The Facts About the Number of Hours Teachers Work
Overall employment of schoolteachers, K-12, is expected to increase largely the next coming years. Especially with the rise of Special Education teachers, as the baby boomers strut into retirement and the uptick of new age teaching instruction comes to fruition. Outside of the Special Education spectrum, employment of secondary school teachers is expected to grow faster than the average job as well. All that sounds great, especially factoring in the perks of having summers off. But why, with all this information, teachers suffer from a high burn out rate? Despite the belief of increasing jobs and a relatively relaxed job atmosphere, the fact remains that teachers are actually one of the hardest working professions in the country.
Outside of the mere eight hours teachers work during the day, the hours spent outside of the classroom is largely overlooked in public perception. Teachers are statistically more likely to work at home, than the majority of other professionals. Further more, teachers are least likely to separate weekends from workdays. Jill Hare states, “Fifty-one percent of teachers worked on an average Sunday, compared with thirty percent of other full-time professionals.” (Hare) Obviously preparing for a week ahead can be stressful, the fact remains that grading papers and planning lessons won’t get themselves done.
Another attribute often overlooked by people is the importance of being social as a teacher. Especially in regards to early mornings, when teachers are always communicating in the AM. According to Jill Hare, “Teachers need to be good morning people. I know I started teaching my first class at 7:30. The morning can be a quiet and productive time to get the working day off to a good start. By the time the professional world gets to work, some teachers may have already planned a lesson and