Uncategorized | Oct 4, 2012
How to work a 40 hour week as a teacher
By Angela Watson
Founder and Writer
How to work a 40 hour week as a teacher
By Angela Watson
A 40 hour week for a teacher is almost unheard of. The growing number of teacher-bashers out there have somehow gotten the idea that we work far fewer hours that. And of course, anyone who’s ever worked in the field knows that the time spent at school combined with the time spent on paperwork at home often averages out to 50-70 hours a week…or more.
I believe there’s a healthy balance between the perception of teachers working only from 9-3 and the unfortunate reality of them working 7-7. As a classroom teacher, my goal in finding a work-life balance was to dedicate 40 hours a week to my job. Sure, I might spend additional time in the evenings looking online for new lesson ideas or making manipulatives while I watched TV, but those were tasks I really enjoyed. They didn’t feel like work to me, and I didn’t do them every day. My goal was to complete my “work-work” tasks during the course of an 8 hour day: grading, paperwork, photocopies, etc.
I succeeded about 90% of the time. The beginning and end of the school year were the major exceptions. At those times, I was always prepared to work as many hours as it took. 70-hour weeks were not atypical for me in August and September (weekends included). And during those years when I was new to the grade level, school, or school system, I sometimes had to settle for alternating 8-hour days and 10-hour days, or spending Sundays working from home, but I did always manage to get to a 40-hour week by late October. Usually, the only time I’d go beyond 40 hours in a normal work week was if there was a special project or event coming up.
So that means I don’t have a fool-proof system that will guarantee you’ll leave the school parking lot before sundown every night. But I do have some tips to share that made it easier for me to work a reasonable amount of hours. I’ve shared seven pages of timesaving tips for teachers in chapter 34 of The Cornerstone Book, Timesaving Strategies: Discovering How to Be a Teacher and Still Have a Personal Life. Here are six additional ideas ideas for lightening your workload:
1) Replace worksheets with hands-on activities.
The more paper and pencil work you give, the more stuff you’ve got to photocopy, organize, pass out, collect, grade, record, and return to students. Not only are hands-on activities more meaningful for students, but you’ll spend less time making photocopies and grading papers. It’s a win for everybody.
2) Make the most of Morning Work or Bell Work.
When your kids come in the room in the morning and after lunch, there should be something on the board for them to get started on right away. While they are doing morning work, you should be able to complete attendance, check all homework, read and respond to parents’ notes, and so on. My goal was to get this done in 15-20 minutes, but typically I didn’t end the morning work time until I finished these tasks–I wasn’t about to leave myself with a messy pile of half-sorted papers and someone’s class picture money just lying out on my desk. I felt no guilt about this because my students’ morning work assignments were meaningful and open-ended: the kids were actively engaged in projects, reading books, etc. When my administrative tasks were done and I was comfortable with beginning our day, we started.
3) Choose bulletin boards that are timeless.
The background paper and border you put up in August can be left there until June. Switch out student work once a month (or every 6 weeks) and choose stuff that’s not tied to the holidays or seasons. (What’s the point of putting up Valentine’s Day work on February 8th when it’ll look dated on February 15?) You can also put your students in charge of the bulletin boards: let them choose their best work, self-reflect on the back of their papers, and hang them up. At the end of the year, their monthly work sample choices can serve as a portfolio.
4) Keep your room neat and clean during the day instead of staying after school to straighten up.
It only takes a few seconds to push student desks back into position and remind students to pick up their belongings that are on the floor before you take the class to lunch. Tape up that poster that’s falling off the wall while students are writing the heading on their papers. Clear or at least straighten piles of papers on your desk during a moment of downtime instead of checking email for tenth time. Tidying up for two minutes here and two minutes there can easily save you a half an hour that would otherwise be spent staying late after dismissal.
5) When you work beyond your contracted hours, try to choose times when few other people are at school.
I was contracted for 35 hour weeks when I taught in Maryland and 37.5 hour weeks in Florida, so a 40 hour week for me meant coming in an hour or so early or staying an hour late. I found that I could remain completely undisturbed for at least forty-five minutes if I came in early, but staying late was pointless because I’d end up hanging out in a co-worker’s room or slumped at my desk in exhaustion. There’s no point in working long hours if you’re not really working. If you’re too tired, someone is constantly coming in and asking you for things, or you’re tempted to wander next door to chat, pick your “overtime” hours wisely…or even complete them at home.
6) Create a self-running classroom that frees you to teach.
I’ve shared a lot of resources on this topic on my website and even more extensively in my book and webinar series. Creating a self-running classroom means empowering students to take charge of their learning and learning environment. It means giving students ownership over the learning process instead of carrying all the responsibility yourself. Teaching kids simple procedures for every task in the classroom will save you countless hours of instructional time throughout the year because your classroom activities will flow more smoothly and have fewer disruptions. Automate your routine tasks so that not a moment is wasted and you can focus on what matters most about your job: teaching and connecting with kids!
