Comments on: Are middle school teachers overworked? http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-school-teachers/are-middle-school-teachers-overworked Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:42:59 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: june p http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-school-teachers/are-middle-school-teachers-overworked/comment-page-1#comment-1571 june p Thu, 28 Jan 2010 05:32:59 +0000 http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-school-teachers/are-middle-school-teachers-overworked#comment-1571 being a teacher is tough whatever level you're teaching, especially because it involves a lot of things: you have interactions with the kids, and their parents and your colleagues, then there's stacks and stacks of paperwork. you'll have so many responsibilities to juggle: the teaching itself (5 classes with 30 students each? memorizing the names is no easy feat!), extra-curricular activities, lesson planning, tests..... it is a lot of work and yes, teachers are overworked. but the real reward is seeing that your kids are learning something from you and you know you're trying your darnest to make a mark in their lives. because whatever you teach to them today will have an effect as to the kind of person they will be in the future.<br><b>References : </b><br>my husband's a middle school teacher and i used to teach 2 years ago. being a teacher is tough whatever level you’re teaching, especially because it involves a lot of things: you have interactions with the kids, and their parents and your colleagues, then there’s stacks and stacks of paperwork. you’ll have so many responsibilities to juggle: the teaching itself (5 classes with 30 students each? memorizing the names is no easy feat!), extra-curricular activities, lesson planning, tests….. it is a lot of work and yes, teachers are overworked. but the real reward is seeing that your kids are learning something from you and you know you’re trying your darnest to make a mark in their lives. because whatever you teach to them today will have an effect as to the kind of person they will be in the future.
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my husband’s a middle school teacher and i used to teach 2 years ago.

]]> By: Working Woman http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-school-teachers/are-middle-school-teachers-overworked/comment-page-1#comment-1570 Working Woman Thu, 28 Jan 2010 05:27:59 +0000 http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-school-teachers/are-middle-school-teachers-overworked#comment-1570 Teaching Middle School students is an art. You have to love and have extreme patience for that age. Try volunteering with Middle School. Your church religious education program, the local Y or inquire at at your local Middle School for volunteer opportunities.<br><b>References : </b><br> Teaching Middle School students is an art. You have to love and have extreme patience for that age.

Try volunteering with Middle School. Your church religious education program, the local Y or inquire at at your local Middle School for volunteer opportunities.
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]]> By: GlorieBox http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-school-teachers/are-middle-school-teachers-overworked/comment-page-1#comment-1569 GlorieBox Thu, 28 Jan 2010 04:45:59 +0000 http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-school-teachers/are-middle-school-teachers-overworked#comment-1569 I think elementary school teachers have it a lot harder. I teach second grade and my students are extremely needy, like I barely get to sit down because every two seconds their hands are up. You have to deal with the kids tattling too, which is a pain. Also, on the primary level, parents are more involved and they make our job like 10 times harder.<br><b>References : </b><br> I think elementary school teachers have it a lot harder. I teach second grade and my students are extremely needy, like I barely get to sit down because every two seconds their hands are up. You have to deal with the kids tattling too, which is a pain. Also, on the primary level, parents are more involved and they make our job like 10 times harder.
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]]> By: Bob Dobbs http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-school-teachers/are-middle-school-teachers-overworked/comment-page-1#comment-1568 Bob Dobbs Thu, 28 Jan 2010 04:38:59 +0000 http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-school-teachers/are-middle-school-teachers-overworked#comment-1568 The level of work is relative. I work 10-12 hours a day, but I don't have to. I love what I do and I want to be the best. Teaching is not an easy job. I recommend not volunteering for anything your first year until you know what your volunteering for. Some responsibilities you can't get rid of. The internet is a big time saver. I wish I would have had access to all of these things 10 years ago. I don't want to get into an argument of who does the most work, but there are few responders that want to tell you language arts teacher do the most work. As a foreign language teacher with 3 different preps.(some have even more), I beg to disagree. I would love to be able to have 1 prep.<br><b>References : </b><br> The level of work is relative. I work 10-12 hours a day, but I don’t have to. I love what I do and I want to be the best. Teaching is not an easy job. I recommend not volunteering for anything your first year until you know what your volunteering for. Some responsibilities you can’t get rid of.

The internet is a big time saver. I wish I would have had access to all of these things 10 years ago.

