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kirby42
Joined: 14 Nov 2014
Posts: 55
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 Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 6:27 pm Post subject: Hours and teaching |
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I'm a new teacher and I'm being kept pretty busy. I'm teaching 25 hours a week at the moment. But they're very spread out, for example I had a class at 9am and then again at 6pm. I'm usually at the school for 9 hours a day, 6 days a week. I also spend about 10 hours a week commuting to off site lessons but with no assistance from the school. Is that normal?
How many hours do you work a week? How spaced out are they? How long do you spend planning?
Interested to hear your opinions. |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 7:20 pm Post subject: |
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| Totally depends on the job market in the location where you are (where are you?) and the type of job. We need more info to tell you if your situation is "normal." There is no global set of standards for this! |
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kirby42
Joined: 14 Nov 2014
Posts: 55
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| Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 8:06 pm Post subject: |
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| Russia. Love it here, but the hours are rough. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 9:14 pm Post subject: |
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| kirby42 wrote: |
| I'm teaching 25 hours a week at the moment. But they're very spread out, for example I had a class at 9am and then again at 6pm. I'm usually at the school for 9 hours a day, 6 days a week. I also spend about 10 hours a week commuting to off site lessons but with no assistance from the school. Is that normal? |
It really depends on the teaching situation. For example, I taught 15-18 hours a week but was paid for 40 hours. However, that was in a university English language program, so there were other duties such as office hours, committee work, materials design, etc.
That said, it's not that unusual for private language schools to require split shifts and 25+ teaching hours; they're essentially profit-making businesses. In your case, you're feeling overwhelmed and unsupported by your employer. You're a newbie, so some anxiety is to be expected. Stick it out for the duration of your contract, and then move on to an employer that offers a more suitable schedule. |
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gregory999
Joined: 29 Jul 2015
Posts: 372
Location: 999
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| Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 9:24 pm Post subject: Re: Hours and teaching |
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| kirby42 wrote: |
I'm a new teacher and I'm being kept pretty busy. I'm teaching 25 hours a week at the moment. But they're very spread out, for example I had a class at 9am and then again at 6pm. I'm usually at the school for 9 hours a day, 6 days a week. I also spend about 10 hours a week commuting to off site lessons but with no assistance from the school. Is that normal?
How many hours do you work a week? How spaced out are they? How long do you spend planning?
Interested to hear your opinions. |
The European average weekly teaching hours, both at primary and secondary level, are between 20 and 25 hours and teaching hours at different career stages vary only slightly. The exceptions are Cyprus, Iceland and Russia, where teaching hours are generally higher for start-of-career teachers than for end-ofcareer teachers. In Slovakia, the opposite is the case.
The lowest teaching hours is in Iceland (17 hours for start-of-career teachers and 13 hours for end-of-career teachers).
Also, Russia has the lowest monthly gross salary (after Bulgaria) compared to other European countries. [Data compiled in 2008]:
http://download.ei-ie.org/Docs/WebDepot/Teachers%20Pay%202008%20Report.pdf |
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santi84
Joined: 14 Mar 2008
Posts: 1317
Location: under da sea
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| Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 10:18 pm Post subject: |
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I am only paid for in-class teaching hours (no prep, workshops on my own time, no pay for marking/meetings with students), and I have to commute on days off to use the photocopier. One of the reasons I'm ready to move on to a different organization.
Last edited by santi84 on Mon Nov 09, 2015 10:22 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 10:20 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| The European average weekly teaching hours, both at primary and secondary level, are between 20 and 25 hours and teaching hours at different career stages vary only slightly |
I've worked in Europe since 1998 and have not worked such hours since 2000. I disagree that teaching hours 'vary only slightly' at different career stages. |
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gregory999
Joined: 29 Jul 2015
Posts: 372
Location: 999
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| Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 10:27 pm Post subject: |
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| santi84 wrote: |
| I am only paid for in-class teaching hours (no prep, workshops on my own time, no pay for marking/meetings with students), and I have to commute on days off to use the photocopier. One of the reasons I'm ready to move on to a different organization. |
It seems your school is a "slaver school" as they are known in Russia!
