Teachers Work for Free: The Unpaid Hours Problem
When a teacher begins working at a new school, they soon realize that the majority of their colleagues are divided into two camps. Camp one: teachers who arrive well before the sun comes up - way before students even arrive at school. These same teachers tend to leave right at 3:30 pm. Camp two: teachers who arrive, usually with a Starbucks in hand, right before students stream into their classrooms. These teachers tend to stay behind long after the last bell has rung, and the students have left the building.
Personally, I have always fallen into the first camp. I enjoy having extra time in the morning to gather my thoughts, use the copy machine without waiting in line, and review my plans for the day while savoring an extra cup of coffee, albeit not usually Starbucks; Folgers, anyone?! It helps me feel better prepared for the day. Whether we come early or stay late, it is undeniable that uninterrupted quiet time at school is necessary for teachers to function as professionals. Unfortunately, this is not the time for which we are paid. These are the hours we donate to the educational system, essentially working for free.
You may be wondering at this point, “Do teachers get paid overtime?” No, most U.S. teachers are legally exempt from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) because their primary duty is teaching, even if they work well over 40 hours a week on tasks like grading, planning, and coaching, which often go unpaid. So why can't we do everything asked of us within a 40-hour work week? Let's take a look.
Why Teachers Can't Fit It All In
Before we go much further, it is essential to know that teachers are required to work a set period (again, without overtime compensation) of about 40 hours per week, but it can vary. This is what we in the profession refer to as “contracted hours.”
What are contracted hours? They are the set window of time each workday that a teacher is formally required to be on school premises and fulfill their professional duties, as mandated by their employment agreement with the school district.
When speaking with people unfamiliar with the education profession, many are dumbfounded by why so many teachers work outside their contracted hours. After all, don’t teachers receive time during the day to plan and grade papers? What part of teaching can require so much effort and time? In my opinion, these ideas likely stem from the simplified, idealized vision that most people have of the teaching profession. The Mayberry School of Education, where students and teachers sit at their desks throughout the day, studying their pre-formulated lessons from textbooks and reading notes the teacher has written from her teacher's edition textbook on the chalkboard. If only!
Lesson Planning: Far More Than Meets the Eye
Effective teaching doesn't just happen; it requires thoughtful planning and preparation. To be effective, teachers have to create lesson plans. Specifically, ones that are engaging, rigorous, based on state standards, and differentiated for every learning type and ability level present in a classroom of 22 or more students. Long gone are the days of workbooks, like the ones many of us grew up using as students, and textbooks with teacher editions containing pre-set lesson plans. Modern lesson planning requires looking at each student as an individual, ensuring all their learning preferences and needs are taken into consideration. No hand workbook or textbook fits all.
Planning Periods: Interrupted and Insufficient
While planning periods, which are intended for planning future lessons, reviewing past student work, and other administrative tasks, are often consumed by meetings with parents, support staff, and leadership. As a result, teachers must find time during the day (before or after school hours) to complete these vital administrative tasks, often at home (outside our contracted hours). These activities, to name a few, include:
Providing individualized student feedback
Responding to parent emails, texts, and phone calls
Creating assignments and assessments
Thoughtfully analyzing the flow of data from standardized testing assessments (more about this later)
Grading assignments
Keeping the classroom organized and ready each day
But even if the planning periods were used solely to address these activities, the allotted hours for teachers would still be insufficient to accommodate them all.
Standardized Testing: Data Without the Time to Use It
Another element contributing to teachers working unpaid hours is the increasing emphasis on standardized testing. These standardized assessments generate data that teachers must analyze, interpret, and use to adjust instruction; tasks that rarely fit within the school day. Pressure to raise test scores has reached an all-time high, yet the time allotted to implement and adjust instruction based on assessment data has not increased. The modern-day equivalent of “making bricks without straw.” The cycle of standardized assessments continues throughout the school year, requiring teachers to constantly modify instruction to meet the needs of every individual student, a time-consuming task. This critical work, which requires consistent, uninterrupted planning, often needs to be completed outside of contracted hours.
The Cost of "Free" Labor
As the saying goes, nothing in life is free. As long as teachers are expected to provide countless hours of unpaid labor to support their students, there will be a price to be paid. In this case, the cost is high, with rising burnout rates and high teacher turnover. Many teachers are leaving the profession for less demanding and more lucrative careers. Perpetual turnover means students rarely receive instruction from teachers who have fully honed their craft, and it adds stress to those who remain in the classroom. In addition, dealing with new teachers each year places extra pressure on experienced teachers who must take the lead in decision-making and mentor new teachers through their first year.
Working off contracted hours has created the illusion that teaching is “manageable,” when in reality it is anything but. Classroom success and student achievement are only made possible by the many thousands of unpaid hours teachers dedicate to their profession. This reality has become embedded in how schools operate, with systems built around the assumption that teachers will continue to donate their time rather than be compensated for it. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love teaching, but there has to be a better way that supports my fellow teachers and me.
Supporting the Teachers Who Support Our Students
A classroom should be a sanctuary for learning, where every student has the opportunity to thrive. Yet this vision depends on teachers who are valued, supported, and fairly compensated for the countless hours they dedicate beyond the school day. Additional financial support for planning, grading, and after-school work acknowledges what has long gone unseen, helps retain experienced educators, and empowers teachers to focus on high-quality instruction. This is the way forward that makes teaching a sustainable profession that celebrates educators and equips them to give their very best to every student.
If you would like to support our efforts, please feel free to get involved. And if you really want to help drive change, donations are a great way to do so!
