Teachers: how do you feel about the new school year

cookieinbk82

man, i wish i had school teacher hours. what are they, 8-3? nothing would be able to stop me.

The NY teachers contract changed this year. In the new contract most schools are in session from 8:00-2:30 on most days a week. The only thing that I'm worried about is how my body is going to react to working out less. I'm planning on working out 4 days a week for one hour each day instead of 5 days a week and two hours each day.

I think you're kind of missing the point. I work out 3 days a week, 45 minutes each session. Then I fill in whatever spare time I come up with during the week with walking. That's it.

I'll echo what BinaryPulsar said. You can find a much more efficient workout for you. You can probably spend less time working out and burn the same amount of calories. What kind of workouts are you doing anyway?

I'm doing a lot of cardio. I do an hour on the stair master, a half hour on the elliptical, then I jog for another half hour on the treadmill.

May I ask why? Are you doing it so you can eat the exercise calories? Are you training for something specific? Is this an example of a workout, or is this what you do every time? I only ask because it seems like you're neglecting your upper body.

I am neglecting my upper body. I want to change that. I don't eat the calories back because I don't trust MFPs estimate of my calories burned. I got into the habit of working out that much when I was trying to lose 40 pounds. Now that I only have 7 more pounds to lose to reach that goal I haven't changed my routine.

littlelaura

man, i wish i had school teacher hours. what are they, 8-3? nothing would be able to stop me.

school teachers hours are not even close to 8-3, you couldn't handle working their hours.
They get to school by 6am most days, stay till late in the evening doing afterschool with students and having meetings,
they don't get home till almost 6pm, then have to correct papers, make lesson plans, go to stores to purchase out of their own pay supplies for their students, schools do not pay for this, how many other professionals pay for work supplies out of their pocket , not many... yet parents complain teachers do nothing for their kids, they do more than the parents most times sorry... parents need to step up and support their local schools and teachers, then after all that work... over 14 plus hours of work a day... they might perhaps get to shovel err eat dinner, do bare minimum any house chores, say hi to their own spouses or kids for 5 minutes before having to complete professional development lessons for themselves aka teacher home work, if they get into bed by 11pm or midnight each night they are lucky then must get up at 430-5am again and be their for kids, but teachers don't work... try teachers don't get paid enough to deal with the crap they have to, and tenure isn't a bad thing just it needs to be revised to be able to let go of teachers who are.

fitgirlandfoodie

hm I'm feeling depressed. Another year starting as a substitute teacher with a 2:1 degree and a M.Ed, and no sign of any job in the near future. I guess the extra time will be good for working out but I'd rather be working full time. It's frustrating.

I know how you feel. I was a sub for two years and was promised full time jobs from principals which turned out to not be fulfilled. Good luck this year. I hope you get something full time.

Thanks hun. It's my 3rd year out from my degree at this point..it just is beginning to appear futile. Schools starting back here next Monday so back out with the CVs

Move somewhere that is growing. The Austin metro area can't build schools and hire teachers fast enough.

I'm in Ireland....

there are no kids in ireland? there are no schools? you live in the european union. move to italy/spain/france and teach english.

i read somewhere once that if you don't have a job within a year or two of getting your degrees, the job market considers you unhirable.

There are kids. In case you didn't realize, Germany has our government by the balls and there is an embargo on public sector employment. I don't want to teach just English, that isn't the degree I slaved for for 3 years, if fact, you don't need a degree to teach English abroad. I don't mind teaching substitute as long as it's what I've trained for. On a side note, if I ever meet a teacher who clocks off at 3 I'll eat my hat. Maybe it's different in the States but I doubt it.

cookieinbk82

man, i wish i had school teacher hours. what are they, 8-3? nothing would be able to stop me.

The NY teachers contract changed this year. In the new contract most schools are in session from 8:00-2:30 on most days a week. The only thing that I'm worried about is how my body is going to react to working out less. I'm planning on working out 4 days a week for one hour each day instead of 5 days a week and two hours each day.

first, instead of working out for two hours, putzing around aimlessly, you do an good and effective 60 minute work out. challenge your body. and if you want a second work out, guess what, you're out at 2:30!! even if you have a 60 minute commute both ways, you still have tons of time to work out!! and then you have your weekends to get in your long work out.