I don’t want to get into an argument of who does the most work, but there are few responders that want to tell you language arts teacher do the most work. As a foreign language teacher with 3 different preps.(some have even more), I beg to disagree. I would love to be able to have 1 prep.
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]]> By: eastacademic http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-school-teachers/are-middle-school-teachers-overworked/comment-page-1#comment-1567 eastacademic Thu, 28 Jan 2010 04:17:59 +0000 http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-school-teachers/are-middle-school-teachers-overworked#comment-1567 It really depends on what you mean by overworked. Can I simply work the student hours? of course not. Do I have tons of work to take home? yes. Here is my typical work day: arrive at 6:45 plan day/grade 6:45-740 students arrive at 7:45 - teach to 3:05. (no open classes - I teach 6....lunch 30 mins and a morning break 20 mins) 3:15- 4 clean up/set up for next day usually take one hour work home Weekends - usually work on grading/planning etc from 8 am to noon summers: every summer I either work or have to take classes to keep my credential. Do I feel overworked? sometimes. I would never do anything else.<br><b>References : </b><br> It really depends on what you mean by overworked.

Can I simply work the student hours? of course not.
Do I have tons of work to take home? yes.

Here is my typical work day: arrive at 6:45
plan day/grade 6:45-740
students arrive at 7:45 – teach to 3:05. (no open classes – I teach 6….lunch 30 mins and a morning break 20 mins)
3:15- 4 clean up/set up for next day
usually take one hour work home
Weekends – usually work on grading/planning etc from 8 am to noon

summers: every summer I either work or have to take classes to keep my credential.

Do I feel overworked? sometimes.

I would never do anything else.
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]]> By: kamikaze http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-school-teachers/are-middle-school-teachers-overworked/comment-page-1#comment-1566 kamikaze Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:55:59 +0000 http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-school-teachers/are-middle-school-teachers-overworked#comment-1566 I am a middle school math teacher. I taught 2nd grade for 2 years, 7th grade for 3 years, and now I am teaching my 3rd year of 8th grade. Teaching in general is challenging. As for being overworked...that (in my opinion) is a hard question to answer. As a beginning teacher, yes you will feel like you are overwhelmed and overworked. Again, my opinion here, but it doesn't matter how many planning periods you have or don't have...I very rarely use mine to plan or grade papers. It is filled with paperwork, phone calls to parents, conferences, meetings with the principal, meetings with the councelor about students, etc. It is helpful to have a planning period to accomplish many of these things, but a lot of it has to be done after school, too...usually at home. However, as the years go on, you will find routines and other things that make your job easier. You will find what will work and won't work for you. What you have to remember about middle school students is that they come to class every single day with A LOT of baggage. 12-15 year olds are going through so much stuff...things that many teachers did not deal with until high school or college. I could tell you so many stories with just the students I have in my classroom now...That baggage alone makes it challenging. With elementary students there are other challenges that you deal with, and the same goes for high school (I assume...I have never taught at that level). Regardless of what grade or subject you teach there is always something that makes your job challenging. If you think you want to teach middle school, find a school that you would be interested in and visit. Tell the principal that you would like to observe for a day and why...he/she would probably let you come in for part of the day.<br><b>References : </b><br> I am a middle school math teacher. I taught 2nd grade for 2 years, 7th grade for 3 years, and now I am teaching my 3rd year of 8th grade. Teaching in general is challenging. As for being overworked…that (in my opinion) is a hard question to answer. As a beginning teacher, yes you will feel like you are overwhelmed and overworked. Again, my opinion here, but it doesn’t matter how many planning periods you have or don’t have…I very rarely use mine to plan or grade papers. It is filled with paperwork, phone calls to parents, conferences, meetings with the principal, meetings with the councelor about students, etc. It is helpful to have a planning period to accomplish many of these things, but a lot of it has to be done after school, too…usually at home. However, as the years go on, you will find routines and other things that make your job easier. You will find what will work and won’t work for you.

What you have to remember about middle school students is that they come to class every single day with A LOT of baggage. 12-15 year olds are going through so much stuff…things that many teachers did not deal with until high school or college. I could tell you so many stories with just the students I have in my classroom now…That baggage alone makes it challenging. With elementary students there are other challenges that you deal with, and the same goes for high school (I assume…I have never taught at that level). Regardless of what grade or subject you teach there is always something that makes your job challenging.

