Happy Holiday!
How much holiday do teachers get?
Most teachers get 13 weeks of annual leave, however, their pay is not calculated pro-rata, nor is it stretched across the year; they are getting paid all year round. Because of this, some people may feel that teachers have way too much holiday. What do you think?
Let’s consider the following facts:
- A full-time Monday to Friday worker, who has the weekend free, has as many days off in a year as a teacher.
- A regular worker gets four weeks annual leave (20 days), more than two weeks of statutory holidays (11 days), plus free weekends (104 days). That’s 135 non-workdays in a year. Subtracting from 365 gives a total of 230 days of work annually.
- When the school is open during term time, the teacher works a total of 194 days each year with children. During the four end-of-term breaks (sometimes called “holidays”) teachers still have to do schoolwork, including compulsory professional development days. Let’s say this takes up 4 days during the holiday, this means 16 days per year are still spent on work-related activities.
- Weekend work at an average of four hours each term could be very common -. That’s approximately 20 days equivalent of additional workload (40 weeks x half-day).
Add these up and you get a total of 230 days of work! That’s if I’m not counting the extra hours at night that I know a lot of teachers put in either. Some teachers may do more work or less, they still are putting in the extra hours behind the scenes.
More than just standing in front of the class
I empathize with teachers that teach and work with up to 30 students in class, all day. They not only teach children schoolwork, but they have to be councilors, be neutral, compassionate, and sympathetic. They have to be role models, sometimes as parents, or sports coaches, and show a massive amount of patience and perseverance.
While students can switch off and hang up their uniforms every term break, teachers still have to prepare and plan for the next term. That’s 10 weeks of lesson plans, prepping projects and often they’ll need to do exam marking as well. I think it’s fair to say teachers deserve time off.
Teacher-only days provide Professional Development time
Just as students are doing the learning in this new technology and information era, teachers have to get with the times too. This is where professional development days come in. Teachers usually use these days to upskill themselves or plan ahead budgets and courses for the following term or year. Other times, teachers attend education conferences and will often present incredible engaging talks during these conferences.
Some teachers who are also proud ambassadors of Kai’s Clan will introduce its robots, collaborative features, and curriculum to their peers and give examples of how they use it in the classroom as part of their professional development. Let’s be honest, nobody wants to hear it from a salesperson, who might not have the same understanding or passion as one of their own. Teachers are more likely to accept the learnings and recommendations from fellow teachers, whether it is locally, nationally, or internationally.
Any teachers that are interested to become STEAM Ambassadors for Kai’s Clan, please email ronel@kaisclan.ai
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