First of all, I want to thank you so much for using a Yiddish word (putzing) second of all I don't really putz around.

i grew up in queens. yiddish it out, and you take it.

I grew up in Brooklyn with a Yiddish speaking mother so I could Yiddish it out like you wouldn't believe.

Capt_Apollo

man, i wish i had school teacher hours. what are they, 8-3?

Those would be just the classroom hours. Then you have papers to grade or essays to read, class planning and scheduling, parent teacher meetings, depending on grade taught term papers to read, outlines to approve, term paper rough drafts to review.....the list goes on. Most teachers I have known don't get a chance to get home before dinner because of the many extra curricular activities at their school.

so like a normal person?

i work at a power plant, 12 hour shifts, rotating schedule, nights and weekends. i start at 5:30, and leave at 5:30.

we could sit here and compare schedules all day, but the fact of the matter is that everyone has an equal amount of time given to them everyday. it's your own individual choice on what to do with those hours.

Capt_Apollo

man, i wish i had school teacher hours. what are they, 8-3? nothing would be able to stop me.

The NY teachers contract changed this year. In the new contract most schools are in session from 8:00-2:30 on most days a week. The only thing that I'm worried about is how my body is going to react to working out less. I'm planning on working out 4 days a week for one hour each day instead of 5 days a week and two hours each day.

first, instead of working out for two hours, putzing around aimlessly, you do an good and effective 60 minute work out. challenge your body. and if you want a second work out, guess what, you're out at 2:30!! even if you have a 60 minute commute both ways, you still have tons of time to work out!! and then you have your weekends to get in your long work out.

First of all, I want to thank you so much for using a Yiddish word (putzing) second of all I don't really putz around.

i grew up in queens. yiddish it out, and you take it.

I grew up in Brooklyn with a Yiddish speaking mother so I could Yiddish it out like you wouldn't believe.

just be Gentile on me.

SerendipitySkye

I homeschool my four children. I have not had the urge to hide under my bed yet, so I say it is going pretty well. :happy:

Capt_Apollo

man, i wish i had school teacher hours. what are they, 8-3? nothing would be able to stop me.

school teachers hours are not even close to 8-3, you couldn't handle working their hours.
They get to school by 6am most days, stay till late in the evening doing afterschool with students and having meetings,
they don't get home till almost 6pm, then have to correct papers, make lesson plans, go to stores to purchase out of their own pay supplies for their students, schools do not pay for this, how many other professionals pay for work supplies out of their pocket , not many... yet parents complain teachers do nothing for their kids, they do more than the parents most times sorry... parents need to step up and support their local schools and teachers, then after all that work... over 14 plus hours of work a day... they might perhaps get to shovel err eat dinner, do bare minimum any house chores, say hi to their own spouses or kids for 5 minutes before having to complete professional development lessons for themselves aka teacher home work, if they get into bed by 11pm or midnight each night they are lucky then must get up at 430-5am again and be their for kids, but teachers don't work... try teachers don't get paid enough to deal with the crap they have to, and tenure isn't a bad thing just it needs to be revised to be able to let go of teachers who are.

my mother is a teacher. i know what the schedule is like. she went to night school 2-3 nights a week to get her masters, and still made dinner and found time to exercise and spend time with her family without having to nail herself on some cross.

ew_david

man, i wish i had school teacher hours. what are they, 8-3? nothing would be able to stop me.

school teachers hours are not even close to 8-3, you couldn't handle working their hours.
They get to school by 6am most days, stay till late in the evening doing afterschool with students and having meetings,
they don't get home till almost 6pm, then have to correct papers, make lesson plans, go to stores to purchase out of their own pay supplies for their students, schools do not pay for this, how many other professionals pay for work supplies out of their pocket , not many... yet parents complain teachers do nothing for their kids, they do more than the parents most times sorry... parents need to step up and support their local schools and teachers, then after all that work... over 14 plus hours of work a day... they might perhaps get to shovel err eat dinner, do bare minimum any house chores, say hi to their own spouses or kids for 5 minutes before having to complete professional development lessons for themselves aka teacher home work, if they get into bed by 11pm or midnight each night they are lucky then must get up at 430-5am again and be their for kids, but teachers don't work... try teachers don't get paid enough to deal with the crap they have to, and tenure isn't a bad thing just it needs to be revised to be able to let go of teachers who are.