If you think you want to teach middle school, find a school that you would be interested in and visit. Tell the principal that you would like to observe for a day and why…he/she would probably let you come in for part of the day.
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]]> By: WxEtte http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-school-teachers/are-middle-school-teachers-overworked/comment-page-1#comment-1565 WxEtte Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:28:59 +0000 http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-school-teachers/are-middle-school-teachers-overworked#comment-1565 Middle school can be tough because of the needs of the kids and demands of the parents from this level. I started out as a high school teacher and in high school you spend most of your time on the subject you teach. In middle school, you are not just a subject teacher but a life coach, a disciplinarian, and a "mom" or "dad" away from home. In middle school, many times you might find yourself on a team situation which also is extra work. Many times, you have to do a lot of the administrative work of the school on these teams. There is not much time in middle school to grade papers or prep for lessons. If you do find yourself having a little extra time, your students will normally find you. The kids need you at this level and they will want to talk to you about everything all the time! As having taught middle, high school and college courses I found that I like the middle school environment most. Middle school is the most challenging and demanding. I have less time at school as a middle school teacher but I find the job more rewarding and I really can make a connection with my students and I also know I can make a difference in their lives. I love teaching science at this level as well because the students are inquisitive and love doing labs. Middle school is just different than elementary/high school and you may find that you love it - I did anyway! Good luck!<br><b>References : </b><br> Middle school can be tough because of the needs of the kids and demands of the parents from this level. I started out as a high school teacher and in high school you spend most of your time on the subject you teach. In middle school, you are not just a subject teacher but a life coach, a disciplinarian, and a "mom" or "dad" away from home. In middle school, many times you might find yourself on a team situation which also is extra work. Many times, you have to do a lot of the administrative work of the school on these teams. There is not much time in middle school to grade papers or prep for lessons. If you do find yourself having a little extra time, your students will normally find you. The kids need you at this level and they will want to talk to you about everything all the time!

As having taught middle, high school and college courses I found that I like the middle school environment most. Middle school is the most challenging and demanding. I have less time at school as a middle school teacher but I find the job more rewarding and I really can make a connection with my students and I also know I can make a difference in their lives. I love teaching science at this level as well because the students are inquisitive and love doing labs.

Middle school is just different than elementary/high school and you may find that you love it – I did anyway! Good luck!
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]]> By: tony7brooks http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-school-teachers/are-middle-school-teachers-overworked/comment-page-1#comment-1564 tony7brooks Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:10:59 +0000 http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-school-teachers/are-middle-school-teachers-overworked#comment-1564 Not only are they overworked, but they have to put up with not getting a good paycheck and they have to compesate with not enough planning periods and bad kids. That's why I'm planning to teach high school or elementary.<br><b>References : </b><br> Not only are they overworked, but they have to put up with not getting a good paycheck and they have to compesate with not enough planning periods and bad kids.
That’s why I’m planning to teach high school or elementary.
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]]> By: deirdrezz http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-school-teachers/are-middle-school-teachers-overworked/comment-page-1#comment-1563 deirdrezz Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:32:59 +0000 http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-school-teachers/are-middle-school-teachers-overworked#comment-1563 I have taught elementary, middle school, and college level courses. The most overworked are English high school teachers. The next level is middle school English teachers. tons of papers/essays/reports to grade Don't listen to any elem. teacher saying her job is harder than a middle school teacher because she doesn't haven't a planning period. That just makes her job worse, not harder. Most middle school teachers have taught in both environments, while most elem. teachers haven't. So, they are just speaking on pure emotion.<br><b>References : </b><br>teacher of K, 4-8, and college I have taught elementary, middle school, and college level courses. The most overworked are English high school teachers. The next level is middle school English teachers.
tons of papers/essays/reports to grade
Don’t listen to any elem. teacher saying her job is harder than a middle school teacher because she doesn’t haven’t a planning period. That just makes her job worse, not harder. Most middle school teachers have taught in both environments, while most elem. teachers haven’t. So, they are just speaking on pure emotion.
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teacher of K, 4-8, and college

]]> By: KateD http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-school-teachers/are-middle-school-teachers-overworked/comment-page-1#comment-1562 KateD Thu, 28 Jan 2010 01:51:59 +0000 http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-school-teachers/are-middle-school-teachers-overworked#comment-1562 Depends on a few things. One would be if you have a "free period" or "free block" for planning. At the elem level, you don't really have this necessarily, which makes the job a bit tougher in that way, because you have to have the whole day ready to go from the very beginning of the day and you only have after school and the morning to do so. This can begin to cut into your own life, so if you have a planning period, this can really help in not being overworked. However, it also depends on you as a person. In the beginning, you will definitely be overworked because you will be a new teacher, but as time goes on, and you nail down a routine and schedule of what you like to teach, you won't be feeling as much pressure most likely. *** Just to point out this fact, to clarify for other users.. I have worked in elem, middle school and high school. So it actually is not emotions.. just an honest option :) Thanks!<br><b>References : </b><br> Depends on a few things. One would be if you have a "free period" or "free block" for planning. At the elem level, you don’t really have this necessarily, which makes the job a bit tougher in that way, because you have to have the whole day ready to go from the very beginning of the day and you only have after school and the morning to do so. This can begin to cut into your own life, so if you have a planning period, this can really help in not being overworked. However, it also depends on you as a person. In the beginning, you will definitely be overworked because you will be a new teacher, but as time goes on, and you nail down a routine and schedule of what you like to teach, you won’t be feeling as much pressure most likely.

*** Just to point out this fact, to clarify for other users.. I have worked in elem, middle school and high school. So it actually is not emotions.. just an honest option :) Thanks!
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