Mad Mike, Reader's Comment, The reality of teaching 'in the trenches', Lachie Ga

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Mad Mike, Reader's Comment, The reality of teaching 'in the trenches', Lachie Gaylard, The Drum, ABC, 25 January 2012: http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3790748.html Historical link preserved from the original page.

I left teaching after only four years. Having a mortgage to pay with such an erratic income was extremely stressful.

I worked as a primary school teacher.

I started work at 8am and had one 20 minute break - could be for lunch or recess.

It was a small school and therefore there was a greater frequency of being rostered for yard duty - there were not enough teachers to go around.

And yard duty wasn't just a stroll around outside - you are dealing with all sorts of issues (bullying, adjudicating disputes, first aid) in the playground.

The class finished at 3, but then I needed to speak with parents, go to meetings and clean up and then set up classroom for next day's work.

I left the school at 4.30 or 5.

At home I spent one or more hours preparing for next day.

With my reckoning I was working about 9 hours a day, without adding on what I did on weekends.

In my class there were children from very disadvantaged families and I would even need to speak with their parents on the phone in the evening too.

I also spent time at the weekend on school work preparation.

And then when the term holidays came around I would spend half of the holiday recovering or sick and the rest was my break.

Plus add to that: absolutely no security of tenure!

A contract for a term here and there, then no income over the long summer / Xmas holiday break.

The only way to get work was just how much you could suck up to the principals who decided who they wanted to employ as you competed with loads of other teachers looking for work too.

And as to any shortage of teachers... of the 300 other teachers who graduated with me only 30, yes 30 got a permanent position - and do you know why? Because they had mothers, aunts or other relatives who were already teachers or principals etc and could "put a good word in".

Plus add to it all having a mortgage to pay with such an erratic income was extremely stressful.

And the income was NOT a big income, I wasn't paid for the term breaks at all, only the term worked.

So... I sensibly left teaching after only 4 years because of the above described conditions even though I actually enjoyed the teaching part of it and the children.