Neither do nurses, but let's not turn this thread into a pissing contest. Everyone chooses their careers for one reason or another. If teachers (or anyone really) are that disgruntled, find something else.

Capt_Apollo

man, i wish i had school teacher hours. what are they, 8-3? nothing would be able to stop me.

school teachers hours are not even close to 8-3, you couldn't handle working their hours.
They get to school by 6am most days, stay till late in the evening doing afterschool with students and having meetings,
they don't get home till almost 6pm, then have to correct papers, make lesson plans, go to stores to purchase out of their own pay supplies for their students, schools do not pay for this, how many other professionals pay for work supplies out of their pocket , not many... yet parents complain teachers do nothing for their kids, they do more than the parents most times sorry... parents need to step up and support their local schools and teachers, then after all that work... over 14 plus hours of work a day... they might perhaps get to shovel err eat dinner, do bare minimum any house chores, say hi to their own spouses or kids for 5 minutes before having to complete professional development lessons for themselves aka teacher home work, if they get into bed by 11pm or midnight each night they are lucky then must get up at 430-5am again and be their for kids, but teachers don't work... try teachers don't get paid enough to deal with the crap they have to, and tenure isn't a bad thing just it needs to be revised to be able to let go of teachers who are.

Neither do nurses, but let's not turn this thread into a pissing contest. Everyone chooses their careers for one reason or another. If teachers (or anyone really) are that disgruntled, find something else.

seriously. nurses have to deal with dying people... and the dying persons family.

littlelaura

man, i wish i had school teacher hours. what are they, 8-3?

Those would be just the classroom hours. Then you have papers to grade or essays to read, class planning and scheduling, parent teacher meetings, depending on grade taught term papers to read, outlines to approve, term paper rough drafts to review.....the list goes on. Most teachers I have known don't get a chance to get home before dinner because of the many extra curricular activities at their school.

so like a normal person?


nope not like a normal person, 12 hours is nothing to a teacher.

you are there late with kids, then work more from home doing lesson plans, correction papers, doing school reports, answer calls or emails from parents and faculty on your own time, then usually rush back in the later evenings to a school function to support your students who are in some club , or chorus or some event because most teachers attend these events for all the students they have, and then still need to prepare for their supplies and home life too.

I wish everyone who had a kid had to spend an entire week following a teacher around 24/7 and they would suddenly be grateful for the tons of work that goes into what it takes to teach a child. You are exhausted. Sorry if you cant see what goes on in the background but its not easy and you deal with co workers, they have co workers too, bosses, and students, and parents all to deal with all the time, your job doesn't compare , not that yours isn't very hard too, but yeah... their job never stops.

So not sure where a teacher is suppose to workout... their lunch time is usually spent with a child getting extra help from them, with 5 minutes if any to scarf down food, same with dinner as they are just busy beyond anything reasonable.... yes everyone is 100% responsible for themselves, but in this case the job does dictate your life.

Most teachers who teach, do it because they are passionate about it, and really want kids to get excited about learning, they want to give their all to the students, education in this country is changing and common core is a good thing but it needs to be handled correctly and started at the younger grades phased in over time, not just thrown into the higher grades to complete the new standard, yet we have to begin somewhere to raise the education level of our kids to world standards too... so lets get on board and support teachers who care to make a difference.

