Question of the Week Archives

Question:

Replies:

Karen - Owensboro, KY
I am not a morning person. In fact, I don't even like to talk until after I've had my shower and a cup of coffee. Therefore, I would prefer to stay later in the afternoon to get things done and ready for the next day. I usually get to school about 15 minutes before the day begins. However, I make sure everything is ready to go the prior afternoon so that I'm ready to begin when I get there. I also have two planning periods when I work on getting copies ready and planning for long term.

Gina - Pittsburgh, PA
I always come in early to correct or run off papers. I have a second job, so staying after school is out of the question. But, I still have to correct papers/plan in the evenings.

Jacci Buelow - Mosinee, WI
Your question is interesting. I'd love to be able to complete all of my school work by staying late or coming in early, but the reality is that in spite of doing those things, I still have to take work home. I teach eighth graders English, a subject that has a high volume of work to correct. It's not easy to get it all finished within the confines of the school day despite staying late or coming in early. At-home work is unavoidable.

Eileen Mitchell - Staten Island, New York
With students coming in early and staying late for prep classes it does not allow me to work in my class. The Teacher's Center does not afford me the opportunity to work in it because it is not open unless the TC person is in. So I have no choice but to work at home. I'd rather carry my work home for I am able to stretch out and do work at my own pace. Working at home also allows me the time to connect with my family. I can put down my work and pick it up at my own pace.

Susan Hirsch - Arvada, CO
I used to be one to take work home and fill up my nights and weekends with grading, but this year my 11th in the profession, I have begun going in early and sometimes staying later, as I don't want to bring work home anymore. Occasionally, I have to bring it home, but for the most part I have resisted.

PW - San Pedro, CA
I teach five periods of math at a middle school and I like to stay late, as late as 6:30, and get my work done on campus rather than take it home with me. I do not stay late every night. I only stay late on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, as necessary to complete my work so that I don't have to carry home papers, projects, and/or books. I do, however, input my grades to my computer at home on the weekend.

Pat - Towaco , NJ
I would rather stay late, even though I am tired from a long day. If I come in early in the a.m., I know I only have a certain amount of time before my students arrive, whereas after school I can stay really as long as I like. The longer I have been teaching the more I also do at home to be ready for the coming week/weeks - if I come across something good online I might like to try, I just email it to my school account so when I go in I can just print everything I need.

NV
If I take work home, I'm also taking cockroaches and silverfish home with me, so my wife prefers I stay at school and come in on the weekends instead of hauling everything home.

Terri - Port Orchard, WA
I would rather come in early/stay late to get all of my work completed. The weekends are family time and rejuvenation time. But that does not always happen due to early morning meetings and after school staff, department, grade level meetines, I.E.P meetings, parent conferences, district mandated meetings, coaching assignments, tutoring, etc,etc,etc.

lin - cleveland, ohio
I dont know how other teachers leave "on time"--I work at least 1-2 hours after school, and another 2 hours at night at home...I have 4 preps as a home ec teacher

Jo Bee - Willard, OHio
Rather stay late. Then when I get home I can think of family and relax. If I take it home then I just think of education matters and neglect other parts of my life.

Brenda - Mesquite, TX
stay late--I work a night job --do not have time to grade at home

Debbie - Akron, OH
I prefer to stay late/come early than take things home, but I usually end up taking a few things home anyway!

L. McDonnell - Toms River, NJ
I would rather come in early for grading and prep work.

Sandra - Adelaide, SA
I tend to stay a little late but do most of my planning and marking at home because I have kids of my own to come home to.

Diane Darling - Kissimmee, FL
Usually I do both. I stay at school at the end of the day to work with Harcourt Management to make sure the students have the assignments they need. I also need to load pictures or files to the students computers so they are ready for class the next day. I also take home work like writing lesson plans or grading quiz papers or reading to stay current in technology, not to mention weekly workshops to learn about new programs available for my students. For me it is not a question of either physically work at school or carry work home, I have done both for over twenty-five years. I think our society has no idea how much time teachers give to benefit their students.

