To the Editor:
Everyone is entitled to an opinion; however, citing misinformation to support one is not acceptable.
Teachers in the State of New Jersey are required by state law to work a minimum of 180 days per school year, not 160.
Having negotiated several teacher contracts in southern New Jersey, I am unaware of any contracts calling for a 6.5-hour workday. Most contracts I have seen call for an average of seven hours per day.
Just for fun, go see the real day yourself: Stand outside any elementary school in our county and note the time of arrival for most teachers. Next, return to the same school at dismissal time, and check the time teachers depart. Also, note how many teachers do not leave school empty–handed, as most will be carrying at least two hours of homework with them. Ask any parent who has a child in that school how many hours their child’s teacher works every day.
Add to the seven hours at least two hours of correcting and grading papers and preparing tomorrow’s lessons. Finally, add the time teachers have to attend faculty meetings, curriculum meetings, and set up and participate in parental conferences, take courses for certification and professional improvement.
We could mention the reviewing of textbooks, organizing field trips, recording grades, drawing up student referrals, and preparing assignments for students going on vacation or out with sickness, and you might get closer to the actual length of a teacher’s workday.
The writer seemed inclined to use incorrect numbers to prove an opinion. Try this number. Take 25 students in a class where the teacher devotes 10 minutes a day to each student outside of the class, whether it be correcting or grading a paper, recording a grade, preparing a lesson, responding to a parent’s inquiry, or answering an email. That “extrapolates” to over four hours per night.
One last correction: Other career employees actually work much less than 260 days per year or 2,080 hours. Extrapolating conclusions from false premises generally produce incorrect facts.
ED. NOTE: In addition to the above, the previous letter also incorrectly stated that teachers receive tenure after three years. Teachers must be employed for four years, and have earned “effective ratings” on their observation forms, to receive tenure. They get tenure at the beginning of their fifth year.
