As a teacher with over 20 years experience, there have many many changes since I first began teaching, many related to the introduction of the Internet to our lives and all the extra requirements that come with that (such as the amount of time spent replying to emails). The other big difference is the emphasis on testing, goal setting, and individual education plans.
In my experience, my workload is much larger than it was when I first started teaching. I feel that the above reasons have had an enormous impact on teachers' workloads. I know that I can't compare across schools, but looking at my current school, the workload is increasing yearly, as new ideas are implemented, but very little is taken away from the expectations/requirements.
As a teacher, I feel more and more stressed, and more and more disillusioned about a career I chose out of passion. I have loved teaching, and I still do, but now I feel like an administrator who does some teaching on the side. Colleagues from other schools tell me that they feel the same way.
What are the outcomes for me?
- I feel like a terrible mother and wife - I put my family on the backburner to my deadlines.
- I'm not as fit and healthy as I'd like to be.
- I have no hobbies as any spare time is spent working.
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The ethical dilemma for me is the question of whether it is right for schools to demand so much from their teachers, that in order for them to meet the requirements, they are unable to have a balanced life away from work.
Employment New Zealand defines this balance as, "Work-life balance is about effectively managing the juggling act between paid work and the other activities that are important to people. It's about work not completely crowding out the other things that matter to people like time with family, participation in community activities, voluntary work, personal development, leisure and recreation. It is sometimes called working flexibly."
As teachers, should we expect to have a work-life balance? Article 24 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights says that, "Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay." (n.d.) Although our collective contract enshrines our right to limited work hours, our workplaces demand more of us, and in my experience, teachers who work fewer hours, to have a balance are often seen as 'lazy' and are discriminated against.
Is the issue addressed in either the current or draft NZ Code of Ethics? No. The emphases are placed on the students, their whānau and the schools - there is nothing to address the physical and mental health of teachers.
NZCER Chief Researcher Dr Cathy Wylie wonders if a threshold has been reached and teachers can’t physically sustain working more hours, week in, week out, and manage other commitments such as study and family. “Teaching is very intensive work.” (Blaikie, 2016, para. 32)
When I have raised the workload issue with senior leaders, I have been made to feel that I can't cope, that I'm not professional enough and that I'm a complainer. I believe that this has contributed to my missing out on promotions.
In March this year, Amesbury School's Principal, Lesley Murrihy, wrote that teaching is propped up by the goodwill and sacrifice of its workers. I believe she is right when she describes teaching as a straw house that will fall down if we don't take care of our teachers, reducing stress and increasing their work-life balance.
For me, without a change, I will be finding a way to teach that doesn't leech away my physical and mental health.
References
Blaikie, J. (2016, July 14). Workload: The Problem is the Problem (not you). Retrieved from http://www.ea.org.nz/workload-the-problem-is-the-problem/
Education Council. (2017 draft). Draft Code of Professional Responsibility and Standards for the Teaching Profession. Retrieved from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/sites/default/files/Our%20Code%20Our%20Standards.pdf
Education Council. (n.d). The Education Council Code of Ethics for Certificated Teachers. Retrieved from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/code-of-et…
Murrihy, L. (2017, March 15). A Sustainable Future in Education. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sustainable-future-education-lesley-murrihy
Starting employment. (n.d.). Retrieved June 17, 2017, from https://www.employment.govt.nz/workplace-policies/productive-workplaces/work-life-balance/
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (n.d.). Retrieved June 17, 2017, from http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/
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