Bringing work home (or not)

amother

Cobalt

Tue, Aug 29 2017, 8:35 pm

amother wrote:

Kids hate homework
Parents hate supervising homework
Teachers hate marking homework

Well teacher - stop setting homework.

Seriously. Everyone is working too hard, and most of it is not very important anyway. Do mitzvos. Do chessed. We all spend so much time doing things that are just not worth it.

So this works well if you're setting the standard, but some schools require teachers to assign homework. I'm in a public school where homework accounts for 10% of the final grade. (This is because the students are very weak, and they made a grading system that allows students to do well even if they're failing tests. Go figure.) Also, in math in particular, if you don't review what you learned the day before, you can fall behind very quickly. I don't like homework, either, and I assign as little as possible, but sometimes it's unavoidable.

amother

Amber

Tue, Aug 29 2017, 10:29 pm

OP here. Thanks everyone for your responses. Grading papers is the least of my problems. I teach Limudei Kodesh and I give pretty much no homework and not so many tests. It is the preparation and test writing that are so time consuming. I don't teach all the same classes every year, and even those that are repeats need to be adjusted for the levels of those particular students. Before I had kids, I often did all my preparation for the year in the summer, but with children to care for I find it impossible to do that.

amother

Amber

Tue, Aug 29 2017, 10:36 pm

amother wrote:

Do you work a full 8 hour day in the classroom? Most teachers do not, with the understanding that the remaining hours are for preparation and making. Also consider all the days off, early finishes and vacation - it's hard to beat.

I do not teach 8 hours, but all my time that I am at work is either teaching or filled with other responsibilities. There is rarely time for any grading or prep. And when I am home I am taking care of my family. Yes, the work schedule itself is hard to beat, but it is also hard to figure out how to get in so many hours of "homework."

amother

Babypink

Tue, Aug 29 2017, 10:46 pm

Royalblue, you are wrong, a lot of ppl. Who are not teachers think like this. Yes, it may be true
For some teachers but not if the teacher is getting a new grade or curriculum each year. Or, if a teacher needs to tailor the lesson plan for different levels, this takes a lot of time. And, it is endless. I spent more time than the hours of vacation preparing. The preparation is endless especially if my principals will always tell me more criteria to include.... so, for me, my vacation is not spent "vacationing " I have to prepare and especially the day after vacation is when principals will check the plan.

Shoshana37

Tue, Aug 29 2017, 10:48 pm

amother wrote:

I work in an office, and what I have to say is that every job has its good and bad. Even though I generally dont have to take work home after 5 oclock, generally, office jobs are 12 month a year jobs. And no chanukah and midwinter vacation, and no pesach vacation... and no snow days(generally) no erev and isru chags... So if your like teaching and just dont like taking wok home,,, look at it as a tradeoff... u spend 2 weeks a summer preparing and marking...but at least u have summer break. And your not busy looking what to do with your kids on isru chag..midwinter and chanuka vacation... or between school and camp.

One thing I learnt, wokring is not easy... every career choice has pros and cons.

Spot on 👍👍👍👍👍 very true

Shoshana37

Tue, Aug 29 2017, 10:56 pm

I honestly always had huge respect to all the teachers out there. When I was in college my high school principal offered me a job to work with detention kids from high school and part of the job was to help girls with homework.
Of course I agreed not knowing what I was getting myself into... it was hard and annoying maybe because I was young then but I knew then I will never be a teacher.
So here is my Thank you to all the devoted excellent teachers 👏👏👏👏👏 out there.

amother

Aubergine

Wed, Aug 30 2017, 12:24 am

amother wrote:

I also taught and hated the marking/preparation at home. It made my meager salary unjustifiable. I started an office job and loved the freedom I had at night.

I always assumed all teachers spent time marking outside of school. My high school math teacher brought our math tests to weddings and marked them during dancing.

we must have gone to the same high school. I don't think she ever isn't doing something math-related. But that's what happens when you teach nine math classes in three schools or something like that... and give a test and "drill sheet" every week, plus check corrections.

I taught when I was single and don't think I'd be able to hack it now that I have a family b"H.

HonesttoGod

Wed, Aug 30 2017, 11:23 am

If you don't like your job to an extent that you are not giving it your all, leave. Especially if you are a teacher.

That said, I often bring work home and often have piles of work for me on my desk and have to bring it home and answer emails and phone calls between supper and bed time. It makes me crazy but it is life (particularly in America/NY where everyone is pretty much obsessed with their job and expect you to be so too).
If you don't like it, quit and find something else or take steps to insure that you don't have to do so much at home prep.

amother

Amber

Wed, Aug 30 2017, 2:46 pm

HonesttoGod wrote:

I do like my job, and I am certainly giving it my all, which is why it is so time consuming.

Steps towards not having so much prep at home is easier said than done. I welcome suggestions.

amother

Papaya

Wed, Aug 30 2017, 3:19 pm

amother wrote:

I am a high school teacher, and I find the fact that I constantly have to do significant amounts of work at home to be very stressful and draining. Sometimes I feel that it is outweighed by having summer vacation and other vacations, and not working until 5 like many other jobs. Other times I feel like I just can't take it anymore and want to retrain for a career in which I can leave my work at work and not have to be busy with it at home.

Not sure what my question is exactly. I guess I am just curious how others feel about this, and whether there is anyone out there who has a job for which she does not have to do work at home. Does such a thing even exist, or do most jobs today involve bringing work home?

Re: the bolded part. You hit the nail on the head. As heathcare worker, I earn about the the same as a teacher, with a similar level of education (master's degree). I work full days, year round, but rarely bring work home. There are pros and cons both ways.