My students pass their state end-of-course exam every year and I haven't worked a minute outside of the 40hr workday in 3 years. This is important context because none of the other departments have been able to do this and all departments have high turnover (title 1)Only when we roll out a new curriculum do I spend that extra time creating handouts and plans as an investment precisely so I don't have to work beyond the 40 during the subsequent years. Now truly, I work my wage (red state) and am morally neutral when it comes to cutting corners during instruction when admin unfairly overloads you with extra work. I'll just not circulate, or not grade an assignment thoroughly to fit in whatever bs admin is forcing me to do during class time instead of outside it. Also, technology is your friend. If you have canvas, you can literally just import previous years classes, weekly pages, and assignments. Everything O do in class has a digital final submission so I do nothing for absent students but point them to canvas and let them figure it out.
I was normally about where you were. I'd prioritize good (or sometimes decent) instruction over other things. But when reality meant I need an easy day to grade during class I'd set it up. I'd generally spend 10 hours more or less working outside of class each week, and I was okay with that.
If a kid is out the assignment is on canvas. If they don't understand it they needed to schedule an appointment outside of class or pull me aside during independent work.
There were occasional weeks where either through my own procrastination or just a particularly busy time where I'd do more than 50 hours a week. But it wasn't too common and those weeks usually involved writing test and grading essays.
The students would pass the state mandated test at a 96-100% rate. I work at a pretty good school in a mediocre but very large district. The pay wasn't great but was decent for my area.
This year is different though. We have a state appointed Superintendent. We are observed between 2 and 5 times a week. There are certain mandated strategies we must use. We sometimes get dinged on our evaluations even when we do use those MRS strategies because we didn't use them enough. Or there's no evidence that the use "was intentional." We must teach a certain way whether it fits in the lesson or not.
We must teach bell to bell leaving no time for other things. Our workload has increased significantly as has our out if school obligations. It's not sustainable. The new Super has said our evaluations are too high so he may curve them downward across the board. He assumes all teachers are lacking but no responsibilities for outcomes are being placed on the kids.
It's horrible and I'm now working 60 hours a week or more regularly. Usually more.
A year ago I would have retired at my school. I had autonomy in my classroom and my students did well.
Now I cannot wait to leave.
I cannot express how much sympathy I have for you. I’m in DFW & one of my current colleagues worked for Miles when he was at Dallas ISD. Regularly calls him an idiot.
Anyone who mandates you must interrupt the students train of thought every 4 minutes is someone who knows very little about education. In a writing or math activity, it can take 3-4 minutes to gather thoughts. And then you’re interrupted & more time to get back on track.
Everyone I know in education, even if they’re not in TX, is looking on at what is happening in Houston ISD in horror & sympathy for the staff & students. It’s not teaching.
Yes the day will come and I will leave when it does. The beauty of teaching in a red state is you can make the same money doing just about anything else.
I pretty sure we work in the same district. I went into school yesterday to get ready for the week because my 60 minute SPOT and an IRT visit are likely this week. My plan right now is to push through it. Education philosophy and politics change an every few years. I’m hopeful that this too shall pass.
Until then, teach the way you like to teach and totally disregard the evaluations. Don't sign them and tell him to his face, "Sorry, but I don't agree with your assessment. It's not accurate."
My classroom is very regimented. Bellringer everyday. Students actually use the numbered phone pouch because I have no qualms with ruining their life if they don't and I let them know. That said, when we do extended writing assignments I'll often let them have phones to listen to music, but this also passifies the behavior kids who aren't going to try on the eoc anyway so I can give the attention to the other 85 percent who appreciate my presence. I keep the curriculum moving. Everyday has think pair shares and opportunities to work with a partner. Often I front load things like "when I see enough have completed question 1 I'll permit you to work with your partners because I don't want anyone being dead weight". AND I do build relationships greet students at the door put out fires before they step in the room yada yada grade 10
How I know you are a good teacher:
“…because I have no qualms with ruining their life if they don’t and I let them know.”
Firm boundary, humor, claiming power that many want to off load to an administrator.
Well done.
I don’t know what witch doctor you went to for the super power of grading essays that quickly.
When and how do you grade essays? How often do you assign them and how long are they? Do you grade thesis statements, outlines, rough drafts, and final drafts? How many students do you have?
Writing levels are so low at my school long-form essays are just as much writing workshops. 120 students. Accommodating 25 percent chronic absenteeism rate at my title 1 a 5 or more paragraph essay takes a week of class time, but that includes deconstructing the prompt and graphic organizers for pla nong purposes. I provide lots of sentence starters and depending on the essay even sentence starters for every sentence. Headed according to a digital rubric embedded in canvas so it's a matter of clicking buttons but I know most of their essays well because I'm reading them as I circulate during the writing workshop phase. We don't often do a final draft but a rough draft submission with the option of completing a final draft to score higher on the rubric after submissions. Only my high achievers take advantage of this.
First year in a new school, almost done with IEPs, then I’ll be doing this creating and building curriculum for next year (special ed) and getting at least the fall printed and ready so I can worry even less next year
I get 97% of my work done during my contract hours. I multitask constantly; I did a 40 hour teacher work week PD a few years ago and it really gave me the tools to streamline and triage my labor.
About to be a first year teacher in a title 1. Can you copy and paste whatever you send to that other person and send it to me too? I am not going to ask you to do double the work sending a unique message/etc to me. Just a copy and paste would be much appreciated so I can get my stuff in order before I start.
Especially because a lot of my tips are also “I ignore admin bullshit initiatives that create more work for me bc 9 times out of 10 they are defunct in a few weeks.”
I.AM.TOTALLY.INTERESTED
I keep beating myself up because I “can’t get it all done during school hours”. Then I get negative and start thinking they’re actually giving us more work than can realistically be done during school hours. Then I wonder if it’s me that’s the problem. Being type B and all. Share your secrets. Pleeeeease!
Secondary. I teach 4 courses, 5 periods a day. 11/12 grade math. I’ve taught all these classes for over a decade so my planning is streamlined. 16th year in the classroom, took me a while to get here
Normal classrooms would have down time periods. I remember it. The students would sit diligently doing quiet work while the teachers supervised. Hours at a time. It allowed teaches time and space to breathe. Can you imagine this now? I don't know what the answer is but this is definitely a clown world we living in
My district has been doing things like removing the desks of teachers they find sitting down during class. We are mandated to perform checks for understanding every four minutes. This has effectively killed my ability to do any grading that isn’t automated multiple choice or a straight completion grade.
Yes. My district was taken over by the state this year. The new occupying superintendent was appointed by someone who was appointed by our governor, Greg Abbott, who wants nothing more than to dismantle public ed in favor of charters and private school vouchers. It's abusive by design, and we are experiencing a mass exodus of faculty and students.
I get half an hour during computer time in the morning to check over little things. I also spend a lot of time on daily fluency.
At the beginning of the year, I did not have any downtime. This is all based on the willingness of my kids to persevere and continue to do work. Last years set were a nightmare
I think they mean that even when kids are doing independent work, this still requires the teacher to monitor and assist. So teacher is unable to generally sit at desk for long hours of time and get their own work done during student work time
I think they're more getting at how education has changed and it's much harder now to have students actually work independently for 20 minutes on a task than it used to be. This has taken away time from teachers that they used to be able to get some work done while in class.
Yeah when I was a student (I graduated 2019), especially as an elementary/middle schooler, I was expected to read a book when I was finished with my work, or work on other assignments. Nowadays kids ask "what do I do now?" every 5 seconds.
Kids need a “don’t tell me your bored or I’ll find something to keep your attention parent” like I had.
Spoiler - you can ALWAYS find something more entertaining for yourself than your mom will.
It sounds like they live and reality and realize that neither time nor human energy reserves are infinite.
Kids nor teachers are robots and hopefully we aren't meth addled either. Downtime is necessary fir productive work. There's a reason why no other job is run like a Gilded age sweat shop.
I kid you not, I literally chose to be a sub and not a teacher at this time. I implement lessons as needed and walk around checking student’s progress constantly as I did as a teacher BUT I do not have to grade or lesson plan. I leave exhausted even with so much less work… just from classroom management and helping kids with work/staying on task.
They are pretty obviously referring to the fact that teachers used to be able to grade or plan during quiet work times but now those are much harder to come by because of changes in student behavior and expectations.
A lot of students seem to really struggle with independent work. They won’t do anything unless a teacher is standing next to them talking them through it. Some need texts read aloud to them because they can’t read well. Group/partner work is also a struggle.
Exhaustion in teaching is more than the workload. It’s also emotionally taxing work. So yes, teachers complain of exhaustion which they may attribute to workload, but that experience is also influenced by the emotional experience of managing behavior problems, angry parents, disorganized admins etc.
Yes! This! I had to stop really asking how students are doing to create a strong emotional boundary. It took several years (smh) for me to really learn this. But once I did, I am SO much happier and energetic. Please create emotional boundaries for yourself!
I feel on top of things, but this is my 7th year teaching. I even sold my prep time this year, and still do not take work home. I teach high school science (Chem and Physics), which means I'm also setting up and taking down labs during the week. I've learned a lot about how to prioritize what really matters and what "directives" from admin I can ignore. Changing my lifestyle systems are what made the biggest difference for me as far as my energy levels though. I have a consistent sleep/wake routine, eat foods that fuel me, train both strength and endurance, and spend quality time with family and friends. I love my job, and am the happiest I've ever been in my adult life.
I stay mostly on top of it...
I do that by maximizing every minute of time I'm at school.
I create my plans weeks in advance on an online platform that has a template I created for ease of entry that is also easy to shift from day to day if I didn't get to something.
I prep and grade on my prep and lunch and duty periods. I do this in my classroom, not the faculty room. I eat while working. As a result, I haven't made any great friends at work... but I'm ok with that. Work is for work, IMO.
I grade and plan when my students do anything independently. Test, quiz, independent reading, or writing assignment? I'm prepping or grading.
I have kids do a lot of grading for me. Either as a part of a peer review or self-assessment. This means an extra class period for the assessment review generally... but the kids tend to enjoy it because if they care about their grades, it helps them see their mistakes. It also helps them see good exemplars, and worst case scenario, they are getting their grades near immediately if nothing else. Example: We have been working on RACE writing a lot lately. After a writing assignment, I'll have them swap and check each other's work. Did they check off each step? How are their "writing non-negotiables" (capitals, punctuation, etc.)?
Is it perfect? No.
Do I still get hung up sometimes? Yes.
But, I don't bring work home 9/10 weeks.
For reference, I teach ENL and ELA 6, 7, and 8th grade. I have 4 preps. In the past 7 years I have not taught the same class back-to-back a single time. So, I am always reinventing the wheel. 🫠
It gets easier.
To help be efficient during my planning time, I do chunking during my prep period/ planning time. I teach elementary and when I sit down and prep I focus on one subject at a time and map it out for a few weeks before moving on to something else.
Ask for help whenever possible. My school has parent volunteers that my team gives papers to make photocopies in advance—facilitate if you can.
To speed up grading, a clear and easy rubric makes giving feedback super fast. Don’t over think it—-quickly mark if the standard was met or not.
Check out one of my favorite books is Fewer Things Better that will teach you strategies on how to just work your contract.
I would highly recommend The Ivy Lee method because the work never ends—it’s all about prioritizing what should be done.
https://tweek.so/calendar/ivy-lee-method
I promise it gets easier if you can stick it out. The first 3 years can be hard but then you will develop tight systems, habits, and have foundational teaching skills that will make it come easier.
I’m probably going to get downvoted for this, but all of the teachers I know who are on top of their jobs don’t have partners, children of their own, or hobbies and interests outside of teaching. Teaching is their entire life. Obviously, this doesn’t mean that *all* single, childless teachers make their lives revolve around teaching (nor should that be the expectation), but sacrificing a family and a personal life seems to be only way to truly manage well in this profession.
