New Page 4

This time last year, I was working as a district administrator and putting in almost 80 hours a week! I though I would lose my mind--I almost lost my marriage and children as well. This year, we moved, I returned to a school based position and cut my work week to no more that 50 hours a week. I had to physically keep track of the time at the beginning of the year. I even took my daughter to school with me so that I wouldn't stay late!
The change has been dramatic--I want to go to school every day. I look forward to coming home and spending time with my family. Someone talked about balance-- It is interesting to me the difference in cultures in various places. I spent two years in New England--MA to be exact and the average teacher would still be in their class rooms--or school until 7 or 8 at night. Teachers attended school committee meetings and town meetings. They worked on building committees, budget committees and more committees that met after school than I could ever dream of.
Here in Florida, teachers go to the school board meetings to receive award or thank you's. They read about the business stuff in the newspaper. Committee meetings for the most part are arranged that you meet, create an action plan, folks take responsibility, you go your separate ways. You only meet when you have to after that. Stuff gets done. Its acceptable for teachers to leave after the bell at 3:00.
Granted, when I worked in MA my salary was $53,000 a year. In Florida, my salary is $36,000. But I will tell you, it is worth it! My work is better now. I feel like I am a better teacher and have so much more to give my kids. However, my daughter's college still wants that tuition check on time!
Worth thinking about--
Mary Anne

I've been thinking about this lately as I seem to be more deeply involved in a wider variety of activities. In terms of hours, I hesitate to count them, but here goes. I usually arrive at school around 6:30 am (fourth car in the lot) because I'm a morning person--up at five, read the paper while I'm eating, watch the news, etc. Nothing like getting your day off with a little multitasking. I usually am home by 5:00 pm, and I try not to bring any work home. Sunday morning, I worship at the altar of correcting, planning, entering grades on the computer, etc. So altogether it's around 60 hours per week where I am actually working on schoolwork. But there are many more hours when I am doing something else (painting, gardening) and am thinking about a kid or a situation or a plan.
There have been many times when I have climbed down from the ladder and gone straight to the computer to change something in a plan.

What is remarkable about the hours at school is that there are no breaks--no hanging around the water cooler, no smoking in the teachers' room, etc. And a 19 minute lunch period. What is remarkable about the time at home is that I always seem to be thinking about school. In other words, I am interpreting my life through my life's work (32 years this year).

Why? I enjoy the work--it's still fun going in to school; I'm optimistic as each day begins and so forth. But there are other factors at work here. Computers for one. They don't make work any more efficient--they just open doors to opportunities that I didn't even know existed before. For example, communication with other professionals is easier with listservs but I didn't do as much before there were listservs! Keeping grades is more interesting and powerful, but takes just as long as the more conventional way with paper because it spreads the work out over time. I don't have "report card weekends" any more. I simply enter the grades as I go along and then manage to push a few keys over the weekend, send them electronically to the guidance office and presto! there's the report cards. So, while computers have organized me more, they have also given me more opportunities to think about school: perhaps I can change that worksheet just a bit for each class because each class has a little bit different chemistry and abilities; perhaps I can find a few more URLs to post on the school's homepage for research purposes; perhaps I can find a little bit of time to explore a multimedia presentation software application, etc, etc.

Another factor for me is my experience level. With 32 years in education under my belt, I feel a certain responsibility to help the younger teachers in the school and to serve on committees. I am also seeing the end in sight. 5 more years and out probably, and there's so much more to learn and so little time in which to do it!

Another related factor is the tremendous amount of educational research that comes out. This helps us to teach better, but it requires us to learn about it. And that takes time.

I want to say that my experiences are not particularly the same for everyone else. We still have a few teachers who walk in with the kids, and leave a few minutes after they leave and take no work home. But those are far fewer than when I first started. I would estimate that more than 90% of the teachers in our school work in excess of 50 hours a week--and many of the younger teachers coach which takes additional time. The younger teachers have many demands placed on them: teaching, coaching, motherhood (we have very few men in our school), and a mandatory Master's Degree (which our school board pays for).

