Why am I penalized for working during planning periods?
Administrators and colleagues often expect teachers to spend planning periods socializing or putting in face time in the department office rather than quietly grading. This creates a culture where teachers who choose to work are labeled as unreasonable, leaving them feeling punished for trying to get their actual job done.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Taking work home to grade in the evenings
- 2Considering alternative paths to licensing to move to public schools
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I was told that that’s an unreasonable expectation and I should be using my planning periods to “talk shop“ with the rest of the department, and only use them to grade if I’m really overloaded with grading a major assignment, and otherwise I should be grading at home.”source ↗
“I have also been told to put in more face time in the department office even though I don't have a desk there and it's a place more for chitchat than working. Ugh! I'm sorry. It's not unheard of but I wouldn't call it normal or helpful?”source ↗
“Yeah our department is *very* social with each other. Which cool, everyone is nice, but like when I’m at work I want to work? And it feels weird to be punished for that?”source ↗