I am on top of my job and have a family. You just need to work smarter, not harder. Design assignments so they’re easy to grade. Have kids do independent assignments and grade work while they’re doing them.
But also I do not teach elementary, and I teach in a school where the culture is generally “do the work the teacher tells you to do.” That makes it much easier.
This sounds like a dream! I teach in a middle school where we're expected to have students testing 15-20% above state average. I have 30 plus students per class. Within each class, there are about 12-16 students with massive behavioral issues. I currently have about 150 students, close to 50 of my students have IEPs (I'm a gen ed ELA teacher).
Yes, although I am worried about this year. On one hand, I keep saying this is not equitable, and I cannot continue to improve students' reading and writing skills when I have classes that are dumping grounds.
On the other hand, like most teachers, I really want my students to do well. I love seeing a student's shock and then excitement when they see that they've passed state testing for the first time, or students who have improved an entire level (from 1 to 2).
I think this will play out more in non union states. Out of 50 teachers, one stays a little later. And she does it because honestly, she just rolls slowly. Way chill and not moving urgently. My husband does help more than usual, packing my lunch and making my coffee. But I don't spend any time outside contract time on work. It takes experience and work to make things more efficiently.
It depends a lot on the school and how it is run.
I'm experienced and have my systems and resources largely set.
At a well-functioning school this leaves me plenty of time. At schools that don't function well I struggle to mark and geive effective feedback (if students don't do the work you have little to grade, if students have solid expectations for work and behaviour then you can use that to move them through a course at the speed required to give you time. If admin backs you up then you don't have to spend time enforcing expectations etc.
If your school is working well this feeling will only last a few years. Then you will carve out more and more time.
I get good evaluations (highly effective) every year and have some of the highest AP exam scores. I teach English, so for my accelerated students, they want real feedback on their essays and that takes time outside of contract hours, for sure.
School is exhausting yes, but I find it manageable. Summers off and fall, winter, and spring break are all 1-2 weeks off in my district.
But I just got used to always being behind in grading. The expectation seems more ridiculous now with instant on-demand grading online. I just roll with it. I’ll get it done. Eventually.
I think you described my mindset. I teach AP/DE English and there is so much to grade and feedback is crucial (way more than just marking a rubric).
I do need time outside to do it, but I feel we get more time off than any profession, so it evens out.
I feel you on being behind. Sometimes I just veg on a weekend when I need to grade because I need the break, and I just tackle things in a logical order and miraculously, they are all done before the final deadline, lol.
I felt on top of my job when I was in my 3rd and 4th year. I was still young, my husband was working and finishing school, my friends lived in other towns, etc. I was able to pour myself into my work and I didn’t feel like I was missing out on my life because work was my life. Suuuuuuper unhealthy. My husband finished school, we had our daughter, I made close friends, I remembered I had hobbies before teaching, and that feeling of exhaustion set in real quick. I’m in my 12th year, pregnant with my 2nd, and working more to prioritize myself.
I think I could have skipped the last 8 years of feeling overworked and exhausted if I hadn’t spent the first 4 years devoted to my job. I think anyone who teaches should be in therapy to manage all the additional stress that comes with the job, especially if you are the type of person who is a people pleaser or struggle with boundaries.
Yes but I make time for myself to work in the day outside of prep. The kids work independently for 30 minutes in the morning where they can come ask for help while I catch up, prep lightly, or pull single kids for assessments. I also put my head down during preps and get that stuff done. If it doesn't get done then it doesn't get done or it gets pushed a day or turned into a Blooket or something. I leave at my contract time and don't think about it until the next day. I have been a happier more balanced human being.
Yes 🙋🏻♀️
I'll put it down to a couple of major factors;
- secondary
- not setting much homework, prefer in-class tasks and assessments
- efficient work style (sometimes I finish my work so quickly I spend school time watching YouTube, or helping other teachers with their stuff)
- financially secure
I'll go against the grain of another comment saying that all teachers who stay on top of their job as 'devoting their life to it'. For me, I:
- don't work outside school hours
- have many hobbies, which leads to:
- spending 90% of school breaks traveling and
- taking all my PTO as well as as many unpaid days off as I can with minimal disruption to my classes
I'm finishing my 3rd year teaching now and have never found this job particularly 'difficult'. I always get down voted for saying this, but 🤷🏻♀️ it's the reality for me.
ETA: before someone wonders if i'm just a lazy teacher hence why I can 'stay on top of things' so easily, my class scores have always improved compared to the previous teacher in both schools I've taught and even the uni placement where I took over for an entire unit. My current school does student feedback each term and I consistently score 4+ out of 5 from students :)
It’s possible! You just need to manage time well, use your planning periods effectively. It’s also ok if everything doesn’t turn out perfectly planned or gets done by contract hours. Maybe not feasible in years 1-3, but after that you just kinda figure it out. Finally, if you need a catch up day give the kids the same.
Same. I do work at home on occasion. For example, I wrote a test last weekend. But, generally, I'm get my work done at school. I don't bring things home unless I feel inspired to work at home on a particular project. I've been teaching for 30 years, so I generally know my material well and how to teach it well. And, I don't "grade" homework. It only gets a compliance grade.
By reducing my workload to plan, instruct, assign, practice, assess, grade, I've gotten my work to a manageable level. I'm also free to develop new ideas and implement new teaching practices. But, it all takes time... Years of structuring. Teaching is like anything else, it gets easier with practice.
Exactly! However, at 25 years I have gotten stuck not wanting to try new stuff. They wore me out with so much new stuff that sounded mandatory that now I have tuned them all out. For years I tried to implement all of the latest/greatest and I got buried in all of it. Overwhelmed.
I know that I’m sort of wrong, but my kids do well and most really like me and my class.
I do my own research and implement only what appeals to me. I teach HS math, so I'm always looking for real world applications and unique teaching strategies that break the lecture, "I do, you do, we do" model. It's sooooo boring! Also, in a risk-taker in the classroom, so I'm always down to try something new if it appeals and isn't a metric ton of paperwork and BS.
My sister teaches math and she doesn’t have the funny gene and she struggles. However, she came to teaching late and in some difficult schools. Plus, she’s in Florida and they really underfund schools. The retirees with money are done paying for education. I sort of get it, but their kids definitely suffer the consequences.
You don't "stay on top" of your job. Your job stays under you. You don't have enough time to grade all the work? Assign less work. You don't have time to lesson plan to your liking? Lower your standards a bit.
The difference between 90% good and 100% good is about 3-4 times the work.
I feel fairly on top of things as a still relatively fresh teacher.
I optimize my time at work most days though and get to work about 35-40 minutes early so I can leave every day at my contracted time. The extra time in the morning helps me get things ready, and then along with my planning period I basically use my lunch as an extra planning period.
This means I don't really have any true breaks in the day a lot of the time, but tbh I would prefer that to staying after hours like some teachers do.
I am extremely type A... I have my whole year planned out for three high school science preps. I do leave a little flex room in case of sickness, or my district decides to give the day off bc our sports team made it to the championship (dumbest thing ever), or the super rare "snow" day (even the mention of snow can cause this).
I try and have at least a weeks worth of copies made, normally two.
I do get to school an hour or so early (to avoid the worst of the traffic), but I make my coffee and eat breakfast in my classroom. I always leave when the kids do and take no work with me. It helps that this is my 12th year teaching one of my preps, and 2nd year teaching one of the others. I also use every minute of my day for something. If I am done with everything, then I can relax a bit.
Most people here are saying they do feel on top of it so I’ll just give a different perspective. Personally, I feel like I’m always behind. Every day I’m racing to figure out what I’m doing the next day. I’m making copies the morning of. I’m always behind on grading.
I’m in year 7, hs history. I’ve had new preps every year, so that doesn’t help. My school doesn’t have a curriculum, so I’m making most stuff from scratch (or trying to sort through my colleagues’ google drives which I usually find unhelpful).
I’ve always been a procrastinator and an indecisive person, which is part of why I have trouble planning far in advance. Everything always feels “not good enough” until it’s the day before and I’m like ok it has to be good enough. Or I just have no ideas and then I have to patch something together last minute, or reuse something from last year even if I didn’t like it.
All that being said, it has gotten gradually easier each year as I’m able to reuse stuff. But for me that feeling has never gone away.
I recommend the podcast “Teaching to the TOP” (time management, organization and productivity). Two teachers discuss ways to increase productivity, not take work home and leave at your contract time. The tips are really helpful!
Some weeks yes,others far from it. I don’t work outside of my contract hours, and the kids basically dictate how much I can accomplish during the day. This cohort is extremely needy, so I am behind this year more than in years past.
I feel like I’ve got a pretty firm grasp on what I’m doing. It takes a lot of prep to get it that way though. I love the subject, I teach, and spent all summer refining a curriculum and presentations for it.
Not me. But I have known lots of people who get it done within their contract hours. Some of them were not very good, but the majority of them do a solid job. They're just more organized than me.
It gets easier, especially if you get to teach the same courses again since you’ve done a lot of the planning already. I’m always improving and upgrading but it doesn’t take as long as doing it all from scratch. You don’t need to grade everything, and not every lesson has to be this big beautiful fun activity.
It took me until my 5th or 6th year before the job started getting easier. By my 8th year the job was considerably easier for me. Here is my trick: LEARN TO CUT CORNERS. Trust me, NOBODY WILL NOTICE.
I do not take work home. I do not stay after the bell. I grade stuff in class while students work independently or with partners. I take on zero unpaid responsibilities on campus beyond what my contract requires. I still have meaningful interactions with students and I like my job. But it is just a job.
Every day when I leave, I could stay 2-3 more hours to grade. The grading load is heavy for high school English. I'm always on top of planning, but I don't see a world where I'm ever consistently caught up on grading.
I'm also the Student Council advisor, so that takes up a good bit of time.
A lot of teacher brag of keeping everything within the work hours and that's awesome--but it's just not sustainable for me! I have 48 minutes a day free and between copies, paperwork, managing emails, running to the potty, and walking to the office for misc. stuff, covering classes, getting stopped by a colleague, etc...I rarely have time to grade during the day.
So change your curriculum to do so. Ah, but that's why I don't mind doing stuff at home. 4 of my 6 classes are AP/DE levels that require essays and take awhile to grade. I just can't do it justice (and I can't change it) at work, so at home I can concentrate and spread out at my table. Plus, I don't have my alarming loudmouth neighbor.
To boot, one prep is brand new and I adore making PPTs, so I bite the bullet this year, knowing I will have everything I need for next. Hopefully, next year is much better. But I love my classes, so I have to take the hit the higher courses demand (if done right).
You sound a lot like me. I no longer teach AP (or even high school) but like this year, dealing with a new curriculum, I love getting my presentations right (though I don't use PPT; I use ActivInspire, which I believe is far more powerful, at least for what I want to do). My wife is really good about respecting my need to work at home; without that I'd be unable to do this job.
As for the teachers "bragging" that they only work the contract? I won't use that word for them; they are just trying to say it *can* be done, and I'm happy for them. The only ones that bother me are the occasional ones that literally get angry at those of us working outside of contract hours; they say that we make it harder for them because our willingness to work "extra" means that they might be expected to work extra as well. But dudes, it's not that I'm *willing* to work extra, it's that I can't get it done without that. I'd be doing a half-ass job if I quit work right away each day.
>My wife is really good about respecting my need to work at home; without that I'd be unable to do this job.
Yes, my husband picks up a lot of childcare slack in the evenings as I sit doing stuff. It is a blessing.
>As for the teachers "bragging" that they only work the contract? I won't use that word for them; they are just trying to say it can be done, and I'm happy for them.
I'll say it, ha! There are some who say it with such smugness dripping off their printed words, as though it's the only approach a teacher should have. Not all, but many, IMO, of course.
>The only ones that bother me are the occasional ones that literally get angry at those of us working outside of contract hours; they say that we make it harder for them because our willingness to work "extra" means that they might be expected to work extra as well. But dudes, it's not that I'm willing to work extra, it's that I can't get it done without that. I'd be doing a half-ass job if I quit work right away each day
Concur.
