Teachers Are Missing More School, and There Are Too Few Substitutes (career, principal)
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Another article on teachers taking more days off and not enough subs to cover the classes. The comments are more interesting than the article. I could've added some better examples such as a school having 25% of their teachers out and one sub available. Students are sent to study halls in the cafeteria. Some students have spent four class periods a day in cafeteria study halls.
I am one of those subs who sits in our high school cafeteria every day, supervising 2-9 classes. I taught history for 32 years, then retired and started subbing as a "part-time" job. It became full-time due to the extreme need and I'm now in my 10th year. Most of the subs who keep our schools operating are retired teachers.
I am at school more days each year than many of the permanent teachers, yet I work for a fraction of what they are paid. Fortunately, I don't need the money, like staying active, and enjoy the kids I teach.
What has happened to the work ethic that us baby boomers grew up respecting?
You know it used to be that districts allowed untalented time to roll over to the next year and/or would pay out those untalented days. It makes sense as a cost saving measure because coverage is relatively cheap but incentivises teachers to take all their days... and that was fine when the labor market was different but those days are over.
Also I've noticed that since Covid the culture around working while sick has changed. Personally I know I am much less likely to teach while sick, or send my kid to school while sick in order to avoid taking days, and my admin has been really supportive of those choices.
Anyway, I'm not so sure that "millennial lazy" is the issue on this one.
You know it used to be that districts allowed untalented time to roll over to the next year and/or would pay out those untalented days. It makes sense as a cost saving measure because coverage is relatively cheap but incentivises teachers to take all their days... and that was fine when the labor market was different but those days are over.
Also I've noticed that since Covid the culture around working while sick has changed. Personally I know I am much less likely to teach while sick, or send my kid to school while sick in order to avoid taking days, and my admin has been really supportive of those choices.
Anyway, I'm not so sure that "millennial lazy" is the issue on this one.
Lazy may not be the word, perhaps "priorities" is.
I found towards the end of my career that newer teachers (not the few career changers who actually were successful) but newer grads prioritized things like college Homecoming, fraternity/sorority reunions, Mondays off football recovery days over coming in to school.
Now, somewhat in their defense, our Administrative team had the same priorities.
I am one of those subs who sits in our high school cafeteria every day, supervising 2-9 classes. I taught history for 32 years, then retired and started subbing as a "part-time" job. It became full-time due to the extreme need and I'm now in my 10th year. Most of the subs who keep our schools operating are retired teachers.
I am at school more days each year than many of the permanent teachers, yet I work for a fraction of what they are paid. Fortunately, I don't need the money, like staying active, and enjoy the kids I teach.
What has happened to the work ethic that us baby boomers grew up respecting?
I graduated from high school in 1973 and it was rare to have a sub. My track coach taught math and missed one day in 35 years. He went to his mother's funeral. My father-in-law also taught math. He took off the morning my sister-in-law was born. He returned to school for the afternoon.
I've subbed nine days this year for a teacher who went on ski trip and another who went on a cruise. Teachers are also out of the classroom for training both in the district and outside the district. When my daughter taught in Florida, she was required to go to training after the school day was over.
During much of my career, teachers received 10 sick days per year. Towards the end, it climbed to 11.
I retired with 240 unused sick days which nets me about $240 per month for life. Not a great return, but something.
Teachers in my current district receive 20 sick days per year and many use all of them every year, and more.
For some, teaching is their secondary income stream. They work at higher-paying jobs and teach mainly to earn a pension.
Lazy may not be the word, perhaps "priorities" is.
I found towards the end of my career that newer teachers (not the few career changers who actually were successful) but newer grads prioritized things like college Homecoming, fraternity/sorority reunions, Mondays off football recovery days over coming in to school.
Now, somewhat in their defense, our Administrative team had the same priorities.
I have not seen that personally. I wonder if it's generational or more of a young/old thing.
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Work/Life Balance was not a 'thing' 40 yrs ago.
But it probably should have been.
Recent hires (and my own kids) definitely have a handle on better segregating and investing time in work. (And play).
Not lazy, but very different work (employment) intensity.
Work hard
Play hard.
Many new hires in industry now negotiate 'unlimited' time off. (Sick or vacation). My kids all have that perk. "Oh, I'm in South America, we can meet you in Amsterdam by the end of next week". Probably not gonna cut it with school administrators. But... We don't really need administrators or teachers in this current information rich age. (Or school buildings, buses, cafeterias, sports arenas, parking lots...)
I have not seen that personally. I wonder if it's generational or more of a young/old thing.
That would be more or less the same thing.
I don't know, I found that taking a day off was usually more work than going in. I had one year I was out of the building, not sick but at various meetings, over thirty days. That year kicked my ass. Only two of those days were "mine", as it were.
And the kicker was that for at least half the meetings it was supposed to be the Principal or Vice-Principal attending, not a teacher/department head.
Now I will say that it made more sense for me to go to a lot of them rather than an Administrator.
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