When I started teaching, 20 years ago, I got 12 weeks vacation that first summer. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. While working in industry, I was thrilled to have made it to the 4 week vacation mark, so 12 weeks was wonderful.
The next year we got 11 weeks, then for a few years we got 10 weeks. The past two years we got 9 weeks. This year, 8. Ok, so it’s still more than that 4 weeks I got when I worked out there in the real world, but I don’t see that we are getting any more bang for the more time we spend in school.
When I started teaching we got an hour for lunch, or 55 minutes, and it was plenty of time to get lunch, go to the restroom, hold club meetings, work with students, hold detention, kibbitz with other teachers. Now we get 35 minutes, and that is bell to bell. And we wonder why clubs have trouble getting anything done. When are they supposed to meet? Oh, and we start school at 7:50 and run until 3:30. Students nor teachers have time to just breath and think.
I am thankful for these 8 weeks away from school (although I have been back twice now to work on computers and projects) and we get three weeks at Christmas, just about the time I’m ready to go under.
My husband reminds me that when I go back into the private sector that I will not be getting all those days off, and I know he’s right. But, I don’t seem to remember being so harried and overwhelmed when I worked in industry. My weekends were my own; I wasn’t planning and grading the work I had just done the previous week. I also remember being able to sit at my desk and think about the work I was doing. I don’t have that luxury any more. It seems as though the district office is afraid to give us a minute to think on our own.
2 responses so far ↓
lynnjake // July 2, 2009 at 12:11 am |
I agree, they really have whittled our time away, and I don’t see any benefit from the extra classtime. Just more exhaustion on the part of everyone, students and teachers alike.
ELizabeth Nelson // July 3, 2009 at 1:15 am |
Very true! I’m a 1st grade teacher @ a Lutheran school & I hardly have occasion to use the bathroom, let alone time to reflect on teaching practices & stay abreast on the latest research. I am very comitted to my craft, so I find my evenings, weekends & summers are filled with those activities. It seems like teachers have less time to breathe throughout the school day & year. I find that being a learner invigorates my teaching. Carving time out to do just that is a continual challenge.