Thank you to all teachers!

to answer OPs question I would say workout first thing in the morning as its the only time you might have the energy to do so.


also thank you to nurses as well... bravo, yes they work extremely hard, my mom is a nurse , shes retired actually but was devoted and dedicated to all those she served , my daughter is a teacher so I know watch her run herself ragged all while fighting her own health battles yearly... everyone chooses their path in life , some jobs are rewarding not for the pay, but don't say they only work 8-3... its not easy and not true.

wheird

man, i wish i had school teacher hours. what are they, 8-3? nothing would be able to stop me.

school teachers hours are not even close to 8-3, you couldn't handle working their hours.
They get to school by 6am most days, stay till late in the evening doing afterschool with students and having meetings,
they don't get home till almost 6pm, then have to correct papers, make lesson plans, go to stores to purchase out of their own pay supplies for their students, schools do not pay for this, how many other professionals pay for work supplies out of their pocket , not many... yet parents complain teachers do nothing for their kids, they do more than the parents most times sorry... parents need to step up and support their local schools and teachers, then after all that work... over 14 plus hours of work a day... they might perhaps get to shovel err eat dinner, do bare minimum any house chores, say hi to their own spouses or kids for 5 minutes before having to complete professional development lessons for themselves aka teacher home work, if they get into bed by 11pm or midnight each night they are lucky then must get up at 430-5am again and be their for kids, but teachers don't work... try teachers don't get paid enough to deal with the crap they have to, and tenure isn't a bad thing just it needs to be revised to be able to let go of teachers who are.

Meh, I doubt that less than half work this hard. And a lot of people have equally demanding jobs and are underpaid. Teachers are not special in this regard.

SnuggleSmacks

I think that getting rid of tenure is a good thing and that basing raises, at least in part, on performance is a great idea.

So, if I discover a technique that gets amazing results in my class, what incentive do I have to share it with my fellow teachers if it means they could beat me out of my raise? Instead, I'll keep it to myself and make sure my performance is great and theirs is not, and make sure I get my raise.

That would be fine if we were talking about a manufacturing plant, and I discovered a way to increase my productivity. But we're talking about a school. What happens to the children in my fellow teachers' classrooms? They get educated just a little bit less because I was worried about my raise and making sure my performance outshines my coworkers.

Good thinking, there!

k8blujay2

This is going to be my first full year as a teacher and I'm a little nervous and a lot sad that the summer is coming to an end. I'm also concerned about how I will find time to work out as much during the school year as I did during the summer. Does anyone have any advice on how to calm my nerves and how to find time to work out? Now I work out two hours a day 5 days a week.

Work out before work or after work like the millions of others that have jobs. Also, 2 hours a day for exercise is pretty excessive.

Right! I wish I had time to work out for 2 hours a day... I might actually get somewhere if I had that kind of time.

Capt_Apollo

man, i wish i had school teacher hours. what are they, 8-3?

Those would be just the classroom hours. Then you have papers to grade or essays to read, class planning and scheduling, parent teacher meetings, depending on grade taught term papers to read, outlines to approve, term paper rough drafts to review.....the list goes on. Most teachers I have known don't get a chance to get home before dinner because of the many extra curricular activities at their school.

so like a normal person?


nope not like a normal person, 12 hours is nothing to a teacher.

you are there late with kids, then work more from home doing lesson plans, correction papers, doing school reports, answer calls or emails from parents and faculty on your own time, then usually rush back in the later evenings to a school function to support your students who are in some club , or chorus or some event because most teachers attend these events for all the students they have, and then still need to prepare for their supplies and home life too.

I wish everyone who had a kid had to spend an entire week following a teacher around 24/7 and they would suddenly be grateful for the tons of work that goes into what it takes to teach a child. You are exhausted. Sorry if you cant see what goes on in the background but its not easy and you deal with co workers, they have co workers too, bosses, and students, and parents all to deal with all the time, your job doesn't compare , not that yours isn't very hard too, but yeah... their job never stops.

So not sure where a teacher is suppose to workout... their lunch time is usually spent with a child getting extra help from them, with 5 minutes if any to scarf down food, same with dinner as they are just busy beyond anything reasonable.... yes everyone is 100% responsible for themselves, but in this case the job does dictate your life.

Most teachers who teach, do it because they are passionate about it, and really want kids to get excited about learning, they want to give their all to the students, education in this country is changing and common core is a good thing but it needs to be handled correctly and started at the younger grades phased in over time, not just thrown into the higher grades to complete the new standard, yet we have to begin somewhere to raise the education level of our kids to world standards too... so lets get on board and support teachers who care to make a difference.

