My marriage is in trouble

[Luna_Lovecraft]

I have a friend who started back to work as a teacher when her kids were old enough to start school. She chose it because she would have summers off and be home in the afternoons when her kids got home. She is a very competent teacher and is now the most stressed-out person I know, because that competence means lots of after school meetings, and a boss who feels free to call her and require her to work in the summer to save said boss’ hiney. She might as well become an administrator so that she actually gets paid for all the work she does!

As a classroom teacher who supervises student teachers, my mantra is “If you’re getting into teaching to have your afternoons and summers free: Get Another Career!”

Half the time our days are only 2/3rds of the way done when the last bell rings. Weekends bring another 8-10 hours of grading and planning. And summers provide a 3-week respite max; the rest of the time is spend in meetings, trainings, and work in our classrooms getting ready for the coming year.

And becoming an administrator is worse. Most days, particularly if they’re assigned to a campus, they’re at work until 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. A colleague of mine was a high school vice principal for two years until she asked to go back into the classroom (and take the subsequent pay cut) because she needed to spend more time with her daughters. She was leaving home before they woke up and would get home after they were in bed.

Luna