What balance? Actually, I no longer work during vacations. My wife and I are "DINKS", ie, Double Income, No Kids, so we don't need to work then. We travel, garden, read, sail, ski, etc. I also try to get to the health club several times a week, and I find that sometimes when I arrive there, I can
hardly keep my eyes open, but when I leave, I am reinvigorated. Plus, I can eat more because I just burned off a whole bunch of calories!

Thanks, Brenda, for asking the question. It's always good to reflect on your life. Hmm, I wonder if I can incorporate that into a lesson????????
- Jack Wallace

My students think I have an easy life, being that I have a two month summer vacation. I try explaining to them that during the 10 months that I do work, my life is consumed by my job. My students and many adults do not seem to understand that teachers do not leave their work at the work place. I just spent three days out of a four day weekend grading essays. Additionally, while I was growing up, both of my teacher parents worked during their summers. My father had an 11 month license, and my mother worked as a speech/special education evaluator. This helped them pay the mortgage and make up for the ten years my mother spent at home to take care of me and my brother.

Furthermore, I am nearly 100% sure that I will spend at least one half of my summer vacation teaching composition at a community college so I can pay off a part of my student or car load. As for the amount of hours that I work -- well -- I do not know. Need I write "a lot"?
Stacy

Good morning all, Perfect question for me today, Brenda - needless to say, here I am on a Saturday morning, working both on and offline - as a CA middle school principal, my day begins about 4:30 to 5:00 am since I do my best planning, thinking and writing in the early morning - my choice! I work for about an hour and a half, M-Fri, writing agendas, teacher observations/evaluations/to do lists for my secretary/notes to teachers, my VP and counselors/reading articles/signing all budget items/reading district memos, etc. Anything that requires uninterrupted time, which is non-existent when I am at school. I arrive at my school about 7:45a.m. and rarely ever leave until about 5:30 or 6:00 p.m. (and John, you wonder why I haven't been posting to the listserv??!!).

Now, in addition to the normal (this is normal?!) tasks required of Prin., I have added the II/USP process required of schools like mine whose API scores did not meet the state requirements. This is a HUGE task of meeting weekly with an Action Plan Team to write an Improvement Plan for the next two years. We have about 6 weeks to complete this task. So, I scheduled my Action Plan meetings for Mondays and have now devoted 6-8 hours of planning, typing, etc each weekend to keep this process moving at the speed with which the state requires to meet the 5/15/01 deadline! Luckily, I think, my external evaluator works with my via email and I have a great team who have all agreed to not only meet weekly for 2-3 hours, but also do homework assignments!

I just did the math on my work week and it comes out to a frightening 85 hours average every week. The contrast to my teachers' work year is startling - our teachers work 8 months on our YRE calendar, a total of 163 days and are "off-track" for 4 months. This is a tremendous disincentive for teacher leaders to become administrators in my district! But, I love being with middle school kids and the people who love to work with them, so, most of the time, I find great satisfaction in what I have chosen to do as a career. I have been a middle school teacher, counselor, VP and Principal for a grand total of 30 years plus!

My school is on a Concept 6 YRE calendar and I work (officially!)222 days. As administrators, we take our vacations (this year this is a misnomer!) in short blocks of 3-5 days at a time. We all agree that vacations are usually more work to prepare for and clean up after than they are worth, as school goes on while we are on vacation! email, phone messages, mail, etc pile up!

For balance, I keep trying to improve my skills as an amatuer photographer by taking short photography trips/classes, use my brand new scanner and printer to print my own pictures, visit and take short trips with my adult daughter, email my distant friends, dinner with near-by friends between after school meetings and errands. I read spy novels because they are intense enough to take my ever-busy mind off of work! I love jazz and try to attend at least a few concerts in the Bay Area every year. I am an old and devoted Laker's fan and watch the games on TV as another way to relax - if they win! I purposefully buy tickets for both concerts and museum shows and try not to allow myself to cancel. In fact, on today's list for online stuff is the purchase of tickets to the Toulouse-Lautrec show in SF - now, when to fit it in! I also teach university courses from time to time in the evenings. Yes, that provides balance for me!