Thank you to all teachers!

to answer OPs question I would say workout first thing in the morning as its the only time you might have the energy to do so.


also thank you to nurses as well... bravo, yes they work extremely hard, my mom is a nurse , shes retired actually but was devoted and dedicated to all those she served , my daughter is a teacher so I know watch her run herself ragged all while fighting her own health battles yearly... everyone chooses their path in life , some jobs are rewarding not for the pay, but don't say they only work 8-3... its not easy and not true.

so you're saying that it's what, a 16 hour day? seriously?? that they have a grand total of 6 hours of free time?? well, let's not forget commuting either... let's say 45 minutes each way. so they have 4 1/2 hours of free time a day..... when do they sleep?

look, you're striking me as the kind of person that is finding a problem for every solution, so i don't know what to tell you. some teachers need to learn time management skills.

wheird

I think that getting rid of tenure is a good thing and that basing raises, at least in part, on performance is a great idea.

So, if I discover a technique that gets amazing results in my class, what incentive do I have to share it with my fellow teachers if it means they could beat me out of my raise? Instead, I'll keep it to myself and make sure my performance is great and theirs is not, and make sure I get my raise.

That would be fine if we were talking about a manufacturing plant, and I discovered a way to increase my productivity. But we're talking about a school. What happens to the children in my fellow teachers' classrooms? They get educated just a little bit less because I was worried about my raise and making sure my performance outshines my coworkers.

Good thinking, there!

Riiight. Because teachers generally collaberate on everything, right? And it would be up to administrators to see which teachers are the most effective and determine why that is. Also, you are basing this on the premise that another person's success will inhibit another's, which is only partially true even when using the Bell Curve model. Oh, and ignoring that removing tenure and having merit based performance reviews would help weed out the ineffective teachers from the industry.

Way to examine only the surface of an issue.

newdaydawning79

Cracking up laughing at the people that think that teaching is easy or an "8-3" job. You get there early to make sure the classroom is ready, teach all day (if you're lucky you'll only have a few disciplinary issues to deal with and interrupt your class), a lot coach or sponsor clubs and the like (almost forgot that the first time), then homework to grade, conferences with parents, staff meetings, lesson plan prep...not to mention trying to teach real life stuff while still helping the kids pass the arbitrary stupidity that is the testing required by the asinine "no child left behind" initiative.

Oh, and shopping for your own supplies to stock the classroom because our government likes to put this crap in place but doesn't want to provide the funding so kids can even be educated in the first place.

OP, I'd try to get in what you can - a walk/run to unwind when you finally CAN go home, a bit of weight training before you head out in the morning, and then do whatever you want to do on the weekends.

wheird

man, i wish i had school teacher hours. what are they, 8-3?

Those would be just the classroom hours. Then you have papers to grade or essays to read, class planning and scheduling, parent teacher meetings, depending on grade taught term papers to read, outlines to approve, term paper rough drafts to review.....the list goes on. Most teachers I have known don't get a chance to get home before dinner because of the many extra curricular activities at their school.

so like a normal person?


nope not like a normal person, 12 hours is nothing to a teacher.

you are there late with kids, then work more from home doing lesson plans, correction papers, doing school reports, answer calls or emails from parents and faculty on your own time, then usually rush back in the later evenings to a school function to support your students who are in some club , or chorus or some event because most teachers attend these events for all the students they have, and then still need to prepare for their supplies and home life too.

I wish everyone who had a kid had to spend an entire week following a teacher around 24/7 and they would suddenly be grateful for the tons of work that goes into what it takes to teach a child. You are exhausted. Sorry if you cant see what goes on in the background but its not easy and you deal with co workers, they have co workers too, bosses, and students, and parents all to deal with all the time, your job doesn't compare , not that yours isn't very hard too, but yeah... their job never stops.

So not sure where a teacher is suppose to workout... their lunch time is usually spent with a child getting extra help from them, with 5 minutes if any to scarf down food, same with dinner as they are just busy beyond anything reasonable.... yes everyone is 100% responsible for themselves, but in this case the job does dictate your life.