Don't tell me you are in Russia? |
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gregory999
Joined: 29 Jul 2015
Posts: 372
Location: 999
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| Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 10:40 pm Post subject: |
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| spiral78 wrote: |
| Quote: |
| The European average weekly teaching hours, both at primary and secondary level, are between 20 and 25 hours and teaching hours at different career stages vary only slightly |
I've worked in Europe since 1998 and have not worked such hours since 2000. I disagree that teaching hours 'vary only slightly' at different career stages. |
According to the study in the cited reference, the result is based on a total of 40 questionnaires compiled in 27 EU member states, which represented different groups of teachers..
I think, statistically speaking, the high response rate in the cited reference made it possible to draw general conclusions about teachers’ pay and working conditions across Europe, against a response from one teacher with a specific/isolated experience. |
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santi84
Joined: 14 Mar 2008
Posts: 1317
Location: under da sea
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| Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 10:47 pm Post subject: |
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| gregory999 wrote: |
| santi84 wrote: |
| I am only paid for in-class teaching hours (no prep, workshops on my own time, no pay for marking/meetings with students), and I have to commute on days off to use the photocopier. One of the reasons I'm ready to move on to a different organization. |
It seems your school is a "slaver school" as they are known in Russia!
Don't tell me you are in Russia? |
I'm in the other great white north - Canada! |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 10:55 pm Post subject: |
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| santi84 wrote: |
| gregory999 wrote: |
Don't tell me you are in Russia? |
I'm in the other great white north - Canada! |
But not north enough to see Russia from your house.  |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 11:30 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
According to the study in the cited reference, the result is based on a total of 40 questionnaires compiled in 27 EU member states, which represented different groups of teachers..
I think, statistically speaking, the high response rate in the cited reference made it possible to draw general conclusions about teachers’ pay and working conditions across Europe, against a response from one teacher with a specific/isolated experience. |
Gregory, the study gathered questionnaires from FORTY teachers across the continent. That's a TINY sample - and the study doesn't even focus on EFL teachers. I work with a network of institutions which include teacher training centres, language centres, businesses, and universities across the continent. I thus 'know' (of) hundreds of teachers. By no means do most of us work the hours or shifts noted by the OP.
The study you quote notes:
It is evident that teachers are a very diverse professional group that are characterised by a wide range of working conditions and salary levels.
Indeed. |
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Dream_Seller
Joined: 01 Feb 2014
Posts: 78
Location: China
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| Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 9:35 am Post subject: |
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16,not 40+ like I originally thought I could do...
“Any damn fool can beg up some kind of job; it takes a wise man to make it without working.” ― Charles Bukowski
Krishna instructed Arjuna: “We have a right to our labor, but not to the fruits of our labor.” |
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kirby42
Joined: 14 Nov 2014
Posts: 55
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| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2015 5:14 am Post subject: |
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At the moment I'm doing 32 hours of in class teaching a week. Every hour takes near an hour to plan.
On Mondays and Thursdays I work for 12 hours. First class at 9am, lots of planning and a few scattered classes during the day. Last class finishes at 10pm.
I'm exhausted. Does this seem fair to you? I chose esl to see a new country and to experience a new culture and language. Instead it seems that I'm slaving away in an English speaking office. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2015 5:25 am Post subject: |
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| kirby42 wrote: |
At the moment I'm doing 32 hours of in class teaching a week. Every hour takes near an hour to plan.
On Mondays and Thursdays I work for 12 hours. First class at 9am, lots of planning and a few scattered classes during the day. Last class finishes at 10pm.
I'm exhausted. Does this seem fair to you? I chose esl to see a new country and to experience a new culture and language. Instead it seems that I'm slaving away in an English speaking office. |
It's not about fairness; you happened to choose an employer that packs on the hours. Either give notice and immediately start looking elsewhere or stick it out to gain that first year of experience and then move on to a teaching situation that better suits your interests. Easy breezy. |
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