Do you guys find yourself working on weekends, grading papers or creating lesson plans? If so, how do you feel about that? :mellow:
No, although I do hang out a lot here, so I do a lot of thinking about teaching, what I'm going to be doing in class next week, and so on.
Minimally. A bit of grading, planning...I feel fine about it...my dh answers emails after hours all the time, my son organizes his paperwork for his accounts on his own time...one does what one has to to be prepared and professional.
I work for about 1-2 hours total over the weekend, either on Friday or Saturday. In my first year, I worked more because the planning was harder, but now I have many lesson plans done and if I need new plans, I can do them quickly. I usually finalize my plans for the whole week over the weekend, and possibly grade if I tested on Thursday or Friday. I probably work half an hour to an hour after school, depending on whether I have students for extra help or not. I'm able to get a lot done during planning though.
I work some weekends. I will do some work tomorrow such as getting my plans together and working on an IEP for this week.
Always! That's what I'm doing now! Not necessarily by choice, but I have to in order to get everything done!
Like others, I'm working right now. How do I feel about it? Well, I'd rather do a couple hours work on Saturday and then again on Sunday and free up some of my evenings. I'm so tired when I get home from work that I'd much rather come home and de-stress during the week and make up for it on the weekends. With that being said, I won't turn down plans to do work. If there is something I really want to do on the weekends, I do it and make up for it during the week.
Not at all. At my new school I have an hour "break" 4 days a week, plus I am at school very early, and stay until about 4 or 4:30. I do all my planning and grading at school which is nice. When Friday afternoon hits, I am already ready for the following week. I love it!
Yes, but only on Sunday afternoons. This year I've started going to school in the afternoons after I leave Mom's house from lunch. I find fewer distractions at school, and I don't have to bring stuff home. I'll usually stay from 2-4 or so.
I'm in a new position this year so I do go in on the weekends. There is a lot to accomplish this year...next year I will not need to go in on the weekends. And I only go when my husband is otherwise occupied with a game or if he goes with me.
Only quite rarely. My first year or two, I'm sure I always worked on the weekends for at least a couple of hours. Now, I do most of my curriculum tweaking during the summer and manage to fit in grading during planning.
I rarely do schoolwork on the weekend. Occasionally I have to grade papers, but my planning is done during the week, so that papers are xeroxed and I am ready for the week.
At the beginning of the year and at certain times of the year I do (report cards). I go in very early and stay after most days, but it keeps me from doing very much at home.
I've never had to actually go to work on the weekends & will never have to. I sometimes have to do work on the weekends from home. It's mainly paperwork on this website to do my IEPs.
I do. I would rather leave work right on time and work a little at home on the weekends (after my little ones go to bed).
I work on weekends, holidays, birthdays, you name it, lol! I am constantly seeking ways to improve my instruction, new ways to intervene for students needing help, etc. This year, with the change to CCSS and the new requirements under Compass, I am unable to just "tweak" my plans from last year, so I have a lot more planning to do. I'm working right now!
I have to do work on the weekends or I would never be ready. I go in very early on weekdays but I still have a lot to do. I have 4 different high school preps this year so I have to review some of the subject matter myself and figure out the best ways to present each one. I am really hoping for a different schedule next year!
One of my coworkers is always complaining about feeling stressed and overworked. She's constantly going into school after hours and staying late. She's at school right now, according to her Facebook status. She also has a new baby and older child at home. I want to tell her that the work will always be there and that it will suck the life out of her if she lets it. I honestly and truly think that she would be a happier person if she took a break from school. I know that it's not always easy to leave school at school, and I know that situations come up where you have to stay late or come in on a weekend to get things caught up, but I don't think that should be the norm. I think that good time management and a realistic look at what sorts of assignments/assessments you're giving can help out. Instead, I keep my mouth shut. If she wants to leave her new baby at home every evening and weekend so that she can grade papers for other people's kids, then that's her choice.
I show up at least 30 minutes early every day and I usually spend about 4 hours every other weekend at school. On occasion it's every weekend (report card time, conferences). I don't mind it, I typically don't bring anything home and I don't stay late. It's gotta be done at some point and I don't feel my scheduled prep time is enough.
My contracted hours are 7:15-2:30. I get to work right at 7:15 and leave around 4:30. I normally stay until 5:00 or so on Fridays (getting homework packets ready, grading spelling tests and other common formative assessments, and making copies). I never go in on weekends, though.
I almost always bring home work for the weekend. It doesn't bother me in "this isn't fair" type of way. It bothers me in a "I'd rather be doing something else" type of way. But, never enough to make me not love my job.
Fair enough. I guess I feel like we make priorities for the things that matter to us, though. I think there's a way to keep family at the top of the list if that's where a person's priorities are.
When I started my new job this year, I was literally spending all weekend working...I stopped that about 6 weeks ago and I have been SO much happier. I usually set a set time frame to do work (like 2 hours when I first wake up on Saturday), and whatever doesn't get done then can wait. If something big is coming up (report cards, ILPs, etc.) then I split up the work throughout the week so I'm not doing it all weekend. A burnt out teacher is not good for anyone; you have to have a life too!
I understand what you're saying, I do. But I also understand pressure and evaluations and all that. It's tough.
That's a good way of explaining it! We get very minimal prep time at school, and as someone else mentioned, I'm exhausted at the end of the day. I'd rather be able to go home, go for a walk, make dinner, and relax a little on my evenings during the week and then spend a few hours working on the weekend.
I do bring work home during my weekends and I hate it . I try to make an effort to get as much done as I possibly can during the school hour so I don't have to take anything home. I set a goal to leave my classroom by 4 p.m. I've been good for a little while but now its harder because report cards needs to be done. So, back to taking work home on my weekends .
Not a lot, but sometimes. We have admission open houses on weekend days several times a year. Otherwise, I usually don't go in to my school on the weekend. I do attend many conferences and trainings/professional collaboration on weekends as well, which I consider work during my personal time, but that's my choice.
That is when I usually do my work also. I spend a little bit of time in the evenings during the week doing work as well. I don't have enough time in the school day to get all my work done at school. I have before school and after school groups every day of the week. A lot of my work at home involves getting prepared for my 5 groups. I'm directing a musical as one of my groups, which takes up a huge amount of time.
YES! I just finished an IEP. I try really hard to not have to take things home on the weekends, but there are just times when I have to do that.
Yes--either Saturday or Sunday, but rarely both. The better half makes sure I spend time with her on Friday and Saturday nights with no school work. I do take a weekend off sometimes with no school work.
