4 ms·

What does the her schedule look like exactly? She's in the classroom teaching for 8 hours straight (minus lunch)? This reads a lot like people who make excuses

What does the her schedule look like exactly? She's in the classroom teaching for 8 hours straight (minus lunch)? This reads a lot like people who make excuses for not having time to exercise. I get that some positions will require you to put in work outside of work hours, but to say 'has zero time' seems like a bit of an excuse.

pjleonhardt 8y ago
Not the OP, but my wife is a teacher and has one 50 minute prep during her day. She teaches 7 different classes. Most days the school can't find enough substitute teachers and she ends up having to sub for another class during her one prep hour.
kaitai 8y ago
Well, that's actually true in a lot of schools in the US -- over lunch you have cafeteria duty and right after school there's the patrolling pick-up/busses and the after school clubs...
atombender 8y ago
She has a short (45min?) planning period to start her day with her co-teacher, but as I understand it, it's nowhere enough. After that, her classes run back to back, yes. She has one meager lunch break lasting something like 15 minutes -- she actually started drinking Soylent for lunch because she doesn't have time for anything more complicated than that plus an apple. She gets up at 6:30am and doesn't really take time to eat breakfast either. It all sounds unbelievably stressful to me. It's very different from my own privileged life as a software developer.
- kojeovo 8y ago
  Damn, that's pretty ridiculous. Teachers have it a lot better in Canada from what I gather. At least in my area.
kakarot 8y ago
At least in America, most teachers are expected to take home work and spend a large portion of time outside of the strict 6-8 school day doing lesson planning, grading, etc. Their wages are quickly approaching what you would expect at a fry cook position yet Wendy's doesn't give you four hours of extra homework a night. We are headed for a giant education crisis because we overwork and underpay under-qualified teachers. Those of us who cannot afford to keep their kids in private or home school will have it rough finding quality education for their kids.
- tomohawk 8y ago
  All of the most successful teachers I had placed tight boundaries on when they worked. They were organized, fast, and efficient. One history teacher I had only ever gave essay tests. He would have them all graded by 4pm. As one class was taking the exam, he would grade the previous class's essays. He had been a colonel in the army, and so had learned how to be ruthlessly efficient. One of the best teachers I had. Similarly, had a neighbor who had been a colonel and became a realtor when he retired. He way outworked everyone else, including realtors with many years of experience. He was accustomed to slamming through all the paperwork quickly and carried that to his realtor gig. I have known many teachers who were never trained to be efficient or organized, and who did not anticipate the paperwork load that comes with the job. They would struggle under the paperwork load due to this. But, what do we expect from a system run by government administrators with little or no transparency or accountability. The administrators pile on the paperwork, because that is what means quality to them. That is what they do.
  - BoiledCabbage 8y ago
    Comments like these frequently crack me up. Paraphrasing: > Teachers are terrible because they work at a government job. People don't learn anything good from working in a government job. The most successful teacher I knew he already knew how to be efficient so he was successful. And where did he learn that? Oh a former Colonl? You mean from a government job? It always reminds me of the signs you see people holding, saying "The government had better keep it's hands off my medicare"

pjleonhardt 8y ago

Not the OP, but my wife is a teacher and has one 50 minute prep during her day. She teaches 7 different classes. Most days the school can't find enough substitute teachers and she ends up having to sub for another class during her one prep hour.

kaitai 8y ago

Well, that's actually true in a lot of schools in the US -- over lunch you have cafeteria duty and right after school there's the patrolling pick-up/busses and the after school clubs...

atombender 8y ago

She has a short (45min?) planning period to start her day with her co-teacher, but as I understand it, it's nowhere enough. After that, her classes run back to back, yes. She has one meager lunch break lasting something like 15 minutes -- she actually started drinking Soylent for lunch because she doesn't have time for anything more complicated than that plus an apple. She gets up at 6:30am and doesn't really take time to eat breakfast either. It all sounds unbelievably stressful to me. It's very different from my own privileged life as a software developer.

kojeovo 8y ago
Damn, that's pretty ridiculous. Teachers have it a lot better in Canada from what I gather. At least in my area.

kakarot 8y ago

At least in America, most teachers are expected to take home work and spend a large portion of time outside of the strict 6-8 school day doing lesson planning, grading, etc. Their wages are quickly approaching what you would expect at a fry cook position yet Wendy's doesn't give you four hours of extra homework a night. We are headed for a giant education crisis because we overwork and underpay under-qualified teachers. Those of us who cannot afford to keep their kids in private or home school will have it rough finding quality education for their kids.

tomohawk 8y ago
All of the most successful teachers I had placed tight boundaries on when they worked. They were organized, fast, and efficient. One history teacher I had only ever gave essay tests. He would have them all graded by 4pm. As one class was taking the exam, he would grade the previous class's essays. He had been a colonel in the army, and so had learned how to be ruthlessly efficient. One of the best teachers I had. Similarly, had a neighbor who had been a colonel and became a realtor when he retired. He way outworked everyone else, including realtors with many years of experience. He was accustomed to slamming through all the paperwork quickly and carried that to his realtor gig. I have known many teachers who were never trained to be efficient or organized, and who did not anticipate the paperwork load that comes with the job. They would struggle under the paperwork load due to this. But, what do we expect from a system run by government administrators with little or no transparency or accountability. The administrators pile on the paperwork, because that is what means quality to them. That is what they do.
- BoiledCabbage 8y ago
  Comments like these frequently crack me up. Paraphrasing: > Teachers are terrible because they work at a government job. People don't learn anything good from working in a government job. The most successful teacher I knew he already knew how to be efficient so he was successful. And where did he learn that? Oh a former Colonl? You mean from a government job? It always reminds me of the signs you see people holding, saying "The government had better keep it's hands off my medicare"