Most teachers who teach, do it because they are passionate about it, and really want kids to get excited about learning, they want to give their all to the students, education in this country is changing and common core is a good thing but it needs to be handled correctly and started at the younger grades phased in over time, not just thrown into the higher grades to complete the new standard, yet we have to begin somewhere to raise the education level of our kids to world standards too... so lets get on board and support teachers who care to make a difference.

Thank you to all teachers!

to answer OPs question I would say workout first thing in the morning as its the only time you might have the energy to do so.


also thank you to nurses as well... bravo, yes they work extremely hard, my mom is a nurse , shes retired actually but was devoted and dedicated to all those she served , my daughter is a teacher so I know watch her run herself ragged all while fighting her own health battles yearly... everyone chooses their path in life , some jobs are rewarding not for the pay, but don't say they only work 8-3... its not easy and not true.

so you're saying that it's what, a 16 hour day? seriously?? that they have a grand total of 6 hours of free time?? well, let's not forget commuting either... let's say 45 minutes each way. so they have 4 1/2 hours of free time a day..... when do they sleep?

look, you're striking me as the kind of person that is finding a problem for every solution, so i don't know what to tell you. some teachers need to learn time management skills.

Teachers are pretty pro at seeming like they have the most difficult jobs ever and digging in to prevent solutions. Think of how aggressively they fight methods to measure their performance.

ew_david

Cracking up laughing at the people that think that teaching is easy or an "8-3" job. You get there early to make sure the classroom is ready, teach all day (if you're lucky you'll only have a few disciplinary issues to deal with and interrupt your class), a lot coach or sponsor clubs and the like (almost forgot that the first time), then homework to grade, conferences with parents, staff meetings, lesson plan prep...not to mention trying to teach real life stuff while still helping the kids pass the arbitrary stupidity that is the testing required by the asinine "no child left behind" initiative.

Oh, and shopping for your own supplies to stock the classroom because our government likes to put this crap in place but doesn't want to provide the funding so kids can even be educated in the first place.

OP, I'd try to get in what you can - a walk/run to unwind when you finally CAN go home, a bit of weight training before you head out in the morning, and then do whatever you want to do on the weekends.

Can I start sharing my nursing horror stories? I guarantee you can't hold a candle to them.

newdaydawning79

Teachers are pretty pro at seeming like they have the most difficult jobs ever and digging in to prevent solutions. Think of how aggressively they fight methods to measure their performance.

I'd say teaching and nursing are two of the hardest. You do most of the work and get none of the credit for it. I am STILL friends with a lot of my teachers from high school - they're a huge reason why I am who I am today.

And you're really really good at generalizations.

Unknown

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newdaydawning79

Cracking up laughing at the people that think that teaching is easy or an "8-3" job. You get there early to make sure the classroom is ready, teach all day (if you're lucky you'll only have a few disciplinary issues to deal with and interrupt your class), a lot coach or sponsor clubs and the like (almost forgot that the first time), then homework to grade, conferences with parents, staff meetings, lesson plan prep...not to mention trying to teach real life stuff while still helping the kids pass the arbitrary stupidity that is the testing required by the asinine "no child left behind" initiative.

Oh, and shopping for your own supplies to stock the classroom because our government likes to put this crap in place but doesn't want to provide the funding so kids can even be educated in the first place.

OP, I'd try to get in what you can - a walk/run to unwind when you finally CAN go home, a bit of weight training before you head out in the morning, and then do whatever you want to do on the weekends.

Can I start sharing my nursing horror stories? I guarantee you can't hold a candle to them.

I wasn't discussing nursing, I was discussing teaching, which was the point of the thread to begin with. I would be a great nurse compassion-wise but I would have a nervous breakdown within a year. I cannot imagine seeing the things that nurses do, or that anyone in a hospital does. My father works 12+ hour shifts as an X-Ray/CT/MRI tech and the things HE has seen bring me to tears sometimes. Let alone what the nurses do. I applaud you for doing it..so if you think I was bashing nurses by applauding teachers as well, you are very much mistaken.

wheird

Teachers are pretty pro at seeming like they have the most difficult jobs ever and digging in to prevent solutions. Think of how aggressively they fight methods to measure their performance.

