all night writing comments that students never read.

What the head of department does is read the students work. He only writes a bread of dog as feedback. (next week it’ll be a country)

When he get into class he gives back the work and says. Spaniels sit on this table, Boxers on this table

Each table then gets a brief description of the weakness in their essay, say incorrect use of paragraphs and a short task to ensure they do better next time.

He has saved hours and the students make better progress

BTEC marking is the killer where i work. So another colleague and I are working with a BTEC course manager on electronic submission and single click comment banks. You see a poorly scaled graph so you click a button and it automatically adds a comment explaining whats wrong and how to correct it

So in summary i think she should try quietly talking to experienced staff about how they achieve work life balance where she works. Also consider working some where else

In the interest of balance I should point out that I did finish yesterday. Straight down the pub after work for an extended drinking session and meal out. I was dead miserable in February and March…

What the head of department does is read the students work. He only writes a bread of dog as feedback. (next week it’ll be a country)

When he get into class he gives back the work and says. Spaniels sit on this table, Boxers on this table

Each table then gets a brief description of the weakness in their essay, say incorrect use of paragraphs and a short task to ensure they do better next time.

He has saved hours and the students make better progress

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