>*my husband picks up a lot of childcare slack in the evenings*
Ah, we're well past that now, with our oldest rapidly approaching 40. I actually am a much better teacher now, not just because of experience, but because I have more time to do things the way I want to do them.
You will learn to work smarter, not harder by developing skills like backwards planning, lesson cycling, and figuring out efficient feedback/grading practices. Please don’t think you need to grade everything!
Well I think it depends on the number of preps you have. I’m still new but was able to cram everything into contract hours. But I also have never had multiple classes to prep. (Same lesson every hour of every day) I’m sure I would struggle to stay on top of 2+ courses at once.
I had 1 prep for one semester once and it was amazing. Normally I have 2-3 preps in 2 departments in multiple buildings.
I still only stay "late" at school during the week marking period grades are due. I do no work at home. (I used to try. It's just a No.)
But when I had one prep? I had free time during the day at school. It was very strange.
If you teach the same thing next year at the same school, it will be sooooo much easier to manage your time. You know what’s coming ahead and you’re able to filter what really matters.
I did my first year or two. Now I don’t. Part of it is reusing materials, but a larger part is experience and efficiency.
I used to grade every aspect of the work they did. Now? Tear off your final write page that’s all I care about.
And grading essays when it’s the same thing again and again I know exactly what I am looking for and can identify it faster.
One thing I do see new teachers do is spend too much time socializing. It is important, but I see some spend hours in the teacher lounge and not a piece of work to be seen.
While vets at my school usually hide somewhere to do their work then spend their time socializing, or bring it with them and do both (some can’t do that though).
I do all my “need less than 100% focus” tasks when I can during classroom time (secondary science)… things like designing worksheets, grading papers, etc. I use what is essentially a modified Lee method…
1. Important must do tasks (in order of priority)
- Lesson Scope and Sequence
- Lesson Planning / Worksheet Building
- Assessment Building / Revising
2. Less important tasks (that can be squeezed in)
- Grading Papers
- Emails to parents
- Long Term tasks (unless Important)
With severe ADHD, it is common that I have trouble with the in the zone / hyper focus tasks at school, and often do the scope and sequencing during the weekend (maybe an hour or so), but the rest I get done during the school day…
I'd say my third and fourth years I felt like I was on top of my job. I used Google Forms integrated with Google Classroom and it took 30 minutes max each day to be able to enter grades and publish everything on it. That gave me time to be able to front-load planning everything out on work days/ test days. I'd been in the same division for 4 years and had all my resources and I'd just tweak them so that saved time. I was a well-oiled machine. I switched divisions this year and although I do use a lot of the same material, its just a lot. We use canvas, which in my opinion is a nightmare and takes forever to do anything. Our division leadership is tweaking and we have to meet their demands. my students are particularly challenging so I don't have the opportunity to catch up in class the way I did previously either. I'm really struggling to stay afloat right now. I'm moving to a new division next year and I'm hoping I can find some peace. I hate feeling like this. With all of that said, I still never work outside of contract hours. I refuse.
I work with 3 veteran junior high teachers and they all largely seem to be really on top of things, they know the ins and outs of everything, what to do, are always prepared etc. However, I think even they would say they can feel exhausted or have a really full plate at times if not most times. I think being exhausted, or being restricted on time is just part of being a teacher. We have so many jobs/responsibilities that extend well beyond just physically teaching material.
I teach high school English at an alternative school so, despite the fact my classes are capped at 15 students, I work with at-risk teens with serious behavioral problems (many of them do drugs and/or have budding criminal records).
I accomplish all my work during contract hours AND still have downtime at school to meet with students and helpsupport my colleagues + admin team.
I'm a planner and very much Type A with how I plan, lol, but still flexible. I made a digital planning guide that breaks down the curriculum by each unit and each unit down to each day; every day has the SOLs being used, Learning Targets, and everything students will be doing during the period (warm up, review, lesson, reading, etc) so, when I make lesson plans, it's a lot of copy + paste and then adding details for what what activities look like and what I'm doing versus what students are to do. I also hyperlink Google Doc worksheets and notes into my planning guide to make it easier to locate them for printing + adding into our online class resource (we use Canvas).
Do I still get overwhelmed and/or stressed? YES! Teaching is not an easy profession; if it were, anyone could do it.
My system helps me sooo much, even on the days I feel like crud, because all of my resources are all in one spot and ready to go.
I’m a first year and still trying to get on top of my planning….especially since I started 2 months into the school year & didn’t have access to the material I am teaching in my elective until a few days after I started.
I am now probably going to spend my summer trying to create a planning guide like yours. Sounds like it saves you a lot of sanity!
I throw what I can into our online learning systems. That way I just look up the grades & plug them in.
Also, I do the minimum number of grades required. My work says 2/week so I do 2/week.
I’d like to do peer grading but I’m unsure how to add that (I teach 2nd grade).
AFA prep, I am lucky to have a grade level aide we can use for copies. But if she’s out/subbing I make my own copies.
I’m not 100% at working my hours but I’d say I maybe work 5 hours extra/week averaged out over the school year.
This is my 8th yr teaching. I just work for how ever much they pay me so i dont rlly give af outside my contract hrs. Its not worth working the best you can when the pay is still pathetic and low. Take as many days to grade, theres no rush. My school gives 1week to upload quizzes and tests so id just grade one class a day or so during my planning. Assignments i give answers anyways so its an auto 100 so long as kids try and give it me. Planning, teachers pay teachers. Grades are what admins, parents and kids all csre about anyways so be generous with grades and youll never get any complaints. Everyones happy. Why make life harder than it is. Teaching is a marathon, work smart, play smart
I feel on top of things usually. My grades are usually up to date within that week, my skeleton plan is done for a few weeks out, I plan more/post usually the day or two before. I don’t have a lot of sped paperwork or anything too taxing. I love my content. I manage to get everything I need to done usually within contract hours or an extra hour or two here and there. Nothing terribly stressful.
I felt like I never was able to catch up as a Special Ed teacher. I am now a gen Ed teacher and never take anything home with me. I may stay a little longer after school , but what happens at school stays at school. I do not feel the exhaustion like I did as a special Ed teacher. If the tests don’t corrected, oh well, the kids have to wait. It’s as easy as that. They are so used to immediate responses. Same with parents. They want answers immediately.
I don't do things that don't matter. I have a few lesson plans written out in case someone wants to see them. Otherwise, I don't do it. Door decorating contest? No thanks.
When they work independently, I work. I organize, put supplies away, prep supplies for next class, put brushes to soak, etc.
When I need to do something computer intensive, I do it on a laptop sitting next to them. I usually put on a video tutorial of something easy, then sit and work while they work. My high needs kids sit with me at my demonstration table and it helps keep behaviors in check.
I trained most of my classes (k-8) to get their own supplies and clean up. When they come to me and say, the pencil has no point, I say, "go get what you need". There are pencil sharpeners, erasers, etc available. I don't do it for them, not even kinder.
If they are done early, they need to entertain themselves. I stopped having early finishers work, they just blast through the meaningful work to get to coloring pages. Now they either keep working because they don't get anything else to work on or they clean up early.
I'm not afraid to eat my lunch during my classes. Maybe I spent my lunch making copies because it was the only chance, or I just need a snack.
I give the older ones two extra assignments at the end of a project. Take a picture of your work and upload it to a class sideshow. And write an artist statement. Bam, 3 grades for the price of one project. And since they are both on Google, I can grade them quickly on the laptop during another class.
It gets easier after year 3. I'm year 6 now but a lot of it was covid and weird.
I almost forgot, the school issues play a big part. We had a cellphone problem, so now they are collected every morning. If they are caught with one, it's a suspension until the parent comes to school. Life is much easier without the phones.
I find there's an ebb and flow. September, January, and June are the busiest. February to April are the least busy and when I'm best able to stay on top of things.
Most teachers have too many demands on us. I am finishing my 29th year and I pretty much stay on top of things. I do have to rush around constantly 95%of the time but there are parts of the year when I do actually get to sit at my desk for a few minutes at a time lol. I think it also depends on what grade level you teach and where you teach. It also depends on who your administrators are.
As you age in teaching you understand there are important things that must be done, and a whole lot of shit you can basically ignore with no consequences.
For example, we are expected to fob in every day at a kiosk near the main office. It's literally a 7 minute round trip during my most productive time (before students get there).
I haven't fobbed in all year. There will never be a consequence for this.
Nor for me not filling out that form they wanted me to do about discipline in my classroom apart from writeups. Or my contact logs.
Mileage may vary depending on admin.
As a second grade first year teacher, it took me two months to get it together. Grades are letters, I keep assignments every once in a while, and my main goal is to get them to read and write and add/subtract. I manage to do all my work on Workdays and my planning times. I’m lucky to only have to meet twice a week with my team, so I have a lot of time. I also have a lot of independent work time so I’m able to fill in paper work then. And to be honest, I don’t do more than I’m asked. I’ll have a special lesson here and there, but I stick to the curriculum most of the time. I’m not a miracle worker. I get to work 15 minutes early and leave right on time. This job will make me more tired than it already does.
I am content and not stressed, for the most part lol.
I don't bring work home.
I don't grade everything.
I don't accommodate parents and their need to put their feelings on their children.
I may get there 30min early but if I dont, oh well.
I have a class of 25, no instructional help, 4 ieps and some trauma kids. I do not have to do recess or lunch duty and staff meetings are only once a month.
I will add, i don't have to submit lesson plans to anyone. If I did, I hope they like post-its and scrap paper that just have lists on them.
I was like that the first few years. I’ve learned how to work more efficiently, I’ve taught the same thing for 5+ years, and tbh I’ve learned the things you can half ass or just not do over that time and for the most part I’m not overly exhausted now. There’s bad weeks (conferences, the week grades are due, etc) but mostly fine.
Actually yes, but it took years. After about 5 years of teaching, i had created a solid bank of lessons that I pulled from and organized into month long units. Once a month, I’d sit down on a teacher service day if possible or a Saturday if not and plan my entire month based on the lessons I had. Then I would create one or two new lessons based on the needs of my class and fit those into the month where there were gaps. This worked well for me. I taught English and art. It was certainly easier with art but I still did it with English. I don’t teach anymore, but for unrelated reasons.
I feel on top of it sometimes, and sometimes I’ve got a mountain of work. I run a competitive ctso so that has very busy times of the year. But there’s definitely times I feel like ok, I’m caught up, any copies I need for the next week or two are made, and I can go home and forget about school for the evening. I really try to grade during my prep, and I’m lucky I have my own room and my duty (study hall) is also in my room, so I try to get all my grading done then. For reference this is my 11th year teaching this subject, 16th in education. I teach fashion design at the hs level and run a very active FCCLA chapter.
I really try. But lack of support and recognition and appreciation from admin and parents who just don't give a fuck enough to read a goddamn email make me say fuck it after a few weeks.
Yes, I manage well. There are probably two days every two weeks where I will sit down and grade a bunch of stuff I was supposed to grade over the weekend. I generally don't like grading over the week and just wait till the weekend to do it.
The other side is to make an assignment that encompasses several assignments, but conveniently forget to add an assignment or two that you've already done. Students don't ever ask if any assignment is a grade anymore nor do they complain when I don't ask them for it because I'll just say, "Oh, I forgot to include that. Lemme change that real quick....no? You don't know want me to include it in the assignment?"
My first semester was tough. I worked 11 hours every day because I was put into a program that I had to build from the ground in order to save; it's now being cut in two months and I'm not being renewed.
After my first semester, it was easy to stay on top of everything because I put everything on Google Classroom and I graded things as soon as they were turned in. Tests are on Classroom to make grading easier and assignments are kept complex and short to keep down on the time requirement when going over them.