I'd say teaching and nursing are two of the hardest. You do most of the work and get none of the credit for it. I am STILL friends with a lot of my teachers from high school - they're a huge reason why I am who I am today.

And you're really really good at generalizations.

So are you it seems.

Also, when we are talking about a profession as a whole, it is a mite bit hard not to generalize.

Unknown

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newdaydawning79

Teachers are pretty pro at seeming like they have the most difficult jobs ever and digging in to prevent solutions. Think of how aggressively they fight methods to measure their performance.

I'd say teaching and nursing are two of the hardest. You do most of the work and get none of the credit for it. I am STILL friends with a lot of my teachers from high school - they're a huge reason why I am who I am today.

And you're really really good at generalizations.

So are you it seems.

Also, when we are talking about a profession as a whole, it is a mite bit hard not to generalize.

How often do you see people being honored and thanking a teacher? Or someone who was injured and is on the news or whatever thank the nursing staff? It DOES happen, but not nearly often enough considering none of us would be here able to construct a proper sentence if it weren't for teachers. And Lord knows nurses have held my hand when I've needed it.

dakotababy

I am not a nurse. To compare a nurse job title to that of a teacher is an insult. Nurses are amazing, and it takes a very special person to be a nurse (especially to do their job after 20 years and still be a nice, pleasant person to their patients).

Holly_Roman_Empire

My mom is a teacher. I don't recall her ever having 12-14 hour days. She might have had a 9 or 10 hour day once in a while, and I'm not counting time spent grading papers. I don't care who you are, everybody that holds a job takes some kind of work home with them.

My mom is still a teacher, and I am a government office worker. She goes to work later than I do and gets off work earlier than I do. I am the one with a toddler at home, and yet, I am the one fitting in workouts. It's all about priorities.

ew_david

Cracking up laughing at the people that think that teaching is easy or an "8-3" job. You get there early to make sure the classroom is ready, teach all day (if you're lucky you'll only have a few disciplinary issues to deal with and interrupt your class), a lot coach or sponsor clubs and the like (almost forgot that the first time), then homework to grade, conferences with parents, staff meetings, lesson plan prep...not to mention trying to teach real life stuff while still helping the kids pass the arbitrary stupidity that is the testing required by the asinine "no child left behind" initiative.

Oh, and shopping for your own supplies to stock the classroom because our government likes to put this crap in place but doesn't want to provide the funding so kids can even be educated in the first place.

OP, I'd try to get in what you can - a walk/run to unwind when you finally CAN go home, a bit of weight training before you head out in the morning, and then do whatever you want to do on the weekends.

Can I start sharing my nursing horror stories? I guarantee you can't hold a candle to them.

I wasn't discussing nursing, I was discussing teaching, which was the point of the thread to begin with. I would be a great nurse compassion-wise but I would have a nervous breakdown within a year. I cannot imagine seeing the things that nurses do, or that anyone in a hospital does. My father works 12+ hour shifts as an X-Ray/CT/MRI tech and the things HE has seen bring me to tears sometimes. Let alone what the nurses do. I applaud you for doing it..so if you think I was bashing nurses by applauding teachers as well, you are very much mistaken.

My point was that I can tell you how difficult my job is too, but I still manage to raise three kids on my own and work out.

DawnieB1977

I feel glad I'm on maternity leave until March I'm glad to miss the INSET days and analysis of GCSE results.

I've been teaching since 2005 and been part time since 2010 when I went back after my first child.

Before kids, I used to go to the gym straight from work some days. I'd just pack my gym clothes in the car and make myself go. Sometimes I'd do a class in the evening.

The first year of teaching is tough though, but regular exercise will be good for you, and you need that time to de-stress! Good luck!

Mikkimeow

There is no need to bow down to teachers. Okay, we get it, your job is incredibly demanding. Who's isn't? Come off it. Teachers are not the saviors of the universe, but as a whole seem to project themselves as such. You have the same 24 hours as everyone else. Do it or don't and shut up about it.