Working Conditions: Contract Hours

Educators continue to describe the extent of their heavy workloads, with many sharing that they are working beyond contractual hours for tasks including planning periods.

  • “Me: Posts a tweet about how teachers need to refuse to do school work at home. Teachers: But there’s too much to do & I can’t get it all done in the building. Me: That’s why we have to refuse. We have to quit giving them unpaid labor because they will exploit us.” —Middle School Teacher in Georgia
    • “I no longer work outside of contract hours. I regret that it took the death of my spouse for me to draw that boundary. The things I missed spending so much time at home working—makes me so mad that I thought I had to.” —High School Teacher in Oklahoma 
    • “Exactly. I stopped taking my work home about 6 years ago. Teachers need to set boundaries and our personal time outside of school needs to be protected. It’s okay to say no.” —Science Teacher in Texas
    • “This is worthy of a real discussion.I completely agree with the sentiment behind this but it can feel a tad gaslight-y for those who feel kicked in the ass when a minimal amount of time isn’t spent planning outside of the school day.(sorry…) It’s not so black and white.” —Elementary Educator in New York
  • “Someone (not in education) was surprised to hear that teachers have to set up their own classrooms. She thought we had someone to do that for us and we just walk in the first day and start teaching. I had to explain it takes days of prep + physical labor. And we don’t get paid.” —Elementary Teacher in New York
    • “Contract days started August 1st. The expectation was my room to be ready on July 29th. What other profession expects work to be done outside contract hours? Don’t answer- we don’t care. We want to be paid for the time we work.” —Elementary SPED Teacher in Alabama 
  • “I just feel like teacher pay should also be adjusted based on the amount of preps you have. My weekend is spent lesson planning and grading.” —High School Math Teacher in Michigan
    • “I agree. And what about giving up a planning period to teach another class or period subbing for teachers who are out. We do so much more work than people outside of the classroom see.” —Educator, N/A
    • “Not to mention the lunch breaks that don’t exist. Because we are planning or working with students. Teachers are always working. Planning. Prepping. It’s who we are.” —Middle School Educator in Wisconsin 
  • “Teachers need more than 45 minutes a day to plan, grade, and do all of the other things on our plates.” —Middle School Teacher in New York