[njbchbum]

Originally Posted by DougB

Teachers work 196 days (180 days are with students). During those 180 days, a teacher only gets 40 minutes a day for planning lessons, grading papers, etc. Elementary teachers have to plan for 6 subjects each day. And with differentiated instruction to meet the needs of all the students, the teacher may need 3 lesson plans for each of these subjects. Tough to do in 40 minutes, wouldn't you say? I won't even get into how many hours are spent on designing assessments with open ended higher order questions the students have to respond to.
I know very few teachers at any grade level that begin and end their school day with the bell. Some teachers attend trainings and have to attend classes for professional development with no pay over the summer.
If your child has a good teacher, you can be assured, he/she is working every bit of 250 days in the 196 days they are paid.

guess it's a good thing my niece chose to teach phys ed/health and supervise study hall - not much lesson planning/testing there. and she is paid an additional stipend to serve as track coach.

and my friend who teaches special ed in middle school operates with curriculum/lessson plans/assessments provided under state guidelines - not much oppty to improvise there.