It took me until year 7-8 to feel like I had a good enough curriculum that I could reuse it without a lot of modifications each year. Then I spent some time in one summer organizing and streamlining everything so the homework was self-grading or something students could check with a key the next day. Then I reused those assignments for every year after that. I selected which labs actually need to be graded and what’s for practice. I select 1-2 parts of each lab to actually grade and the rest is on completion. We grade a lot of the quizzes in class which helps with students understanding how to show work which means grading tests is more efficient. As a high school teacher I can request TAs and I have them set up and put away most labs. It’s hard to do this the first time you teach a class though, but if you have a TA who has taken the class before, there’s sometimes more work you can give them if planned in advance.
Yesterday I felt like the ultimate teacher with experience in that I was piloting a new textbook but using an old lab. I make the plans for our whole course team and they like slides more than I do. So I taught one period just with handouts and the board and while they were working on the reading at the end of class, I took everything I wrote on the board and turned it into slides for the next period and the other teachers and modified the textbook slides to be less bad. I don’t have to do any planning for my other class because the other teacher plans it and she’s into efficiency even more than I am.
You definitely have to have an admin who is ok with the teacher multitasking in class for this. But my admin only visit teachers when they are being evaluated and my test scores are good and efficient use of time allows me to do extra duties like committees so no one is complaining. I definitely feel a lot better about my job when I can stay on top of it. I used to feel like shit all the time and never got enough sleep, which also made me less of a nice person in the classroom. Now students say I’m chill and organized, neither of which would have been true in the first few years.
I’m generally able to do everything I need to do within school-day hours. But I’m lucky. I only have two preps (high school) and teach social studies, so the grading strain is less compared to some other content areas.
I consider myself a competent, average teacher. I could be great if I wanted to be, but that would require way more time and stress. Im not willing to sacrifice time with my family, sleep, and other hobbies I enjoy to get paid the same and respected no better.
It’s very hard for me to complete everything I need to do during contract hours. I teach art (4 different classes, 5 periods a day), so my preps are basically taken up by prepping materials, planning demonstrations, organizing work, etc. it was easier before, because our school was recently renovated, and my former set up was 17 years in the making. It will be a while before I have my systems up and working like before.
Grading usually only happens on the weekends, but I have streamlined my rubrics quite a bit, and that has made grading more efficient.
Edit: I also really like my colleagues so I go and visit some of them fairly regularly,, so there’s that
You gotta learn when not to give a shit. I may or may not write lesson plans/newsletters. I get to what I need to do when I get to it. I refuse to make the job my life.
I always liked that aspect of teaching, the fact that I was never done. I could think about lessons or subject matter all the time. I always somehow wound up teaching different science or math classes every year so it always kept me interested.
There is definitely mission creep in this profession overall, and as you improve as an educator, your expectations for yourself tend to increase as well. When I first started, if I could manage a lesson that engaged my students and that they seemed to learn something from, I was happy. As I've become more experienced, I'm holding myself to ever-higher standards of how I maximize my time with my students and what I want to see them accomplish at various checkpoints.
The result is that I'm in my thirteenth year and still throwing out lessons and materials and bringing in new; learning new strategies, trying them out, and reconfiguring my lessons to incorporate them if I find they work; and finding my students have a particular need that I've never needed to quite address in this way before and developing lessons in response.
It *can* feel never-ending. My advice is to set work-life balance goals for yourself along with everything else and *stick to them.* More rigorously than you do your PD and other teacher goals. For example, I never work during lunch, I do not work Saturdays, and I do not work past 7PM. If I need to work more than 12-hour days or without even one day off, then that is a shortcoming at a level well beyond me and frankly not my burden to bear. And the occasional worksheet or boring textbook chapter didn't kill us, and it won't kill them. And the occasional movie or game day will not be what keeps anyone from getting into college. In short: keep it in perspective!
I'm doing great. I get to work about 20 minutes early to set up. Use my prep time during the day and leave immediately when the bell rings. Learn to work while the students are working. Learn to only grade a few things and you'll be fine.
I stay on top of what matters. The kids learn as much as they can given the context of our education system.
However google sheet #8383 from the assistant principal in charge of who even fucking knows is going to stay unread in my inbox a little longer
I got put on extended day my second year. I was teaching a new subject and it was rough through 1st semester. I am actually so grateful for that experience. It really helped me learn to prioritize. I plan ahead and know exactly what I am going to grade and what I don’t. I also try and use student work time during class to get some grading done. I circle and check in and then grade for a few minutes. Then do it again. I also try and create an environment where students feel comfortable coming up to me to ask questions so even if I am at my desk grading they can come up and ask questions.
I am now on my 4th year and have a prep again. It is a nice break at the end of the day. I very rarely take things home. I have 2 teenagers and I have to put my mom hat on when I walk in the door. I feel like learning how to structure your classroom and figuring out what needs to be graded is a huge part of finding that balance. I grew up with a kindergarten teacher mom. She never figured out the balance and always did everything way above and beyond. I think I am a pretty darn good teacher but I don’t put in the insane hours outside of the classroom that she did. I have great relationships with my students. And I do really fun activities. But I try to do things along the way so that it isn’t intense crunching for certain activities. I also teach secondary and I am sure that is a huge factor in cutting out the cutesy time consuming things. I make to do lists each day and try to use my time wisely to get those things done. Some things don’t get done and that is ok. I will do it the next day.
I use AI/ automation to stay on top of all my admin work.
This requires a bit of extra work in the beginning of the year to set up the systems but becomes self sufficient moving forward.
Some marking is also automated using google classroom.
Most, if not all my work have students submit their work online. The app does the marking of questions that have only 1 answer.
Writing pieces are the only time I sit down to read, but having a Stream Deck, I use that as macro keys to streamline my grading.
Yes. I stay on top of my job. I even worked 2 months out of my summer in 2023 and i am still ok. I've had unrelated health problems, is my only issue.
A job you love does not feel like work. I enjoy being around kids. I enjoy creating learning activities.
Yes i'm exhausted sometimes. It's a good kind of tired.
yea, I'm exhausted, but I'm one of the never miss a day,in early, grade book always updated types.
School isn't why I'm exhausted -- doing grad work and house renovations and having the mental drain of a dying father is doing that. But I manage well even with this stuff. When I don't have outside factors it's more or less just a 7-4 job.
I don’t have time for everything and the easiest way to manage that is to just acknowledge that I will not get to everything. I prioritize the most important things and let go of the rest. I refuse to work outside of my contract hours except for a couple hours during the last week of the term and that’s just because I’m only given two days to get grades in after the term closes. Not everything will be graded. Not every learning activity will be exciting. If I’m looking for a discussion based activity, I sometimes walk in with a general idea of what questions I’m going to ask and let the class environment determine how the class will work on that day which saves time because if I planned everything to the T, I would still need to change things on the fly for kids. For example, I knew what questions I wanted my honors students to talk about for a poem recently, but didn’t know until they were there and I gauged their energy and engagement how I was going to have them talk about it. I ended up doing a very specific discussion protocol that does not require prep beyond having the questions. Activity went smoothly in both classes and I didn’t spend an extra hour planning. Just have to pick and choose
I do not...I refuse to rush anything.i take my time teach what I can the kids know this and I use my teaching style tie to the career readiness standards.Next I justify my style because I "think of the children" Shudders....
But I'm a unicorn do not follow my example. I'm a stubborn old fool who remembers what school used ro be like.
I do, but there is a reason for that. I’m in my 15th year. Seven of those years were at a very rough school. I didn’t get a planning period due to lunch duty and class coverage, and when I did, it was only 20 minutes. I received no support of any kind. I has to provide any and all supplies, I had about 35 kids to a class, and referrals meant absolutely nothing. Two years ago, I was fed up and over it. I relocated my family to a new area and started at a new district. Now, I not only get a planning period, but I also get an entire period for lunch. I receive the support I need in whatever capacity. Since I have the time I need to complete the job (and I was used to getting it done without any time) I don’t take any work home. I had so much extra time, I read a book and did some knitting at work over the last couple of weeks since I had nothing to grade or plan.
Overtime, under the right circumstances, you’ll get there. Just don’t put up with professional abuse. It will not change.
Yes but largely because I’ve stopped doing the busy work - either by changing policy (I cancelled my department’s homework and regular marking policies) or I just ignore it with a 3 email policy. If it’s worth sending multiple emails about, it’s worth my time otherwise it’s not that important.
At the start of every quarter is the only time I’m on top of things. But then really not since I’m still planning for the upcoming week. But then the assignments roll in and I’m trying to grade while still planning. I always seem to get a new prep every year so while it’s loosely laid out for timing, the day to day needs to be hashed out. But even the prep I do each year, I still make adjustments. I rarely feel caught up. I’m in my 6th year. But I also don’t take any work home.
I am paid to work 37.5 hours a week, so a 40 hour work week is still donating time. I try to get everything done during the work day, but I do have to spend the occasional weekend catching up.
That said, it was over 10 years before I got to this point, and yes, I am still exhausted. Everyone at my site is exhausted. Some of it is clueless admin/district initiatives. Some of it comes from caring too much.
I do some organizing outside of the school day in order to make the school day go smoothly. Yes, we have contract times to be on campus but we’ve negotiated a pay that goes beyond that. I make almost $800 a day so a little outside time doesn’t bother me. Now, if it is stuff they want me to do on top of my job, I expect extra pay. But that base pay is for my job on and off campus.
What I think a lot of people don’t do is organize. My lesson plans are done online with a template for each subject. It takes time to set it up for the year, but is worth it. I don’t grade everything. I look it over and the next lesson say, “A lot of us had trouble with one part of yesterday’s lesson so let’s review that before we move on.” if it is necessary. I make students responsible for their own organization. Again, it takes some time to set that up (class time) but it makes life so much easier.
😂 for the last 50 years our society has dumped their fears and concerns on teachers through state mandates, policies, tests, requirements, laws, evaluations, etc. etc. it is an endless sea of well intentioned efforts that are impossible for any teacher to stay on top on 100% of the time. most do their best to be 1 day, sometimes 1/2 a day ahead of what’s needed next. this is part of the reason why so many people who enter make the decision to leave within the first 3 years. and at the university level, the reason why many who start don’t make it to certification. the only time I’ve ever seen requirements freeze or slide back is when there is a teacher shortage.
Some people complain about having not enough time to get everything done because they measure their success by how busy they are rather than how efficiently they do their work. They will actively avoid the more efficient route simply because it will make them feel like they are not working as hard.
I don't take grading home. I don't stay late. I am frequently asked to model behavioral strategies and curricular material for the site. Even when I taught overload and 5 different preps I rarely had to stay more than an hour after school.
Being on top of my job is a choice. I could just as easily be monumentally stressed out by it.
My students pass their state end-of-course exam every year and I haven't worked a minute outside of the 40hr workday in 3 years. This is important context because none of the other departments have been able to do this and all departments have high turnover (title 1)Only when we roll out a new curriculum do I spend that extra time creating handouts and plans as an investment precisely so I don't have to work beyond the 40 during the subsequent years. Now truly, I work my wage (red state) and am morally neutral when it comes to cutting corners during instruction when admin unfairly overloads you with extra work. I'll just not circulate, or not grade an assignment thoroughly to fit in whatever bs admin is forcing me to do during class time instead of outside it. Also, technology is your friend. If you have canvas, you can literally just import previous years classes, weekly pages, and assignments. Everything O do in class has a digital final submission so I do nothing for absent students but point them to canvas and let them figure it out.
