The teaching profession is an invaluable cornerstone of society, entrusted with molding the future of our children. While technical knowledge of teachers is undoubtedly important, being a teacher encompasses much more. Teachers are expected to embody higher morality, possess strong character, and exemplify the best of human virtues. Above all, they must exhibit love and care for children who are NOT their own. However, do teachers truly receive the appreciation, respect, and compensation they deserve for the load of work they carry? And what do we actually know about their workload?

Let’s examine the workload of teachers from a time standpoint. Some might say, “Teachers should be the last ones to complain as they have the entire summer off.” While it is true that teachers have summer breaks, let’s look at their daily work during the school year.

Officially, teachers are expected to work 37.5 hours per week. This includes classroom instruction, lesson planning, grading papers, meeting with parents, attending meetings mandated by school administrators, record-keeping, calculating grading period finals, and more, depending on the school and teacher’s specialty. On the surface, 37.5 hours a week may seem reasonable, but let’s take a closer look at reality.

Most teachers teach 4.5 hours per day, totaling 22.5 hours of classroom instruction per week. Subtracting this from the total expected work hours, we are left with 15 hours to fulfill other vital teacher duties. Initially, this may seem like a reasonable amount of time. However, considering the number of students teachers are responsible for (usually around 150), the situation becomes completely overwhelming.

With only 15 hours per week allocated to 150 students, teachers are left with a mere 6 minutes per week to grade each student’s work. Six minutes! What grading is possible in 6 minutes? What feedback can the teacher give? Have any of our education leaders or policymakers thought about this?

Furthermore, even if teachers had superhuman powers to grade a 1-3 page written essay, analyze it, and give constructive feedback within 6 minutes, where is the time to plan lessons? Planning lessons is one of the most crucial parts of the teaching craft. It involves looking at student group dynamics, finding ways to productively weave individual student strengths into a bigger picture of group learning. But where is the time for that? And what about communicating with parents? Doing so with dignity and without rushing is vital. And let’s not forget the time needed for personal growth. Teachers are the first and best role models for lifelong learning, but where is the time for it? For many teachers, it is postponed until summertime. (Doesn’t that mean teachers don’t have summer off any more?)

To make matters worse, school administrators keep adding more and more to the plate of teachers. Lunch duty, bus duty, before-school duty, hallway duty, record-keeping, reporting—these tasks pile up. Hollow slogans about self-care, such as “let’s all do yoga” or “let’s all practice mindfulness,” often fall on deaf ears. Many teachers simply don’t have the time to even use the restroom. Depending on the school district, the list of duties can take on its own hue of insanity. And what about the new initiatives and fads that underperforming districts and school leaders bring to schools for teachers to implement? Ex: “Let’s prioritize Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)!” We all talk about SEL, but do we truly and deeply understand what this entails? This reminds me of a situation when I was interviewing a candidate for a teaching position at my school and I said, “We need a strong character educator on our team.”  In response, the candidate said, “Oh yes! I have a binder on this thing! I attended this training.” Nobody needs another binder. We need your loving heart. This is what SEL is all about.

The teaching profession is undeniably challenging. In reality, teachers’ work is never fully complete, leading to a constant sense of underperformance, prolonged stress, and burnout. Many teachers find themselves working 50-60-70 hours per week with no time for self-care. By imposing a factory system focused more on data collection than caring about the minds and hearts of children and by treating teachers as teaching machines, WE FAIL EVERYONE: teachers, students, parents, and society as a whole.

It is imperative for school leaders and policymakers to recognize and address the toll that teaching takes on educators. Teachers deserve appreciation, respect, and support for the tremendous work they do. Acknowledging the realities of their workload and providing adequate resources and assistance can make a significant difference.

By valuing teachers’ time and expertise, decreasing the number of students they have to serve, increasing their compensation, and decreasing administrative loads, we can alleviate the burden and foster an environment where teachers can thrive.

Ultimately, the well-being of teachers directly impacts the quality of education they provide to students. When teachers are overwhelmed, stressed, and burnt out, it affects their ability to engage, inspire, and nurture their students.

Let us come together to advocate for systemic changes and reforms in the education system. Join us at Wellbright, where we unite like-minded people who see the urgent need to transform our antiquated education system. Together, we can create an environment where teachers can thrive, students can flourish, and society can reap the benefits of a well-supported and empowered teaching profession.

Katerina Belik