Again, a great question and one that we all need to answer honestly as we look at the teacher and administrator shortages not just here in CA but across the nation. I believe that we need to carefully examine, especially in CA, the great need for time for professional development which for us barely exists anymore, yet is more needed than ever as we all become more and more accountable. -Betsy

Brenda's questions intrigue me. I have worried that I simply didn't manage my time well since several other teachers at my school advise me frequently that "you need a life." My worries are assuaged now that I've seen what my Middle Web colleagues report for their time spent. I spend about 8 to 10 hours per school day in class, on prep, and on school related activities. One day per week, I work about 1 1/2 hours after school in the after school program.

Since I don't have to rush home to let the dogs out (there's an adult there), I usually putter in my room for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours. I love this after-school time; occasionally, I spend an uninterrupted 20 minutes with my principal (he keeps long hours); sometimes, I find myself in conversation about kids or curriculum with one of the few other teachers who also like to "putter." I love that--I don't often have a chance to visit with like-minded colleagues during the day. Some of this after-school time is spent on correspondence, email, entering grades, planning for classes, making copies, helping kids. I sometimes spend 45 min. to an hour per evening M -Th reading student work and grading. Weekends, I spend 2 to 3 hours planning, reading student work, grading. As a middle school, we have 2 preps, one personal, one for teaming. I'm embarrassed that my team does not use this common planning time, choosing not to capitalize on the interdisciplinary possibilities. I teach fewer than 1/2 of the kids on the team, so I haven't figured out how to bulldoze some team-type activities. Usually, faculty meetings and professional development meetings require about 2 - 3 hours per month.

This sounds a bit like a work-a-holic, but I move at a slow pace. I refresh myself through plenty of reading time, planning and cooking meals, a few regular social activities (mostly with non-teachers), going to movies, concerts, plays (at least one per week), shopping for surprise little gifts for my grandson, Friday dinner out with my spouse, tending to pets, other mundane household and family duties.

The norm for my school? With the exception of two special ed teachers, 3 sixth grade teachers, maybe 3 other teachers, and the handful who are paid to work in the Tu-Th after school pgm, folks light out for home faster than the kids do. Regarding the exodus, my mother might have observed, "They's a'movin' so fast, you can smell the hair a'burnin!" A few, who have last period prep, are gone at the end of the penultimate period--unless we have monthly faculty meeting. This is much the same at the district's six other middle schools. Obviously, we have a school-culture problem.

I'm a little envious of the smokers on our faculty--they meet every morning in the little wood behind the school, out of sight of the kids, gather there at lunch, and spend part of any common planning time there. These women (no men in the group) have bonded--their camaraderie is apparent elsewhere, too, and they share info on their teaching and their curricula. Three of them are on the same team, and their best teaming ideas seem to come out of their smoke-breaks.

No teacher I know maintains balance in terms of keeping regular hours. The workload that goes with guiding student learning makes that impossible. However, I did manage to make progress in carving out a balance in my school day!

For several years after I began teaching, I worked constantly - trying to prepare for and teach the kids properly, do the extra curriculars, and keep up with all of the administrative paperwork and responsibilities that land on the teachers plates as well. I wanted to do everything in a first-rate,
top-notch manner.

I finally realized that, given the number of responsibilities the school assigned teachers, doing everything in a first-rate manner would be impossible. So, I decided to focus on my real responsibility as a teacher and a professional - student learning and all that that entailed - and do
the rest as best I could. My main time-saving strategy was to spend less time on office paperwork - sometimes to the annoyance of the office staff. I did it and turned it in when I could get around to it - after I'd done what I needed to do with regard to instruction and preparing to teach. I
started collecting office memos like badges of honor - signals that my priorities were in order!