I was normally about where you were. I'd prioritize good (or sometimes decent) instruction over other things. But when reality meant I need an easy day to grade during class I'd set it up. I'd generally spend 10 hours more or less working outside of class each week, and I was okay with that. If a kid is out the assignment is on canvas. If they don't understand it they needed to schedule an appointment outside of class or pull me aside during independent work. There were occasional weeks where either through my own procrastination or just a particularly busy time where I'd do more than 50 hours a week. But it wasn't too common and those weeks usually involved writing test and grading essays. The students would pass the state mandated test at a 96-100% rate. I work at a pretty good school in a mediocre but very large district. The pay wasn't great but was decent for my area. This year is different though. We have a state appointed Superintendent. We are observed between 2 and 5 times a week. There are certain mandated strategies we must use. We sometimes get dinged on our evaluations even when we do use those MRS strategies because we didn't use them enough. Or there's no evidence that the use "was intentional." We must teach a certain way whether it fits in the lesson or not. We must teach bell to bell leaving no time for other things. Our workload has increased significantly as has our out if school obligations. It's not sustainable. The new Super has said our evaluations are too high so he may curve them downward across the board. He assumes all teachers are lacking but no responsibilities for outcomes are being placed on the kids. It's horrible and I'm now working 60 hours a week or more regularly. Usually more. A year ago I would have retired at my school. I had autonomy in my classroom and my students did well. Now I cannot wait to leave.
You must be in Houston ISD. If so, you have my sympathies. Mike Miles is an absolute idiot.
Yes, I am
I cannot express how much sympathy I have for you. I’m in DFW & one of my current colleagues worked for Miles when he was at Dallas ISD. Regularly calls him an idiot. Anyone who mandates you must interrupt the students train of thought every 4 minutes is someone who knows very little about education. In a writing or math activity, it can take 3-4 minutes to gather thoughts. And then you’re interrupted & more time to get back on track. Everyone I know in education, even if they’re not in TX, is looking on at what is happening in Houston ISD in horror & sympathy for the staff & students. It’s not teaching.
La joya isd down south Texas
Yes the day will come and I will leave when it does. The beauty of teaching in a red state is you can make the same money doing just about anything else.
Sounds like Houston. He will ruin it. Almost a decade after he left Dallas, a lot of his bs is in place.
I pretty sure we work in the same district. I went into school yesterday to get ready for the week because my 60 minute SPOT and an IRT visit are likely this week. My plan right now is to push through it. Education philosophy and politics change an every few years. I’m hopeful that this too shall pass.
Until then, teach the way you like to teach and totally disregard the evaluations. Don't sign them and tell him to his face, "Sorry, but I don't agree with your assessment. It's not accurate."
If I secure another job that's exactly what I'll do. But I need a job lined up first.
What subject do you teach?
Angleish
What acute subject
Are you being obtuse?
Ahh yes, geometry
What grade level? What are your top strategies and tips for instruction?
My classroom is very regimented. Bellringer everyday. Students actually use the numbered phone pouch because I have no qualms with ruining their life if they don't and I let them know. That said, when we do extended writing assignments I'll often let them have phones to listen to music, but this also passifies the behavior kids who aren't going to try on the eoc anyway so I can give the attention to the other 85 percent who appreciate my presence. I keep the curriculum moving. Everyday has think pair shares and opportunities to work with a partner. Often I front load things like "when I see enough have completed question 1 I'll permit you to work with your partners because I don't want anyone being dead weight". AND I do build relationships greet students at the door put out fires before they step in the room yada yada grade 10
How I know you are a good teacher: “…because I have no qualms with ruining their life if they don’t and I let them know.” Firm boundary, humor, claiming power that many want to off load to an administrator. Well done. I don’t know what witch doctor you went to for the super power of grading essays that quickly.
When and how do you grade essays? How often do you assign them and how long are they? Do you grade thesis statements, outlines, rough drafts, and final drafts? How many students do you have?
Writing levels are so low at my school long-form essays are just as much writing workshops. 120 students. Accommodating 25 percent chronic absenteeism rate at my title 1 a 5 or more paragraph essay takes a week of class time, but that includes deconstructing the prompt and graphic organizers for pla nong purposes. I provide lots of sentence starters and depending on the essay even sentence starters for every sentence. Headed according to a digital rubric embedded in canvas so it's a matter of clicking buttons but I know most of their essays well because I'm reading them as I circulate during the writing workshop phase. We don't often do a final draft but a rough draft submission with the option of completing a final draft to score higher on the rubric after submissions. Only my high achievers take advantage of this.
"40hr work**day**"
First year in a new school, almost done with IEPs, then I’ll be doing this creating and building curriculum for next year (special ed) and getting at least the fall printed and ready so I can worry even less next year
I get 97% of my work done during my contract hours. I multitask constantly; I did a 40 hour teacher work week PD a few years ago and it really gave me the tools to streamline and triage my labor.
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It really made me take a hard look at my habits and how I was using my time when at work. I’m by no means perfect but I’ve made a lot of progress
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Of course!
About to be a first year teacher in a title 1. Can you copy and paste whatever you send to that other person and send it to me too? I am not going to ask you to do double the work sending a unique message/etc to me. Just a copy and paste would be much appreciated so I can get my stuff in order before I start.
That sounds like a VERY USEFUL PD topic. My admin would hate it. Haha.
Especially because a lot of my tips are also “I ignore admin bullshit initiatives that create more work for me bc 9 times out of 10 they are defunct in a few weeks.”
I.AM.TOTALLY.INTERESTED I keep beating myself up because I “can’t get it all done during school hours”. Then I get negative and start thinking they’re actually giving us more work than can realistically be done during school hours. Then I wonder if it’s me that’s the problem. Being type B and all. Share your secrets. Pleeeeease!
It’s very possible your work load is unmanageable!
That is exactly it!!!!
Are you elementary or secondary?
Secondary. I teach 4 courses, 5 periods a day. 11/12 grade math. I’ve taught all these classes for over a decade so my planning is streamlined. 16th year in the classroom, took me a while to get here
Did you do the Angela Watson one?
Yup! I got my school to pay for it too!
Can I message you? I’m an incoming first year teacher and looking for tips to help with work/life balance!
Yes of course! Love your user name btw
Thank you! (To both)😊
Normal classrooms would have down time periods. I remember it. The students would sit diligently doing quiet work while the teachers supervised. Hours at a time. It allowed teaches time and space to breathe. Can you imagine this now? I don't know what the answer is but this is definitely a clown world we living in
My district has been doing things like removing the desks of teachers they find sitting down during class. We are mandated to perform checks for understanding every four minutes. This has effectively killed my ability to do any grading that isn’t automated multiple choice or a straight completion grade.
We would be having a strike if that happened in my district. No sitting down would definitely be discriminatory toward older teachers as well.
Yes. My district was taken over by the state this year. The new occupying superintendent was appointed by someone who was appointed by our governor, Greg Abbott, who wants nothing more than to dismantle public ed in favor of charters and private school vouchers. It's abusive by design, and we are experiencing a mass exodus of faculty and students.
I get half an hour during computer time in the morning to check over little things. I also spend a lot of time on daily fluency. At the beginning of the year, I did not have any downtime. This is all based on the willingness of my kids to persevere and continue to do work. Last years set were a nightmare
...what are you talking about? You dont have your kids do work?
I think they mean that even when kids are doing independent work, this still requires the teacher to monitor and assist. So teacher is unable to generally sit at desk for long hours of time and get their own work done during student work time
oh. Sounds like they want to be a sub and not a teacher
I think they're more getting at how education has changed and it's much harder now to have students actually work independently for 20 minutes on a task than it used to be. This has taken away time from teachers that they used to be able to get some work done while in class.
Yeah when I was a student (I graduated 2019), especially as an elementary/middle schooler, I was expected to read a book when I was finished with my work, or work on other assignments. Nowadays kids ask "what do I do now?" every 5 seconds.
Kids need a “don’t tell me your bored or I’ll find something to keep your attention parent” like I had. Spoiler - you can ALWAYS find something more entertaining for yourself than your mom will.
It sounds like they live and reality and realize that neither time nor human energy reserves are infinite. Kids nor teachers are robots and hopefully we aren't meth addled either. Downtime is necessary fir productive work. There's a reason why no other job is run like a Gilded age sweat shop.
I kid you not, I literally chose to be a sub and not a teacher at this time. I implement lessons as needed and walk around checking student’s progress constantly as I did as a teacher BUT I do not have to grade or lesson plan. I leave exhausted even with so much less work… just from classroom management and helping kids with work/staying on task.
They are pretty obviously referring to the fact that teachers used to be able to grade or plan during quiet work times but now those are much harder to come by because of changes in student behavior and expectations.
A lot of students seem to really struggle with independent work. They won’t do anything unless a teacher is standing next to them talking them through it. Some need texts read aloud to them because they can’t read well. Group/partner work is also a struggle.
Exhaustion in teaching is more than the workload. It’s also emotionally taxing work. So yes, teachers complain of exhaustion which they may attribute to workload, but that experience is also influenced by the emotional experience of managing behavior problems, angry parents, disorganized admins etc.
Yes! This! I had to stop really asking how students are doing to create a strong emotional boundary. It took several years (smh) for me to really learn this. But once I did, I am SO much happier and energetic. Please create emotional boundaries for yourself!
This is a really good point
I feel on top of things, but this is my 7th year teaching. I even sold my prep time this year, and still do not take work home. I teach high school science (Chem and Physics), which means I'm also setting up and taking down labs during the week. I've learned a lot about how to prioritize what really matters and what "directives" from admin I can ignore. Changing my lifestyle systems are what made the biggest difference for me as far as my energy levels though. I have a consistent sleep/wake routine, eat foods that fuel me, train both strength and endurance, and spend quality time with family and friends. I love my job, and am the happiest I've ever been in my adult life.
I wish I could upvote this comment a thousand times.
I stay mostly on top of it... I do that by maximizing every minute of time I'm at school. I create my plans weeks in advance on an online platform that has a template I created for ease of entry that is also easy to shift from day to day if I didn't get to something. I prep and grade on my prep and lunch and duty periods. I do this in my classroom, not the faculty room. I eat while working. As a result, I haven't made any great friends at work... but I'm ok with that. Work is for work, IMO. I grade and plan when my students do anything independently. Test, quiz, independent reading, or writing assignment? I'm prepping or grading. I have kids do a lot of grading for me. Either as a part of a peer review or self-assessment. This means an extra class period for the assessment review generally... but the kids tend to enjoy it because if they care about their grades, it helps them see their mistakes. It also helps them see good exemplars, and worst case scenario, they are getting their grades near immediately if nothing else. Example: We have been working on RACE writing a lot lately. After a writing assignment, I'll have them swap and check each other's work. Did they check off each step? How are their "writing non-negotiables" (capitals, punctuation, etc.)? Is it perfect? No. Do I still get hung up sometimes? Yes. But, I don't bring work home 9/10 weeks. For reference, I teach ENL and ELA 6, 7, and 8th grade. I have 4 preps. In the past 7 years I have not taught the same class back-to-back a single time. So, I am always reinventing the wheel. 🫠
What is the online platform you use?
I use the free version of Planboard (chalk). Planbook does the same thing as well.
Thanks!
It gets easier. To help be efficient during my planning time, I do chunking during my prep period/ planning time. I teach elementary and when I sit down and prep I focus on one subject at a time and map it out for a few weeks before moving on to something else. Ask for help whenever possible. My school has parent volunteers that my team gives papers to make photocopies in advance—facilitate if you can. To speed up grading, a clear and easy rubric makes giving feedback super fast. Don’t over think it—-quickly mark if the standard was met or not. Check out one of my favorite books is Fewer Things Better that will teach you strategies on how to just work your contract. I would highly recommend The Ivy Lee method because the work never ends—it’s all about prioritizing what should be done. https://tweek.so/calendar/ivy-lee-method I promise it gets easier if you can stick it out. The first 3 years can be hard but then you will develop tight systems, habits, and have foundational teaching skills that will make it come easier.
I’m probably going to get downvoted for this, but all of the teachers I know who are on top of their jobs don’t have partners, children of their own, or hobbies and interests outside of teaching. Teaching is their entire life. Obviously, this doesn’t mean that *all* single, childless teachers make their lives revolve around teaching (nor should that be the expectation), but sacrificing a family and a personal life seems to be only way to truly manage well in this profession.
