"Gets my Goat!" #MTBoS30 - 21

I saw this statement in my Twitter feed this morning.  The statement makes me angry.

The implication is that teachers should continue working after students have been dismissed.

But it doesn't account for so many possibilities.

• The "early-birds," who do their best work in the early morning hours, who have put in an additional 1 or 2 hours in the school day before students arrived.
• The teachers who have family, with responsibilities right after school, families whose time with teacher mom or dad is cut short by so many school responsibilities.
• The teachers who prefer to work in their own home office, in their favorite chair, with their own equipment because that's where their creativity sparks!  Not to mention they can multitask - taking care of family responsibilities.

But I think what really bothers me is that it defines a positive culture implying that teachers will want to work all hours ... as if having a life outside of school is not valuable, not important - or not our right?  

Let's turn that around ... why not give teachers appropriate time, space, tools, and equipment to plan well; pay them for that time.  Build it into their contracted day.  Watch shoulders lift, eyes sparkle, smiles broaden when teachers don't feel "put upon," when their personal time is respected, when they are given the opportunity to create balanced lives! 

... then we can talk about a "positive culture!"

In a next post, I'll explore strategies for balancing life ... taking care of oneself ...