Teacher: We work 100 percent of day
Editor, Townsman:
After attending the Jan. 12 School Committee meeting, I feel compelled to address one of School Committee member David Birnbach's final comments. Several times, he vehemently stated high school teachers work only 48 percent of their day. I would like to know how Birnbach calculated his percent and what time he did or did not include in his numbers.
There are eight blocks of (on average) 82 minute in any given school year, and all full-time teachers at Andover High are in front of students five of those blocks. Out of the three blocks we are not instructing students, one period is used by the administration for various duties where adults are needed. Included in (but not limited to) these duties are: monitoring the cafeteria, monitoring the hallways, monitoring directed study halls (where part of the duty includes helping any student who needs it), running the tardy table, and helping in the main office. This leaves us with one period per day per semester to prepare for our classes. This is extremely important time. Without it, we would not be effective, innovative teachers.
A partial list of things that we as teachers do with this block is:
Grade tests, quizzes, essays and projects. This can be extremely time consuming.
Design or modify activities that support the curriculum.
Write entirely new lessons when necessary (new book or a new curriculum/class).
Modify (including special ed modifications) past lessons either to fit the current students and classes or to make them better.
Modify the curriculum to align with local, state and federal curriculum standards.
Record grades and periodically send out progress reports.
Communicate with parents via email, in person, and/or phone. Depending on the complexity of the matter, this can take anywhere from 5 to 45 minutes.
Maintain the class website (posting assignments, worksheets, helpful links, progress reports, etc.).
Set/clean up labs.
Make copies of worksheets, tests, activities, etc.
Complete school paperwork and follow up with student discipline.
This partial list does not address IEP and 504 meetings where attendance is required, nor does it cover the full range of our duties as teachers. Granted, we do not do everything every day, but over the course of the week we have to do most if not all of what is listed. Any reduction in this time, either by directly cutting it or by increasing our student load (and both could happen under the 3x3 model), will reduce the time we can spend per student to further their education.
By saying repeatedly that high school teachers only work 48 percent of their day, Birnbach devalued all of the work we do each and every day. We work 100 percent of our day, just not necessarily directly with the students. Protecting this work is essential if we are to maintain the quality of education we deliver.
Sarah Fisher
Lowell
AHS science teacher