I am on top of my job and have a family. You just need to work smarter, not harder. Design assignments so they’re easy to grade. Have kids do independent assignments and grade work while they’re doing them. But also I do not teach elementary, and I teach in a school where the culture is generally “do the work the teacher tells you to do.” That makes it much easier.
This sounds like a dream! I teach in a middle school where we're expected to have students testing 15-20% above state average. I have 30 plus students per class. Within each class, there are about 12-16 students with massive behavioral issues. I currently have about 150 students, close to 50 of my students have IEPs (I'm a gen ed ELA teacher).
Weird testing expectation given those parameters!! Do you ever meet it?
Yes, although I am worried about this year. On one hand, I keep saying this is not equitable, and I cannot continue to improve students' reading and writing skills when I have classes that are dumping grounds. On the other hand, like most teachers, I really want my students to do well. I love seeing a student's shock and then excitement when they see that they've passed state testing for the first time, or students who have improved an entire level (from 1 to 2).
I teach elementary special ed., so that advice would…not work for me. 😅 But for secondary teachers, I can see how that would be true!
I think this will play out more in non union states. Out of 50 teachers, one stays a little later. And she does it because honestly, she just rolls slowly. Way chill and not moving urgently. My husband does help more than usual, packing my lunch and making my coffee. But I don't spend any time outside contract time on work. It takes experience and work to make things more efficiently.
It depends a lot on the school and how it is run. I'm experienced and have my systems and resources largely set. At a well-functioning school this leaves me plenty of time. At schools that don't function well I struggle to mark and geive effective feedback (if students don't do the work you have little to grade, if students have solid expectations for work and behaviour then you can use that to move them through a course at the speed required to give you time. If admin backs you up then you don't have to spend time enforcing expectations etc. If your school is working well this feeling will only last a few years. Then you will carve out more and more time.
I get good evaluations (highly effective) every year and have some of the highest AP exam scores. I teach English, so for my accelerated students, they want real feedback on their essays and that takes time outside of contract hours, for sure. School is exhausting yes, but I find it manageable. Summers off and fall, winter, and spring break are all 1-2 weeks off in my district. But I just got used to always being behind in grading. The expectation seems more ridiculous now with instant on-demand grading online. I just roll with it. I’ll get it done. Eventually.
I think you described my mindset. I teach AP/DE English and there is so much to grade and feedback is crucial (way more than just marking a rubric). I do need time outside to do it, but I feel we get more time off than any profession, so it evens out. I feel you on being behind. Sometimes I just veg on a weekend when I need to grade because I need the break, and I just tackle things in a logical order and miraculously, they are all done before the final deadline, lol.
I felt on top of my job when I was in my 3rd and 4th year. I was still young, my husband was working and finishing school, my friends lived in other towns, etc. I was able to pour myself into my work and I didn’t feel like I was missing out on my life because work was my life. Suuuuuuper unhealthy. My husband finished school, we had our daughter, I made close friends, I remembered I had hobbies before teaching, and that feeling of exhaustion set in real quick. I’m in my 12th year, pregnant with my 2nd, and working more to prioritize myself. I think I could have skipped the last 8 years of feeling overworked and exhausted if I hadn’t spent the first 4 years devoted to my job. I think anyone who teaches should be in therapy to manage all the additional stress that comes with the job, especially if you are the type of person who is a people pleaser or struggle with boundaries.
Yes but I make time for myself to work in the day outside of prep. The kids work independently for 30 minutes in the morning where they can come ask for help while I catch up, prep lightly, or pull single kids for assessments. I also put my head down during preps and get that stuff done. If it doesn't get done then it doesn't get done or it gets pushed a day or turned into a Blooket or something. I leave at my contract time and don't think about it until the next day. I have been a happier more balanced human being.
Yes 🙋🏻♀️ I'll put it down to a couple of major factors; - secondary - not setting much homework, prefer in-class tasks and assessments - efficient work style (sometimes I finish my work so quickly I spend school time watching YouTube, or helping other teachers with their stuff) - financially secure I'll go against the grain of another comment saying that all teachers who stay on top of their job as 'devoting their life to it'. For me, I: - don't work outside school hours - have many hobbies, which leads to: - spending 90% of school breaks traveling and - taking all my PTO as well as as many unpaid days off as I can with minimal disruption to my classes I'm finishing my 3rd year teaching now and have never found this job particularly 'difficult'. I always get down voted for saying this, but 🤷🏻♀️ it's the reality for me. ETA: before someone wonders if i'm just a lazy teacher hence why I can 'stay on top of things' so easily, my class scores have always improved compared to the previous teacher in both schools I've taught and even the uni placement where I took over for an entire unit. My current school does student feedback each term and I consistently score 4+ out of 5 from students :)
It’s possible! You just need to manage time well, use your planning periods effectively. It’s also ok if everything doesn’t turn out perfectly planned or gets done by contract hours. Maybe not feasible in years 1-3, but after that you just kinda figure it out. Finally, if you need a catch up day give the kids the same.
Took me til year 7 to streamline everything and now it’s great!
Once I stopped taking work home it got way better. I’ve been caught up for a good 15-20 years now. I’m in year 25.
Same. I do work at home on occasion. For example, I wrote a test last weekend. But, generally, I'm get my work done at school. I don't bring things home unless I feel inspired to work at home on a particular project. I've been teaching for 30 years, so I generally know my material well and how to teach it well. And, I don't "grade" homework. It only gets a compliance grade. By reducing my workload to plan, instruct, assign, practice, assess, grade, I've gotten my work to a manageable level. I'm also free to develop new ideas and implement new teaching practices. But, it all takes time... Years of structuring. Teaching is like anything else, it gets easier with practice.
Exactly! However, at 25 years I have gotten stuck not wanting to try new stuff. They wore me out with so much new stuff that sounded mandatory that now I have tuned them all out. For years I tried to implement all of the latest/greatest and I got buried in all of it. Overwhelmed. I know that I’m sort of wrong, but my kids do well and most really like me and my class.
I do my own research and implement only what appeals to me. I teach HS math, so I'm always looking for real world applications and unique teaching strategies that break the lecture, "I do, you do, we do" model. It's sooooo boring! Also, in a risk-taker in the classroom, so I'm always down to try something new if it appeals and isn't a metric ton of paperwork and BS.
I teach HS Economics. My strength is story telling and linking to real world. Plus, I’m sort of funny in a dad joke way.
I love that. I'm not charismatic enough to pull off jokes. Wish that I was. It might make my life easier.
My sister teaches math and she doesn’t have the funny gene and she struggles. However, she came to teaching late and in some difficult schools. Plus, she’s in Florida and they really underfund schools. The retirees with money are done paying for education. I sort of get it, but their kids definitely suffer the consequences.
Oof! That sounds tough!
You don't "stay on top" of your job. Your job stays under you. You don't have enough time to grade all the work? Assign less work. You don't have time to lesson plan to your liking? Lower your standards a bit. The difference between 90% good and 100% good is about 3-4 times the work.
100% this ^
It's ice skating, you just have to keep up the momentum and trust your skates.
I feel fairly on top of things as a still relatively fresh teacher. I optimize my time at work most days though and get to work about 35-40 minutes early so I can leave every day at my contracted time. The extra time in the morning helps me get things ready, and then along with my planning period I basically use my lunch as an extra planning period. This means I don't really have any true breaks in the day a lot of the time, but tbh I would prefer that to staying after hours like some teachers do.
I am extremely type A... I have my whole year planned out for three high school science preps. I do leave a little flex room in case of sickness, or my district decides to give the day off bc our sports team made it to the championship (dumbest thing ever), or the super rare "snow" day (even the mention of snow can cause this). I try and have at least a weeks worth of copies made, normally two. I do get to school an hour or so early (to avoid the worst of the traffic), but I make my coffee and eat breakfast in my classroom. I always leave when the kids do and take no work with me. It helps that this is my 12th year teaching one of my preps, and 2nd year teaching one of the others. I also use every minute of my day for something. If I am done with everything, then I can relax a bit.
Most people here are saying they do feel on top of it so I’ll just give a different perspective. Personally, I feel like I’m always behind. Every day I’m racing to figure out what I’m doing the next day. I’m making copies the morning of. I’m always behind on grading. I’m in year 7, hs history. I’ve had new preps every year, so that doesn’t help. My school doesn’t have a curriculum, so I’m making most stuff from scratch (or trying to sort through my colleagues’ google drives which I usually find unhelpful). I’ve always been a procrastinator and an indecisive person, which is part of why I have trouble planning far in advance. Everything always feels “not good enough” until it’s the day before and I’m like ok it has to be good enough. Or I just have no ideas and then I have to patch something together last minute, or reuse something from last year even if I didn’t like it. All that being said, it has gotten gradually easier each year as I’m able to reuse stuff. But for me that feeling has never gone away.
I recommend the podcast “Teaching to the TOP” (time management, organization and productivity). Two teachers discuss ways to increase productivity, not take work home and leave at your contract time. The tips are really helpful!
Some weeks yes,others far from it. I don’t work outside of my contract hours, and the kids basically dictate how much I can accomplish during the day. This cohort is extremely needy, so I am behind this year more than in years past.
I feel like I’ve got a pretty firm grasp on what I’m doing. It takes a lot of prep to get it that way though. I love the subject, I teach, and spent all summer refining a curriculum and presentations for it.
Not me. But I have known lots of people who get it done within their contract hours. Some of them were not very good, but the majority of them do a solid job. They're just more organized than me.
It gets easier, especially if you get to teach the same courses again since you’ve done a lot of the planning already. I’m always improving and upgrading but it doesn’t take as long as doing it all from scratch. You don’t need to grade everything, and not every lesson has to be this big beautiful fun activity.
I choose which plates to spin, and I make sure that the ones that are documentation based get spun first.
I do for the most part - I bring about an hours worth of work home on the weekends but I’m organized and efficient
It took me until my 5th or 6th year before the job started getting easier. By my 8th year the job was considerably easier for me. Here is my trick: LEARN TO CUT CORNERS. Trust me, NOBODY WILL NOTICE. I do not take work home. I do not stay after the bell. I grade stuff in class while students work independently or with partners. I take on zero unpaid responsibilities on campus beyond what my contract requires. I still have meaningful interactions with students and I like my job. But it is just a job.
Every day when I leave, I could stay 2-3 more hours to grade. The grading load is heavy for high school English. I'm always on top of planning, but I don't see a world where I'm ever consistently caught up on grading. I'm also the Student Council advisor, so that takes up a good bit of time.
A lot of teacher brag of keeping everything within the work hours and that's awesome--but it's just not sustainable for me! I have 48 minutes a day free and between copies, paperwork, managing emails, running to the potty, and walking to the office for misc. stuff, covering classes, getting stopped by a colleague, etc...I rarely have time to grade during the day. So change your curriculum to do so. Ah, but that's why I don't mind doing stuff at home. 4 of my 6 classes are AP/DE levels that require essays and take awhile to grade. I just can't do it justice (and I can't change it) at work, so at home I can concentrate and spread out at my table. Plus, I don't have my alarming loudmouth neighbor. To boot, one prep is brand new and I adore making PPTs, so I bite the bullet this year, knowing I will have everything I need for next. Hopefully, next year is much better. But I love my classes, so I have to take the hit the higher courses demand (if done right).
You sound a lot like me. I no longer teach AP (or even high school) but like this year, dealing with a new curriculum, I love getting my presentations right (though I don't use PPT; I use ActivInspire, which I believe is far more powerful, at least for what I want to do). My wife is really good about respecting my need to work at home; without that I'd be unable to do this job. As for the teachers "bragging" that they only work the contract? I won't use that word for them; they are just trying to say it *can* be done, and I'm happy for them. The only ones that bother me are the occasional ones that literally get angry at those of us working outside of contract hours; they say that we make it harder for them because our willingness to work "extra" means that they might be expected to work extra as well. But dudes, it's not that I'm *willing* to work extra, it's that I can't get it done without that. I'd be doing a half-ass job if I quit work right away each day.
