Job Discussion Forums

[lagger]

The thread on burning out got me thinking. I teach 20 per week plus 5 hours' supervision (9-3.00) I also spend a lot of time photocopying, preparing lessons, designing assessment tasks, marking etc. It's tough, even though I've been doing it for two years.

I'm curious to know how many hours per week you guys work and what your working hours are.

I'm guessing a lot of people work far more than I do. How do you do it?

[october]

I work 26 hours a week, 5 days a week, we get one day off and i chose to do my MA on this day, (although i have not started yet since i'm thinking if i should do it in the states...a different thread) i also need time to photocopy, ect. but we are expected to do that on our own time (at home at night). Oh, and what about evening parent meetings?
I will also throw in another shocker, i am a little embarassed, The reward i get for this is the remarkable salary of 1000$ net per month!
can anybody top this?

[Ben Round de Bloc]

I teach at a state university in Mexico.

I'm on the clock -- yes, we have to check in and out at school, docked pay if we arrive late or leave early -- 31 hours per week this semester. I teach 4 different classes (3 different levels,) and each class meets for 4.5 hours per week (total 18 hours of class time per week.) The rest of my time on the clock, I'm a tutor in our Self-Access Centre, where my time is spent doing oral evaluations, checking students' writing assignments, and helping students with specific language problems. All planning, preparing, writing exams and quizzes, attending department meetings, checking exams and homework assignments, etc. are done on my own time.

I work split shifts 4 days a week. Wednesdays I only work in the evening. Morning shift starts at 7:00 a.m. Evening shift starts at 4:00 p.m. and ends at 7:30 or 9:00 p.m., depending on which day of the week. I don't do Saturday classes.

My current routine is pretty easy compared to some in the past. For a year I was on the clock 40 hours per week and taught 7 different classes/groups (total 31.5 hours of classes per week.)

[isabel]

I teach 18 hours a week, about 32 weeks a year, the rest is paid vacation. I hold office hours two hours a week. I do meet with students more, but it is at my discretion. I just love my students and value time with them. One student has as an assignment for his landscape architecture class to go to parks in the city to take photographs. I go with him for a two hour walk, to learn more about my city, and to give him a chance to speak English. We have a great time. I go bowling and shoot baskets with students, and sometimes go shopping and to the movies with them. I love my job.

[MELEE]

I like Ben Round the Block, work at a public university in Mexico (well, it's semi-public, but that's to difficult to explain ) and like Ben, I'm on the clock. We check in and out and in and out. We are on campus from 9:00 to 2:00 and 4:00 to 7:00 for a total of 40 hours a week. BUT I only teach 15 hours a week, some semesters 20, some semesters I've only taught 10 hours a week, 15 is the norm. I have 3 groups which meet five days a week for an hour. The rest of the time is prep, marking, materials development, helping students, and internet research.

[Steiner]

I teach 13 hours a week, no required office time. Sixty-two to 68 students in each class. Starting next week I'll add 4 hours a week more of small group classes--12 students in a class.

[dduck]

I'm supposed to work part-time, which is 23 hours a week (full-time is 46 hours a week - and that's contact time.). However, due to the nature of private schools classes come and go, frequently, a usually without notice. One week I taught 5 hours, another time it was 20 hours a week. Never the same twice.

Iain

[Gordon]

I teach f/t at a university in Japan. It is 12 hrs/week, 4 days/week and 3 hours/day all in a block. No office hours and few meetings. It is wonderful, on top of 5 months of paid vacation.

[denise]

I have 20 contact hours/week, five office hours, and then prep time. Basically I'm at school from 8 to 4 every day, but I spend half that time on the internet, watching baseball in the library (broadcast in English! yay!), reading, etc.

Of course, I also do loads of lesson planning at home, so my screw-off time at school is nicely balanced.

Overall, with class time + prep time, I probably put in more than 40 hours, but it's perfectly OK, because I love what I'm doing. (And I love the flexibility of being able to do it while sitting on my couch at home!)

d

[Glenski]

Gordon wrote:

[Glenski]

I work at a private HS in Japan.
I have 15 45-minute classes per week, plus an hour meeting 3-4 times a week.
I also assist a sports club. This requires me to sit and do nothing during their 3-4 hour practice sessions once or twice a week (including Saturday or Sunday). I also attend some tournaments (and do equally nothing).

My lesson planning takes place 3 times a week for an hour each time.

Correcting tests and homework obviously adds to the load, as does the spontaneous request here and there to help people do various things (record dialogs, proofread things, answer grammar questions, write English letters of recommendation).

Around test time (6 times a year), there are 3 days of monitoring exams, plus long hours correcting the tests in groups, even if I have no knowledge of the exams themselves. Add to that the time needed to input absences and grades from the books to the computer records.

We also hold two major speech contests per year, so that means taking my lunch time for a week or two to coach the contestants, and making the judging score sheets, contest pamphlets, and arranging for guest speakers, MCs, etc.

I usually work from 8am to 6 or 7pm five days a week, plus nearly a full day on Saturday twice a month. This schedule is lighter than what the Japanese teachers have sometimes, but not by much.

[guest of Japan]

Like Glenski, I also work in a private high school in Japan. I teach 9 90 minute classes a week. There are only two levels. In addition, I do marking of papers and grade recording. My prep time takes a lot longer than Glenski as my students have exceptionally low English ability and motivation. I have to take part in club activities everyday. Actually I quite enjoy this. On mondays I play basketball, tuesday-softball, wednesday-ping pong, thursday-English club, and friday-volleyball.

Like Glenski, I have a host of other duties. Test making, speech contests, voice recordings, tutoring, and festivals. I work from 8:30 to 5:00 monday through friday.

[Roger]

My timetable is still developing, but the gist is as follows:
- One fulltime job, 18 periods of 40 minutes, or 9 classes, at a college,
40 to 45 students. Subject: "Do what you think they need" - I think
they need a lot of ear training (listening skill, comprehension, lateral
thinking), so I subject them to a rigorous programme of listening
without the benefit of a textbook in front of them. This involves some
writing, so I have to occasionally correct their writing, which means up
to 330 papers a pop of prose to read.

On top of this, I have provisionally accepted an engagement at a primary school. The workload is not fixed yet, but my trial lesson (fully paid for) was a resounding success, and they hope to give me 4 to 5 periods in one day.
Another training centre asked me to pitch in, and I will see if I give them two to three afternoons a week.
Total workload (classroom activities):
- 18 + 4 + 4-6.
Add to this commutes.

I found that having nothing to do is boring (don't tell me you are craving a whole week off if you can't travel anywhere); working 5 hours a day is the most adequate and manageable.

Roger

[naturegirl321]

I teach about 14 hours a week. Then have songs, games, and an assembly which comes to a total of 20 hours a weeki. But I have to be at school from 8 until 5. Which I pass the time "preparing" on the internet or something like that.

[rogan]

I have 14 contact hours made up of 2
2 x 2 hours Mon and Tues with 3 X 2 hours on Wednesday.
The 6 groups of four students are the same level and the individual student is a conversation course.

My preparation time is something like 15 minutes per week and my photocopying time is about half an hour.

I occasionally have a 5 minute meeting with my employer.

I get paid $25 per hour