When I got the annual "cumulative record memo" listing my responsibilities (line up every item in each student's folder in a specified order; prepare cum folders for students who didn't have one; contact parents and collect the necessary information - birth certificates, two proofs of residence, and whatever else was missing; and have it done by . . . .) I finally had to make a decision. Did I give the kids seatwork and work on the cum folders? Nope - not an option. Did I stay after school to work on clerical stuff? Nope - I stay after school to set up science labs, break down labs, sponsor
the chess club, meet with parents, meet with teachers, grade papers, make lesson plans, etc. I decided NOT to stay after school to do assigned clerical work - especially when the clerical staff went on home!

My solution? Since it was my assigned responsibility, I personally hired a sub who was a certified teacher, gave her the box of cum folders, and put her in the science lab to work on them. (Parent volunteers can't touch cum folders, of course.)

I stayed focused on guiding student learning during the school day. I caused a stir and some degree of consternation in the office, but I maintained a pleasant working relationship with the office staff by making sure I did not "whine" about the clerical work. I simply handled it as best I could in and the way I chose. I even apologized graciously for the late stuff - especially the textbook lists - which I didn't turn in on the correct forms until over a month after they were due.

The only shaky moment came when the counselors instructed all homeroom teachers to determine which students in their homerooms were overage, etc. and to have the information to them by Tuesday (this was on Friday). I looked at my calendar, determined that I had parent conferences or team planning meetings during my planning time on Monday - Thursday. I told the counselors that I could have the information to them by the following Friday. One counselor told me that I had to have it in Tuesday - no choice. I quietly gave her my plan book and asked her if she would help the students learn the basic properties of minerals while I got the information together for her. I never heard another word about getting that information together for the counselors.

I have taught at one school where a teacher's status as a professional was respected, and I was asked to do only minimal clerical work. What an honor it was to work and teach there! Alas - lack of funding makes the hiring of adequate office staff a problem in many of our schools. In spite of that,
however, the instruction still has to come before the paperwork.

That's a long way of saying that while my professional/personal life has never been in balance, my school day went better when I prioritized it and held steady to the course I chose - in a positive manner without fanfare, openly challenging anyone's authority, or whining.

- Anne

Education is a hard job, and we have all established that it takes many hours to do the job right. Thanks to all of you who responded for the many hours you put it. Thanks, also, for remaining in the field of education. I hope that as the standards go up, and the shortages continue, we will see increases in teacher and administrator salaries. -Michelle

I don't know about other districts, but in Jefferson County, Ky., the number of hours depends a lot on the school where you work. Not that some principals demand more than others (although, I am sure that is sometimes the case), but because some programs are just more demanding than others. I am now counselor at a school that has no advanced program, 620 students, 7 ECE units, a small honors program, several after-school clubs, a mini-mall, WCMS, a Youth Services Center, a few committees and is a great all around neighborhood school (even though there are some areas that are still being bussed in. I came from a terrific magnet school, 1130 students, 11 ECE units (if I remember correctly), bunches and bunches of after-school programs, lots of committees to work on, a Youth Services Center, WMZK, a great math and science program...it was an exciting place to work. Recently, I had to make a decision, stay at my nice small school or go back to the exciting world of the other school. My decision was to stay, not because I enjoy one school more than the other, both places are great places to spend a large part of my life. My decision was based on the time I had to put into the other job. The other school required a good 10-15 more hours per week. My principal did not demand those hours, she expected me to work until the job was done but it took me a lot more time to do the same job. I have young children at home and felt my husband and children needed more of my time than I was giving before. Now I work about 45 hours per week, on occasion it my be a few more. But most days I am home by 4:30, in time to cook dinner, run kids to church, gymnastics, b-ball practice, guitar lessons, help with homework, etc. I never have to take work home and it feels great. The part I don't understand, is why the 2 jobs would pay exactly the same amount of money? In our school district, compensation has nothing to do with the size of the school or the amount of time put into the job (I guess this is the case everywhere), it only matters what level of education and the number of years experience you have. I know a larger school requires a great deal more work from the administration and personally feel this should be taken into consideration. -Robbyn

