Career as Teacher

Consistent 80 hours per week for many teachers are unbelievable. 16 hours per weekday unless working over weekend. You are not allowed to stay too late in school unless exceptional case such as event etc.

16 x 40 marking loads dont make sense. Unless you are teaching 16 different courses. You mark based on per exam per class.

Dont try to exaggerate that teachers are one of the hardest teaching job. Many industry also have long working hours.

If manpower is an issue, it should be raised to management as it affects production. You dont expect a teacher to take more than he/she can handle.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

To be honest, I’ve been a teacher for more than 10 years and I can never understand how some teachers always claim that they worked for 80 hours? Other than the standard teaching hours, meetings and CCA, you can always manage your time wisely. Never ever do 1 to 1 consultation because you are not a tuition teacher. Make sure students ask their peers first before approaching you. Because if the whole class doesn’t understand, then can just re-teach in class. Next, you can always manage your marking load by managing how much work you want to assign. Advocate for peer/individual marking. Even for EL, get students to do drafts until the essay is of standard so that marking is easier.

Most of the time, I see teachers spending their breaks chit chatting with one another in the pantry and thus many of them complain that work only starts after curriculum hours. If you manage your time well, you can survive in teaching.

You've never had your subject teacher team dwindle from 7 to 5 to 4 to 3 and then to 2 within the span of 5 years, and you only get 2 FAJT slots (they work so hard they don't want to stay more than 2 terms), while the subject enrollment remains the same, and cries to HR through your P go unanswered. And they say this subject has excess national headcount. And your SO's school in a different zone genuinely has excess teachers; they teach only 3 classes and they get home a few hours before you every single day.

Oh, and.. you're the SH who became HOD.

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I, too, want to teach in a well-staffed and well-endowed IP school/high SES school/brand name school. But not everyone gets that privilege. I like to think my time management is alright, and I am fairly competent (not the best, but good enough) at what I do. I feel a bit insulted when you insinuate that people working 80 hours brought it upon themselves.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Dont try to exaggerate that teachers are one of the hardest teaching job. Many industry also have long working hours.

Correct. But in some industries, their pay and benefits are commensurate with the expectation of long hours.

Here, MOE just tries to gaslight us with this work-life harmony ****. What happened to balance?!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Consistent 80 hours per week for many teachers are unbelievable. 16 hours per weekday unless working over weekend. You are not allowed to stay too late in school unless exceptional case such as event etc.

You forgot all the work teachers are expected to bring home to clear after dinner and over the weekend.

You may see teachers leaving school at 3pm, 4pm. But what is in their bags?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

You've never had your subject teacher team dwindle from 7 to 5 to 4 to 3 and then to 2 within the span of 5 years, and you only get 2 FAJT slots (they work so hard they don't want to stay more than 2 terms), while the subject enrollment remains the same, and cries to HR through your P go unanswered. And they say this subject has excess national headcount. And your SO's school in a different zone genuinely has excess teachers; they teach only 3 classes and they get home a few hours before you every single day.

Oh, and.. you're the SH who became HOD.

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I, too, want to teach in a well-staffed and well-endowed IP school/high SES school/brand name school. But not everyone gets that privilege. I like to think my time management is alright, and I am fairly competent (not the best, but good enough) at what I do. I feel a bit insulted when you insinuate that people working 80 hours brought it upon themselves.

It is an INSULT that you stated High SES school. How you define low class versus high class school environment. You only focus on teaching subject instead of setting role model for students who may look up to you as a teacher?

Branded school usually due to producing high scorer students but that is normal. Competitive environment produce competitive results.

Not happy. Change school. Or quit. Or go flexi.

I wouldn't say 80 hour weeks are the norm if you are in a normal school. 60 hours yes... 80 hours usually only happens during test/exam weeks, or term 3 when all the **** hits the fan.

But yes I have heard that some schools are hit hard by resignations and are surviving on FAJTs. If MOE is not careful, there may be a cascading effect as more and more teachers will resign in these schools due to excessive workloads from lack of teachers.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Not happy. Change school. Or quit. Or go flexi.

Then the students how?

You think some teachers let themselves be drained like that because they are stupid? It's because they care. But just because they are driven by care, doesn't mean they should be taken advantage of like that (by the system).

Originally Posted by Unregistered

You've never had your subject teacher team dwindle from 7 to 5 to 4 to 3 and then to 2 within the span of 5 years, and you only get 2 FAJT slots (they work so hard they don't want to stay more than 2 terms), while the subject enrollment remains the same, and cries to HR through your P go unanswered. And they say this subject has excess national headcount. And your SO's school in a different zone genuinely has excess teachers; they teach only 3 classes and they get home a few hours before you every single day.

Oh, and.. you're the SH who became HOD.

-
I, too, want to teach in a well-staffed and well-endowed IP school/high SES school/brand name school. But not everyone gets that privilege. I like to think my time management is alright, and I am fairly competent (not the best, but good enough) at what I do. I feel a bit insulted when you insinuate that people working 80 hours brought it upon themselves.

If you are the HOD, then you got to reflect on why your teachers are leaving? What have you fought for them? HOD have some power.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Not happy. Change school. Or quit. Or go flexi.

The Flexi Scheme brings about another set of problems.

Guess who must manage the CCAs and do extra admin at no extra (overtime) pay?