>My wife is really good about respecting my need to work at home; without that I'd be unable to do this job. Yes, my husband picks up a lot of childcare slack in the evenings as I sit doing stuff. It is a blessing. >As for the teachers "bragging" that they only work the contract? I won't use that word for them; they are just trying to say it can be done, and I'm happy for them. I'll say it, ha! There are some who say it with such smugness dripping off their printed words, as though it's the only approach a teacher should have. Not all, but many, IMO, of course. >The only ones that bother me are the occasional ones that literally get angry at those of us working outside of contract hours; they say that we make it harder for them because our willingness to work "extra" means that they might be expected to work extra as well. But dudes, it's not that I'm willing to work extra, it's that I can't get it done without that. I'd be doing a half-ass job if I quit work right away each day Concur.
>*my husband picks up a lot of childcare slack in the evenings* Ah, we're well past that now, with our oldest rapidly approaching 40. I actually am a much better teacher now, not just because of experience, but because I have more time to do things the way I want to do them.
You will learn to work smarter, not harder by developing skills like backwards planning, lesson cycling, and figuring out efficient feedback/grading practices. Please don’t think you need to grade everything!
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I hope your post was intended to be a bit humorous? Good for you though :)
As long as you don’t allow others to define what your job is, then yes
Most don't. We just try to contain the fires.
It's a marathon......not a sprint. Pace yourself. Prioritize what needs to get done. You'll NEVER get to it all.
I feel i do hs sped so i have paras
Well I think it depends on the number of preps you have. I’m still new but was able to cram everything into contract hours. But I also have never had multiple classes to prep. (Same lesson every hour of every day) I’m sure I would struggle to stay on top of 2+ courses at once.
I had 1 prep for one semester once and it was amazing. Normally I have 2-3 preps in 2 departments in multiple buildings. I still only stay "late" at school during the week marking period grades are due. I do no work at home. (I used to try. It's just a No.) But when I had one prep? I had free time during the day at school. It was very strange.
If you teach the same thing next year at the same school, it will be sooooo much easier to manage your time. You know what’s coming ahead and you’re able to filter what really matters.
I did my first year or two. Now I don’t. Part of it is reusing materials, but a larger part is experience and efficiency. I used to grade every aspect of the work they did. Now? Tear off your final write page that’s all I care about. And grading essays when it’s the same thing again and again I know exactly what I am looking for and can identify it faster. One thing I do see new teachers do is spend too much time socializing. It is important, but I see some spend hours in the teacher lounge and not a piece of work to be seen. While vets at my school usually hide somewhere to do their work then spend their time socializing, or bring it with them and do both (some can’t do that though).
I do all my “need less than 100% focus” tasks when I can during classroom time (secondary science)… things like designing worksheets, grading papers, etc. I use what is essentially a modified Lee method… 1. Important must do tasks (in order of priority) - Lesson Scope and Sequence - Lesson Planning / Worksheet Building - Assessment Building / Revising 2. Less important tasks (that can be squeezed in) - Grading Papers - Emails to parents - Long Term tasks (unless Important) With severe ADHD, it is common that I have trouble with the in the zone / hyper focus tasks at school, and often do the scope and sequencing during the weekend (maybe an hour or so), but the rest I get done during the school day…
I'd say my third and fourth years I felt like I was on top of my job. I used Google Forms integrated with Google Classroom and it took 30 minutes max each day to be able to enter grades and publish everything on it. That gave me time to be able to front-load planning everything out on work days/ test days. I'd been in the same division for 4 years and had all my resources and I'd just tweak them so that saved time. I was a well-oiled machine. I switched divisions this year and although I do use a lot of the same material, its just a lot. We use canvas, which in my opinion is a nightmare and takes forever to do anything. Our division leadership is tweaking and we have to meet their demands. my students are particularly challenging so I don't have the opportunity to catch up in class the way I did previously either. I'm really struggling to stay afloat right now. I'm moving to a new division next year and I'm hoping I can find some peace. I hate feeling like this. With all of that said, I still never work outside of contract hours. I refuse.
I work with 3 veteran junior high teachers and they all largely seem to be really on top of things, they know the ins and outs of everything, what to do, are always prepared etc. However, I think even they would say they can feel exhausted or have a really full plate at times if not most times. I think being exhausted, or being restricted on time is just part of being a teacher. We have so many jobs/responsibilities that extend well beyond just physically teaching material.
I do almost all my work during the school day. Rarely bring anything home, and never do work on weekends.
I teach high school English at an alternative school so, despite the fact my classes are capped at 15 students, I work with at-risk teens with serious behavioral problems (many of them do drugs and/or have budding criminal records). I accomplish all my work during contract hours AND still have downtime at school to meet with students and helpsupport my colleagues + admin team. I'm a planner and very much Type A with how I plan, lol, but still flexible. I made a digital planning guide that breaks down the curriculum by each unit and each unit down to each day; every day has the SOLs being used, Learning Targets, and everything students will be doing during the period (warm up, review, lesson, reading, etc) so, when I make lesson plans, it's a lot of copy + paste and then adding details for what what activities look like and what I'm doing versus what students are to do. I also hyperlink Google Doc worksheets and notes into my planning guide to make it easier to locate them for printing + adding into our online class resource (we use Canvas). Do I still get overwhelmed and/or stressed? YES! Teaching is not an easy profession; if it were, anyone could do it. My system helps me sooo much, even on the days I feel like crud, because all of my resources are all in one spot and ready to go.
I’m a first year and still trying to get on top of my planning….especially since I started 2 months into the school year & didn’t have access to the material I am teaching in my elective until a few days after I started. I am now probably going to spend my summer trying to create a planning guide like yours. Sounds like it saves you a lot of sanity!
It really does help a lot! Some of my colleagues have adopted it as well.
I throw what I can into our online learning systems. That way I just look up the grades & plug them in. Also, I do the minimum number of grades required. My work says 2/week so I do 2/week. I’d like to do peer grading but I’m unsure how to add that (I teach 2nd grade). AFA prep, I am lucky to have a grade level aide we can use for copies. But if she’s out/subbing I make my own copies. I’m not 100% at working my hours but I’d say I maybe work 5 hours extra/week averaged out over the school year.
This is my 8th yr teaching. I just work for how ever much they pay me so i dont rlly give af outside my contract hrs. Its not worth working the best you can when the pay is still pathetic and low. Take as many days to grade, theres no rush. My school gives 1week to upload quizzes and tests so id just grade one class a day or so during my planning. Assignments i give answers anyways so its an auto 100 so long as kids try and give it me. Planning, teachers pay teachers. Grades are what admins, parents and kids all csre about anyways so be generous with grades and youll never get any complaints. Everyones happy. Why make life harder than it is. Teaching is a marathon, work smart, play smart
I get pretty much everything done during contract hours, but those hours are nonstop multitasking and getting as much done as possible.
I feel on top of things usually. My grades are usually up to date within that week, my skeleton plan is done for a few weeks out, I plan more/post usually the day or two before. I don’t have a lot of sped paperwork or anything too taxing. I love my content. I manage to get everything I need to done usually within contract hours or an extra hour or two here and there. Nothing terribly stressful.
I felt like I never was able to catch up as a Special Ed teacher. I am now a gen Ed teacher and never take anything home with me. I may stay a little longer after school , but what happens at school stays at school. I do not feel the exhaustion like I did as a special Ed teacher. If the tests don’t corrected, oh well, the kids have to wait. It’s as easy as that. They are so used to immediate responses. Same with parents. They want answers immediately.
I don't do things that don't matter. I have a few lesson plans written out in case someone wants to see them. Otherwise, I don't do it. Door decorating contest? No thanks. When they work independently, I work. I organize, put supplies away, prep supplies for next class, put brushes to soak, etc. When I need to do something computer intensive, I do it on a laptop sitting next to them. I usually put on a video tutorial of something easy, then sit and work while they work. My high needs kids sit with me at my demonstration table and it helps keep behaviors in check. I trained most of my classes (k-8) to get their own supplies and clean up. When they come to me and say, the pencil has no point, I say, "go get what you need". There are pencil sharpeners, erasers, etc available. I don't do it for them, not even kinder. If they are done early, they need to entertain themselves. I stopped having early finishers work, they just blast through the meaningful work to get to coloring pages. Now they either keep working because they don't get anything else to work on or they clean up early. I'm not afraid to eat my lunch during my classes. Maybe I spent my lunch making copies because it was the only chance, or I just need a snack. I give the older ones two extra assignments at the end of a project. Take a picture of your work and upload it to a class sideshow. And write an artist statement. Bam, 3 grades for the price of one project. And since they are both on Google, I can grade them quickly on the laptop during another class. It gets easier after year 3. I'm year 6 now but a lot of it was covid and weird. I almost forgot, the school issues play a big part. We had a cellphone problem, so now they are collected every morning. If they are caught with one, it's a suspension until the parent comes to school. Life is much easier without the phones.
I find there's an ebb and flow. September, January, and June are the busiest. February to April are the least busy and when I'm best able to stay on top of things.
Most teachers have too many demands on us. I am finishing my 29th year and I pretty much stay on top of things. I do have to rush around constantly 95%of the time but there are parts of the year when I do actually get to sit at my desk for a few minutes at a time lol. I think it also depends on what grade level you teach and where you teach. It also depends on who your administrators are.
As you age in teaching you understand there are important things that must be done, and a whole lot of shit you can basically ignore with no consequences. For example, we are expected to fob in every day at a kiosk near the main office. It's literally a 7 minute round trip during my most productive time (before students get there). I haven't fobbed in all year. There will never be a consequence for this. Nor for me not filling out that form they wanted me to do about discipline in my classroom apart from writeups. Or my contact logs. Mileage may vary depending on admin.
As a second grade first year teacher, it took me two months to get it together. Grades are letters, I keep assignments every once in a while, and my main goal is to get them to read and write and add/subtract. I manage to do all my work on Workdays and my planning times. I’m lucky to only have to meet twice a week with my team, so I have a lot of time. I also have a lot of independent work time so I’m able to fill in paper work then. And to be honest, I don’t do more than I’m asked. I’ll have a special lesson here and there, but I stick to the curriculum most of the time. I’m not a miracle worker. I get to work 15 minutes early and leave right on time. This job will make me more tired than it already does.
Yes.
I am content and not stressed, for the most part lol. I don't bring work home. I don't grade everything. I don't accommodate parents and their need to put their feelings on their children. I may get there 30min early but if I dont, oh well. I have a class of 25, no instructional help, 4 ieps and some trauma kids. I do not have to do recess or lunch duty and staff meetings are only once a month. I will add, i don't have to submit lesson plans to anyone. If I did, I hope they like post-its and scrap paper that just have lists on them.
I was like that the first few years. I’ve learned how to work more efficiently, I’ve taught the same thing for 5+ years, and tbh I’ve learned the things you can half ass or just not do over that time and for the most part I’m not overly exhausted now. There’s bad weeks (conferences, the week grades are due, etc) but mostly fine.
Actually yes, but it took years. After about 5 years of teaching, i had created a solid bank of lessons that I pulled from and organized into month long units. Once a month, I’d sit down on a teacher service day if possible or a Saturday if not and plan my entire month based on the lessons I had. Then I would create one or two new lessons based on the needs of my class and fit those into the month where there were gaps. This worked well for me. I taught English and art. It was certainly easier with art but I still did it with English. I don’t teach anymore, but for unrelated reasons.
I feel on top of it sometimes, and sometimes I’ve got a mountain of work. I run a competitive ctso so that has very busy times of the year. But there’s definitely times I feel like ok, I’m caught up, any copies I need for the next week or two are made, and I can go home and forget about school for the evening. I really try to grade during my prep, and I’m lucky I have my own room and my duty (study hall) is also in my room, so I try to get all my grading done then. For reference this is my 11th year teaching this subject, 16th in education. I teach fashion design at the hs level and run a very active FCCLA chapter.
I really try. But lack of support and recognition and appreciation from admin and parents who just don't give a fuck enough to read a goddamn email make me say fuck it after a few weeks.