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Angela Watson
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Thanks for these great reminders and some new tips. I’ve found two timesavers for grading and it really helps out. The first is for any written essay or assignment that needs to be graded for writing content as well as conventions- when we finish a Writer’s Workshop unit, part of our celebration is us sitting and letting each student have a turn in the “Author’s Chair.” Not unusual, I’m sure many do this, but a few years ago it dawned on me that I can grade for content while they read and then I only need to scan for conventions later. This saves me so much time as the stories are already being read in class and don’t need to be done again in my own time (unless there were a few I was keeping a close eye on), and scanning for conventions is fairly easy. I never have stacks of huge writing pieces to grade now. The other time saver is that we will take timed math fact practices for part of our morning routine to keep facts straight. I have the tests (they all move on at their own paces, so we don’t all do the same tests at the same time) all organized in a crate with answer keys. Once they are all turned in, students sort the tests, I pull the answer keys, and when I have early finishers, they get to grade the timed tests. This saves me from the grading, just the recording of 100% passers and the students who grade get extra fact review.
I just love all the tips and ideas, and it makes me feel so much better to know others are having the same issues. I work at least 12 hour days, go in early, stay late, and take work home. I have a hard time being productive when kids are in the room. How do you handle a class of second graders who always want to tell you something? The morning is the hardest. Im trying to balance my relationship with them and getting my own work done. I’m trying to take attendance and they’re at my desk to tell me something. Do I just have to be firmer and not allow anyone to come up? I’m in summer now, but would like to start the new year right and get them to not need to tell me everything. I start sounding like a broken record…do you need to tell me this now? Is it an emergency? What can you do to figure this out on your own? I struggle with balancing get to work and letting them tell me important things. I’ll have parents ask if their child told me about an important event and I’ll say no because 10 other kids came up with mindless comments and when i get stern the kids with important comments get shunned. Then I feel bad. Any advice?
I teach 3rd/4th grade. They do always seem to have something important to share with you. Mine LOVE sticky notes. I greet them all at the door in the mornings with a hello & maybe a hug, but then they have a regular routine to get into. If they have something to tell me about – I give them a sticky note :0) They turn in homework, notes from home, lunch money, & sharpen pencils. Then we do our first Daily 5 session of the day. They have already learned this routine, and they get right to it. No one is allowed to be moving around the room or talking. This allows me to go through all the things they have turned in & any sticky notes that need dealt with right away. Once I’m organized, they are done with Daily 5 & we can start our day. This has been a wonderful, peaceful routine for my class. Hope it helps!
Jeanne–When I was teaching Elementary School, I did two different things to allow the kids to tell me what they needed to tell me. First, I hang up a string with clothespins in one corner of my room. The string has a clothespin with each child’s name on it, as well as a clothespin with mine. My kids know–once they are finished with their morning work, they can write me a note or write one to another child in the class, and put it in their clothespin. I only allow them to do this twice a day, and try to choose a time when they are going to be up anyway, such as when they come into the class or during morning work, and when we are coming back from lunch. That way, they aren’t using too much class time to write the notes. I encourage them to write notes to encourage each other, if they see a classmate who needs encouragement, and also to write down anything they want to tell me. This helps them get to know the other kids in the class, they see me reading them while they are working independently, it helps them prioritize information and decide if that’s something they need to say now or later, and also gives them practice with writing and reading. I monitor them randomly, and they get bonus points for using new words correctly, paying attention to spelling and grammar, etc. Students know if they abuse the privilege, they will lose it for a period of time, and they come to take it very seriously by the end of the year. If I have a class of thirty, I choose 6 students a day, and write them an encouraging or complimentary note, so everyone has received an encouraging note by the end of the week. This does two things–helps me build a relationship with them, and also helps them to see themselves through my eyes, so if they aren’t feeling very lovable that day, they still see that someone loves them for who they are. The second thing I do is choose a time, twice or three times a week, when children are working independently, to conference with them, and at the end of the conference, after we’ve talked about work, I give them a minute or so to tell me anything they want to tell me. I’ve also done styrofoam cups in my room, attached to the desks, and students can turn them upside down when they have something they need to say to me. That way, they keep working, and I call them up one at a time, as I can, or I go to them.
You can teach kids when it’s okay to interrupt you and when it’s not. I recommend the 3 Before Me strategy–it works wonders!
This is so great! As a student teacher waiting for the day I have my first classroom of my own, these tips will be so helpful. I try not to worry about getting to have my dream job, while also having quality time for my young son. I am ever confident that I can be a single parent and still be an efficient teacher.
It’s a tough balance for sure! It’s wonderful that you’re planning for that in advance.
Great ideas! I like number six, allowing kids to help so time is not wasted. I need to work to incorporate them more.