Teacher's diary: a day in the life of an intermediate school teacher

I have to post a comment as I am a bit tired of this propaganda by stealth.I am a primary school teacher- I have been for about 15 years.Its a great job- never the same day twice and I consider myself wellpaid for the hours I work- and thats the key to it all.Time management is critical. If you are working beyond 5pm then you arent managing your workload in my opinion.There are times in the year when the workload increases with reporting etc but these are balanced out by quieter times.Pull back on the extras if you are overloaded.In my experience a student teacher is a bonus not a burden in the classroom.Union membership is not compulsory despite the pressure you may feel to join. I intend negotiating individually for my contract after the toxic dust settles from the union leaders beating their drums and grinding their axes- you do realize you can negotiate your own contract despite the fact that the union will coerce you otherwise?In short, be a professional and set up smart systems. Students dont need martyrs as role models.

What are the hours like during the school holidays?

Sorry there are just so many other people who are heavily under the pump at their respective jobs also. We all have a choice.... find another job. One thing teachers have that a lot of other people dont have is job security, have you factored this in at all?

Hardly an average day, do they have union meetings every day, time management here is poor.

You cant include a union meeting in your workday!

I drive past my local rural school on the way to work it has a role of 160, there are no cars at school when I drive past at 8am and when I drive past on the way home at 4:30 it is also rare to spot a vehicle. In all occupations there are some that stand head and shoulders above others in work ethic which is what this woman in the article seems to be. But when you dont get paid any more for doing the extra work or hours or performance based pay then a lot of teachers just work the bare minimum. I also have friends who are teachers and apart from the mad rush for 1 week before school starts for the year, or the day or two before term resets they enjoy more than twice the holidays of most of the workforce.I agree pat teachers more but for a handout we want to see a better work ethic and reduce your holidays to 4 weeks a year. With actual attendance at school required for term prep etc.

I leave home at 7ish and sometimes dont get home till 6ish. No lunch break either although I did get a coffee at about 11am.Perhaps I should talk to my therapist

12 weeks holiday is not enough time to recover from 40 weeks of hell.

Great point regarding your principal dictating work conditions- there has never been a better time to shop around for a better principal/ school particularly in Auckland. In a tight market your argument fits but currently I dont think it does.Like I said, there is no need for martyrs.

As a teacher of 30 years, workload is dependent on what school you teach at. Obviously you struck it lucky.The vast majority of Principals have expectations that reflect the workload of the teacher in this article. Only Principals and the pressure put on them by ERO can change this. Mr Foo you are right there is no reason you could not teach well and leave by 5pm if Principals and ERO would drop many of their new initiatives, endless accountability tasks and focus on doing the basics well along with having fun in the process.Chris Hopkins needs to reign in ERO and Principals and their new initiatives making them accountable for providing a safe workplace where expectations are relative to a 40 hour working week. This would go a long way to resolving the current teacher crisis without having to spend endless $.

Wait , Why do your kids not see much of you ? You are at work the same hours they are at school .

based on recent experience shes missed out: ignore the little funny blond kid whos failing to achieve any thing. Dont tell his parents until they come in with half the year gone. Say that at 11 hes not self managing very well. Add that society doesnt believe there should be homework so shes not giving it. Finally wake up to the fact the parents are looking F^%$ing furious and warn the principal that theres an angry parent heading his way next morning. Then rely on the parents Mother) to sit down with the boy every evening and do her job for her.There may be good teachers, there may be teachers who work into the night, there are definitely poor teachers and because of the union they cannot be differentiated against.God you have it so tough

Unfortunately, this sort of day-to-day scenario of the teacher isnt understood or talked about by people who are not teachers. A large chunk of the work of the teacher is done in silence, often in places where no one but close family sees it happening. So the ignorant and uninitiated bad mouth the teacher as a shirker who is highly paid for a few hours work per day, when these critics dont have a clue what they are talking about.

finally some honesty Mr Foo

the union argument of the hours teachers work is harming the profession and their negotiations. lots of salary warners work longer hours and it shows a lack of understanding of the real world. teaching is a specialist skill so lets focus on that.

Agree

Seems to me another strike is needed. A week at least.

Most teachers do a great job. However, their hours are no longer than many other NZ workers. Ms Dore would do herself a favour by reading John Mikkleons story into todays Manawatu Standard. It may give her an insight into what other NZ workers have & still do to get ahead in their jobs & lives.

Welcome to the real world, too many teachers have never left school, and sadly our education system is turning out young people into the world with little resilience,so they all think theyre hard done by ,

If it isnt a union meeting there will be something else to do - or she may have been able to go home at 5 that day. No indications of poor time management from the article either. It is interesting that people feel okay about putting in their two cents about what teachers do all day, but are not interested in listening when a teacher describes what a day actually looks like.