After reading all the posts and counting all the extra hours everyone works reminds me of some very good advice that was given to me. I am compelled to pass it on.
*Take care of yourself and your family first.
* Taking paperwork home- Leave it at school; it will still be there tomorrow.
* Students' comments- Don't take it personally; kids are fickle. Don't go home and worry. Rest and relax. Tomorrow that same student will love you.
* Parent requests- If parents do not want to take time off their jobs to meet with you concerning their child, don't give in and stay after hours. Doctors don't work after hours without pay. For that matter, most of our parents would not work extra hours for free. Doctors also do not make house calls anymore. (I had a parent request that I meet with her at her house.)
* Grading- Let your students grade their own papers as often as possible. It is a learning experience for them. The trend is for students to self assess anyway.
* Not everything the students do needs to go in the grade book. I don't record grades until I know that 98% of my students will earn a passing grade. I usually end up with around 10 to 12 grades per six weeks. I teach math to 6th grade students.

How many hours do I work? After 26 years of teaching, I don't take much home. My day begins at 8 A.M. I like to arrive at school an hour early so I can do all the non-instructional duties, grade tests, prepare tests, revise lesson plans, enter grades in the grade book (computer), or prepare a PowerPoint presentation. On Mondays, I tutor for one hour. Our principal allows us one hour each week for paid tutorials. School is over at 4 P.M. and I am out the door between 4:15 and 4:30 with my purse, cell phone and NOTHING else. The cell phone is an excellent deterrent. I've only called one parent in class.
-Melba

As I begin thinking about my work week, I begin to ponder whether I am spending enough time at school or enough time at home. Both of them deserve more of me than I am able to give due to demands from the other.

I am a morning person so I get up around 5 AM and almost always get an hour of school work done before I begin the task of waking my family. Because I am a morning person, working after school unless in a specific meeting or something is not very productive for me. I have gotten very good at not wasting even one minute of the planning time I have during the week. This helps.

I always spend at least three hours on the weekend at school. I justify this by bringing my 11 and 13 year old with me. They use computers or games or something. I try to leave school around 3:30-4:00 (when there are no meetings ) most days to go to the health club to work out. I am a much better person all around when
I am fit and healthy.

Now having said all that, let me tell you about today. We met after school at 3:15 from staff meeting. We finished at five. We did need to talk. Then we had a b-day party for our principal who is turning 50, I am right behind her. As that was breaking up at 5:30, UPS arrived with the live plants and animals for the science unit I am working on. Of course it needed to be opened immediately and the fish, snails, duckweed and elodea taken care of. I never left the building until 6 :40 PM
- Kathy

I teach my contracted hours, 30 per week. I'm at school an hour early every day (to clean animal cages, run copies, tutor students, post lessons and so forth), 5 hrs/wk. I spend approximately 7 hours/week at home writing lesson plans and generating student feedback- graded papers & weekly grade reports. Add a weekly staff meeting and curriculum writing and I'm on the job some 45 hours per week. How to balance that with real life? Repeat the following mantra one million times: "It's just my day job." I make a concentrated effort to think and talk and dream about my family, travel, astronomy hobby and banjo picking once the day job stuff is out of the way. I teach teenagers at an urban alternative high school (sad kids, mad kids and bad kids), so my job is about as stress free as a teacher could design. Thank you for posting your query. It made me stop and count my blessings. -Jim

My work week varies drastically depending on what part of the year we are in. Last year, as a first year teacher, it was crazy. I sponsored cheerleading and student council and taught five preps. So I spent 35 hours per week at school (8 to 3:30)contracted time, plus I was there an hour early everyday, 5 hours and three nights a week at least I was at a game until 9 p.m. 18 hours plus I had planning time which probably averaged 8 to 10 hours a week once I got it rolling. I could plan in a good long Saturday spent at school. So, approximately 65 to 70 hours a week. But this year I'm smarter. Why school districts do that to new teachers I'll never know... I don't sponsor anything but I'm taking graduate classes. But, I love it. As far as balancing goes... I'm still learning, slowly.