Maria Newnham - Albany, NY
I stay late AND work at night and on the weekends and vacations. My schedule as computer teacher without time to meet with the teachers has me last minute planning on the run. I would MUCH like to finish everything while at school so I could quilt/paint (my favorite way to spend time) and have a life during the school year.

Donna Cole - Bow, WA
I am not a morning person. I work best after school and try and finish everything at school, only taking home things when I need to - which is about 5 to 6x a month. My kids and I are at the same school so it's easy to make our own schedule. This time of year - my oldest son has basketball practice or a game on Mondays and Thursdays so we generally stay at school until practice.

Robin Tuka - Dowagiac, MI
I would rather stay late and carry work home with me. I find that if I go in early, I am just met with problems for the upcoming day and I find it easier to not dwell on them if I don't have that extra time. I am fortunate to have a family that doesn't mind the late hours, and I work better this way. I bring work home espcially on the weekend and sunday night is my work time.

Maurice White - Charleston, WV
I do not believe that we should have to stay late or come in early to complete school work. There should be proper time during the day to do these tasks.

Alana Anderson - Jacksonville, FL
Prior to becoming a mother, I preferred to take work home. The convienience of working around my schedule (even in pajamas) was important to me. Since becoming a mother, I now stay after school for nearly 2 hours each day. This enables me to NOT take work home. Evenings and weekends are family time---due to the birth of my daughter, work stays at work. :)

Sherry Case - Damascus, Virginia
I would rather stay late and work. Everyone goes home and there is peace and quiet. I can concentrate on the tasks at hand knowing I will not be interrupted.

Roberta Ludt - Youngstown, Ohio
I'd rather have the time while physically at place of employment to do all the extra work. I have way to many other things that I am involved in to have the time to to all this on my own time.

Janice Klinzing - Buffalo, NY
I would much rather stay late. I used to arrive an hour early every morning and stay one to two hours late each afternoon. I've discovered that although I love the quiet of the morning, I get just as much done staying late without arriving earlier than my colleagues.

Sara DuBose - Boerne, TX
I'm much rather get everything done at school. It is so nice to be able to go home and focus on home.

Abby - St. Louis, MO
I'd prefer to stay late during the week or even come in on Sunday to plan, etc. because I find that once I get home I tend to want to "veg" instead of stay focused like I should. Of course this isn't always possible and I often end up doing it on the weekend.

AB
Definitely like to get all my work done at school. As a single parent, I have enough to do at home and like to devote all my attention to my own children once I am home. It means working really hard at school and not taking breaks, but I think it's worth it.

Melanie Sellers - Ashford, Alabama
I had rather stay late. I have to be at school by 7:30, but usually arrive by 7:15. Time before school is usually occupied with getting organized for the day and I always have students and teachers popping in with questions. After school, I am not as rushed and can finish whatever needs doing at my leisure. I used to take stuff home, but found myself bringing it back unfinshed. I have found that I need to seperate work and home.

TN
I routinely come in early and stay late to finish my tasks. I don't like to take work home because a) I live on a farm and have other chores, and b) I have a lot of other interests, including my family and my church.

Betsy - Beavercreek, OH
I am so lucky! I have asked to have first period planning period, and so far so good. Instead of arriving at 7am like most of our staff, I arrive by 7:30, which is the late bell for the kids. I assured my principal that would be staying at least that half-hour after school to do my own work. That way, there are also teachers in the building a while after the staff "go home" time in case kids come back in or horse around the halls when they think we're all gone. It's sort of a flex time that I appreciate. When I stay late, I make sure that everything I need is ready for the next day's class - copies, boards, plans, technology, all ready for me to walk in. I would much rather stay late and complete my homework. Once I go home, the last thing I want to do is my homework as I help the my kids with homework, sports trips, appointments, the usual jobs of working parents. If I become an administrator, this might be something I'd support in my staff.