How Many Hours Does a Teacher *Really* Work? (2)

Wednesday, September 19th, 2007 | Sara the Teacher

Keeping track of my hours this year is making my head spin! Not to mention a little depressed. I was doing a little “math” this morning as I was getting ready for school.

  • I am paid a salary 10 months of the year.
  • My contract time is “officially” 8:00 am to 2:30 pm.
  • There is NO WAY a teacher can do what she must do each day in 6.5 hours (and that includes a working lunch).
  • I put in 43 hours of work alone the week before school started (and no students were even on campus!).
  • Last week, I put in 54 hours. According to my contract, I was “paid” for working 5-6.5 days. That’s 32.5 hours.

It’s unfair–plain and simple. Good teachers are not paid for the work they do. In any other business a good worker would earn yearly raises, promotions, etc. “Good” workers don’t get paid the same as “bad” workers. And most “bad” workers don’t stick around very long. Unfortunately, all teachers get paid the same (according to their years of experience) despite the amount of time and energy they put into their classroom.

So, I don’t know if I really want to continue this little experiment of mine. I’m more aware than ever the extra hours that I’m spending on my classroom, but it’s not motivating me to cut back (should I really just do my “job” in the given time society thinks I can do it, or do I think my calling goes beyond 6.5 hours a day?).

My students are way to precious for the bare minimum a teacher can give. God has given me a heart for these kids that stretches beyond my job. I don’t want to loose sight of my real purpose.

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