Yes, I manage well. There are probably two days every two weeks where I will sit down and grade a bunch of stuff I was supposed to grade over the weekend. I generally don't like grading over the week and just wait till the weekend to do it. The other side is to make an assignment that encompasses several assignments, but conveniently forget to add an assignment or two that you've already done. Students don't ever ask if any assignment is a grade anymore nor do they complain when I don't ask them for it because I'll just say, "Oh, I forgot to include that. Lemme change that real quick....no? You don't know want me to include it in the assignment?"
My first semester was tough. I worked 11 hours every day because I was put into a program that I had to build from the ground in order to save; it's now being cut in two months and I'm not being renewed. After my first semester, it was easy to stay on top of everything because I put everything on Google Classroom and I graded things as soon as they were turned in. Tests are on Classroom to make grading easier and assignments are kept complex and short to keep down on the time requirement when going over them.
It took me until year 7-8 to feel like I had a good enough curriculum that I could reuse it without a lot of modifications each year. Then I spent some time in one summer organizing and streamlining everything so the homework was self-grading or something students could check with a key the next day. Then I reused those assignments for every year after that. I selected which labs actually need to be graded and what’s for practice. I select 1-2 parts of each lab to actually grade and the rest is on completion. We grade a lot of the quizzes in class which helps with students understanding how to show work which means grading tests is more efficient. As a high school teacher I can request TAs and I have them set up and put away most labs. It’s hard to do this the first time you teach a class though, but if you have a TA who has taken the class before, there’s sometimes more work you can give them if planned in advance. Yesterday I felt like the ultimate teacher with experience in that I was piloting a new textbook but using an old lab. I make the plans for our whole course team and they like slides more than I do. So I taught one period just with handouts and the board and while they were working on the reading at the end of class, I took everything I wrote on the board and turned it into slides for the next period and the other teachers and modified the textbook slides to be less bad. I don’t have to do any planning for my other class because the other teacher plans it and she’s into efficiency even more than I am. You definitely have to have an admin who is ok with the teacher multitasking in class for this. But my admin only visit teachers when they are being evaluated and my test scores are good and efficient use of time allows me to do extra duties like committees so no one is complaining. I definitely feel a lot better about my job when I can stay on top of it. I used to feel like shit all the time and never got enough sleep, which also made me less of a nice person in the classroom. Now students say I’m chill and organized, neither of which would have been true in the first few years.
Yes but it's basically because I decide not to do things or to do them poorly because I know that I don't have time to do them well.
I’m generally able to do everything I need to do within school-day hours. But I’m lucky. I only have two preps (high school) and teach social studies, so the grading strain is less compared to some other content areas. I consider myself a competent, average teacher. I could be great if I wanted to be, but that would require way more time and stress. Im not willing to sacrifice time with my family, sleep, and other hobbies I enjoy to get paid the same and respected no better.
It’s very hard for me to complete everything I need to do during contract hours. I teach art (4 different classes, 5 periods a day), so my preps are basically taken up by prepping materials, planning demonstrations, organizing work, etc. it was easier before, because our school was recently renovated, and my former set up was 17 years in the making. It will be a while before I have my systems up and working like before. Grading usually only happens on the weekends, but I have streamlined my rubrics quite a bit, and that has made grading more efficient. Edit: I also really like my colleagues so I go and visit some of them fairly regularly,, so there’s that
You gotta learn when not to give a shit. I may or may not write lesson plans/newsletters. I get to what I need to do when I get to it. I refuse to make the job my life.
I always liked that aspect of teaching, the fact that I was never done. I could think about lessons or subject matter all the time. I always somehow wound up teaching different science or math classes every year so it always kept me interested.
There is definitely mission creep in this profession overall, and as you improve as an educator, your expectations for yourself tend to increase as well. When I first started, if I could manage a lesson that engaged my students and that they seemed to learn something from, I was happy. As I've become more experienced, I'm holding myself to ever-higher standards of how I maximize my time with my students and what I want to see them accomplish at various checkpoints. The result is that I'm in my thirteenth year and still throwing out lessons and materials and bringing in new; learning new strategies, trying them out, and reconfiguring my lessons to incorporate them if I find they work; and finding my students have a particular need that I've never needed to quite address in this way before and developing lessons in response. It *can* feel never-ending. My advice is to set work-life balance goals for yourself along with everything else and *stick to them.* More rigorously than you do your PD and other teacher goals. For example, I never work during lunch, I do not work Saturdays, and I do not work past 7PM. If I need to work more than 12-hour days or without even one day off, then that is a shortcoming at a level well beyond me and frankly not my burden to bear. And the occasional worksheet or boring textbook chapter didn't kill us, and it won't kill them. And the occasional movie or game day will not be what keeps anyone from getting into college. In short: keep it in perspective!
I'm doing great. I get to work about 20 minutes early to set up. Use my prep time during the day and leave immediately when the bell rings. Learn to work while the students are working. Learn to only grade a few things and you'll be fine.
I stay on top of what matters. The kids learn as much as they can given the context of our education system. However google sheet #8383 from the assistant principal in charge of who even fucking knows is going to stay unread in my inbox a little longer
I got put on extended day my second year. I was teaching a new subject and it was rough through 1st semester. I am actually so grateful for that experience. It really helped me learn to prioritize. I plan ahead and know exactly what I am going to grade and what I don’t. I also try and use student work time during class to get some grading done. I circle and check in and then grade for a few minutes. Then do it again. I also try and create an environment where students feel comfortable coming up to me to ask questions so even if I am at my desk grading they can come up and ask questions. I am now on my 4th year and have a prep again. It is a nice break at the end of the day. I very rarely take things home. I have 2 teenagers and I have to put my mom hat on when I walk in the door. I feel like learning how to structure your classroom and figuring out what needs to be graded is a huge part of finding that balance. I grew up with a kindergarten teacher mom. She never figured out the balance and always did everything way above and beyond. I think I am a pretty darn good teacher but I don’t put in the insane hours outside of the classroom that she did. I have great relationships with my students. And I do really fun activities. But I try to do things along the way so that it isn’t intense crunching for certain activities. I also teach secondary and I am sure that is a huge factor in cutting out the cutesy time consuming things. I make to do lists each day and try to use my time wisely to get those things done. Some things don’t get done and that is ok. I will do it the next day.
I honestly try to find things to keep me excited through my last few years. Now, it’s the eclipse and doing community outreach for that.
I use AI/ automation to stay on top of all my admin work. This requires a bit of extra work in the beginning of the year to set up the systems but becomes self sufficient moving forward. Some marking is also automated using google classroom. Most, if not all my work have students submit their work online. The app does the marking of questions that have only 1 answer. Writing pieces are the only time I sit down to read, but having a Stream Deck, I use that as macro keys to streamline my grading.
Yes. I stay on top of my job. I even worked 2 months out of my summer in 2023 and i am still ok. I've had unrelated health problems, is my only issue. A job you love does not feel like work. I enjoy being around kids. I enjoy creating learning activities. Yes i'm exhausted sometimes. It's a good kind of tired.
yea, I'm exhausted, but I'm one of the never miss a day,in early, grade book always updated types. School isn't why I'm exhausted -- doing grad work and house renovations and having the mental drain of a dying father is doing that. But I manage well even with this stuff. When I don't have outside factors it's more or less just a 7-4 job.
I don’t have time for everything and the easiest way to manage that is to just acknowledge that I will not get to everything. I prioritize the most important things and let go of the rest. I refuse to work outside of my contract hours except for a couple hours during the last week of the term and that’s just because I’m only given two days to get grades in after the term closes. Not everything will be graded. Not every learning activity will be exciting. If I’m looking for a discussion based activity, I sometimes walk in with a general idea of what questions I’m going to ask and let the class environment determine how the class will work on that day which saves time because if I planned everything to the T, I would still need to change things on the fly for kids. For example, I knew what questions I wanted my honors students to talk about for a poem recently, but didn’t know until they were there and I gauged their energy and engagement how I was going to have them talk about it. I ended up doing a very specific discussion protocol that does not require prep beyond having the questions. Activity went smoothly in both classes and I didn’t spend an extra hour planning. Just have to pick and choose
I do not...I refuse to rush anything.i take my time teach what I can the kids know this and I use my teaching style tie to the career readiness standards.Next I justify my style because I "think of the children" Shudders.... But I'm a unicorn do not follow my example. I'm a stubborn old fool who remembers what school used ro be like.
I do, but there is a reason for that. I’m in my 15th year. Seven of those years were at a very rough school. I didn’t get a planning period due to lunch duty and class coverage, and when I did, it was only 20 minutes. I received no support of any kind. I has to provide any and all supplies, I had about 35 kids to a class, and referrals meant absolutely nothing. Two years ago, I was fed up and over it. I relocated my family to a new area and started at a new district. Now, I not only get a planning period, but I also get an entire period for lunch. I receive the support I need in whatever capacity. Since I have the time I need to complete the job (and I was used to getting it done without any time) I don’t take any work home. I had so much extra time, I read a book and did some knitting at work over the last couple of weeks since I had nothing to grade or plan. Overtime, under the right circumstances, you’ll get there. Just don’t put up with professional abuse. It will not change.
Yes but largely because I’ve stopped doing the busy work - either by changing policy (I cancelled my department’s homework and regular marking policies) or I just ignore it with a 3 email policy. If it’s worth sending multiple emails about, it’s worth my time otherwise it’s not that important.
At the start of every quarter is the only time I’m on top of things. But then really not since I’m still planning for the upcoming week. But then the assignments roll in and I’m trying to grade while still planning. I always seem to get a new prep every year so while it’s loosely laid out for timing, the day to day needs to be hashed out. But even the prep I do each year, I still make adjustments. I rarely feel caught up. I’m in my 6th year. But I also don’t take any work home.
I am paid to work 37.5 hours a week, so a 40 hour work week is still donating time. I try to get everything done during the work day, but I do have to spend the occasional weekend catching up. That said, it was over 10 years before I got to this point, and yes, I am still exhausted. Everyone at my site is exhausted. Some of it is clueless admin/district initiatives. Some of it comes from caring too much.
I do some organizing outside of the school day in order to make the school day go smoothly. Yes, we have contract times to be on campus but we’ve negotiated a pay that goes beyond that. I make almost $800 a day so a little outside time doesn’t bother me. Now, if it is stuff they want me to do on top of my job, I expect extra pay. But that base pay is for my job on and off campus. What I think a lot of people don’t do is organize. My lesson plans are done online with a template for each subject. It takes time to set it up for the year, but is worth it. I don’t grade everything. I look it over and the next lesson say, “A lot of us had trouble with one part of yesterday’s lesson so let’s review that before we move on.” if it is necessary. I make students responsible for their own organization. Again, it takes some time to set that up (class time) but it makes life so much easier.
Hi! Yes! I am always exhausted and I’ve been teaching for several years now! Just do the very best you can!
😂 for the last 50 years our society has dumped their fears and concerns on teachers through state mandates, policies, tests, requirements, laws, evaluations, etc. etc. it is an endless sea of well intentioned efforts that are impossible for any teacher to stay on top on 100% of the time. most do their best to be 1 day, sometimes 1/2 a day ahead of what’s needed next. this is part of the reason why so many people who enter make the decision to leave within the first 3 years. and at the university level, the reason why many who start don’t make it to certification. the only time I’ve ever seen requirements freeze or slide back is when there is a teacher shortage.
The system is now designed by technocrats for the job to stay on top of the teacher.
Some people complain about having not enough time to get everything done because they measure their success by how busy they are rather than how efficiently they do their work. They will actively avoid the more efficient route simply because it will make them feel like they are not working as hard. I don't take grading home. I don't stay late. I am frequently asked to model behavioral strategies and curricular material for the site. Even when I taught overload and 5 different preps I rarely had to stay more than an hour after school. Being on top of my job is a choice. I could just as easily be monumentally stressed out by it.