Teacher's Hours

School began just four weeks ago. Since it's start up, most of my work days are 10-12 hours long. Although I personally love teaching, I am still constantly reminded by others of how lucky I am to have June and July "off". This is such a myth. First of all, during June and July we are usually required to spend at least two days in some inservice/workshop to learn new things, develop new skills or simply refresh our teaching. By the first of August we begin to set up our rooms and plan for the year, much of that time is non-contracted and non-paid. Secondly, we are only contracted for ten months. Yes, most of us choose to get our pay stretched out over the twelve months in the year. But we are only paid for the ten months school is in session. I won't even touch the issue of salary, even though our degrees can take more college credits than many fields that get paid double what we begin at. That small two month unpaid break does give us time to rejuvenate and look forward to the next batch of youngsters we help be successful to enter their next year of education. I actually don't know of a more important job than teaching. I know that we rarely know the impact of our labors, but work harder than ever to be successful to every student who walks through our doors. So the next time you begin to tell an educator about his/her summer time off, remember our jobs are not school hours, but much more than that.