It’s recently come to my attention that here in Victoria “the first day of Term 1 each year must be a student-free day in all government schools to allow for appropriate planning to take place for the arrival of students”.
Maybe I’m missing the intricacies of teaching but didn’t teachers just have 5 weeks of student free days over the Christmas break? What’s the go with this lark? Why is an extra day required? Do they really just take 5 weeks off and do absolutely no work?
This is the way. Check in with your peers for 15 minutes a week to make sure you're up to the same section at the same time. Job done, repeat next year.
What about bank holidays? Those poor bankers work so hard.
Have always thought that whinging bankers was a spoonerism
With teacher shortage comes high tern over of teachers. The pupil free day also gives new teachers opportunities to become familiar with the school without students and meet their new colleagues.
We also do a lot of printing for our classes, which cannot be done without being at school. We also prepare our classroom environment (although many teachers go in BEFORE the pupil free day to prepare their classroom).
There's a teacher shortage at the moment. Just saying 🦥
What don’t we have a shortage of? Wasn’t there a big stink about yoga instructors being on the list?
I mean, id argue it's a announcement problem, Just include the monday back as apart of school holidays, except for teachers… They get those extra holidays cause the pays crap and the conditions are crap. Outside of building sites where else can your day be interupted by 2 people having a punch on and yoir expected to break it up and deal with kids all day? I dont think 1 day is too much to ask…
Just include the monday back as apart of school holidays, except for teachers
There is probably some legal crap behind it. Which is why it is a "pupil free day" for Day 1.
Some jurisdictions do that. It’s still a bit silly to start the term on a Wednesday.
You realise the 4 weeks over the Xmas period is their actual accrued annual leave right?
I know it's hard for the uneducated to understand basic concepts, but teachers need a damn break to.
Like I always say to my mates that have a cry about teacher holidays - If it's such a great gig, go study for four years and join us! Funnily enough, none of them have taken it up yet (some even scoff that they'd lower themselves to such a crap career).
There's a reason why we have one of the highest attrition rates within the first 5 years of teachers careers… and it's not because it's a super easy job mate.
Right and they should be free to totally unplug during those four weeks. After those four weeks are up, the kids still won’t go to school for another week. So given that the teachers can prepare for the upcoming year in that 5th week of Christmas break why does the first day of Term 1 need be a pupil free day?
You realise the 4 weeks over the Xmas period is their actual accrued annual leave right?
I know it's hard for the uneducated to understand basic concepts, but teachers need a damn break to. (btw it's spelled 'too'. Hopefully you're not teaching English)
May be worth your while to read a little before you start insulting others.
From education.nsw.gov.au
Part 4.3.1.1
b). Annual leave for teachers in the Eastern Vacation Division shall be taken during the first calendar non term week of the summer, autumn, winter and spring student vacations….
Part 4.3.1.2
a) Unless otherwise required by the employer, teachers shall not be required to attend their workplaces during the non-term week(s) of the student vacation periods.
b) Teachers will continue to be paid for the non-term week(s), as appropriate under this section
So the weeks over Xmas are clearly not their accrued annual leave.
Right and they should be free to totally unplug during those four weeks. After those four weeks are up, the kids still won’t go to school for another week. So given that the teachers can prepare for the upcoming year in that 5th week of Christmas break why does the first day of Term 1 need be a pupil free day?
I would give up if I were you.
You made an arse of yourself by posting rubbish, so why keep proving it?
Ok boomer
Ok boomer
Now you have proved how big an arse really you are. Keep going, it won't be long before you are an elephants arse.
I am not a boomer, as I've stated here many, many times.
I'm sorry, I didn't know it was a sore spot. I shouldn't have said that.
I'm sorry, I didn't know it was a sore spot. I shouldn't have said that.
Ain't no sore spot here Princess and wouldn't be if I was. I'm proud of the generation I'm from.
I shouldn't have made a personal attack anyway.
Personal? Heck no. Just your rambling bullshit.
Don't forget to take your meds tonight. The ones the Psychiatrist prescribed for you.
@CommuterPolluter: Good to see someone on here actually apologise for doing that sort of thing.
No idea why the response to this apology was to be insulted/attacked by the person the apology was for.
Definitely shows which of the posters is the type I prefer to see on here.
Why should they have to work over those five weeks? All the teachers I know work their arses off all year. Plenty of them work after school, weekends and during the breaks between terms, the generous leave doesn’t make up for it.
Anyway, what’s the big deal? They’ve given ample time for people to make arrangements. This just seems like pointless whinging.
Yes, they probably don't need that specific day and it could be organised for the Friday prior. I wouldn't be a teacher but if I was, I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Remember though that they contract for those holidays to not work i.e., the government doesn't want to pay them and doesn't expect them to work so we all pretend they can get everything ready in one day at the start of term. If they didn't get them that one day then a few stubborn teachers would literally come to work with nothing prepared to prove a point (as they should).
Yes, they probably don't need that specific day and it could be organised for the Friday prior. I wouldn't be a teacher but if I was, I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Remember though that they contract for those holidays to not work i.e., the government doesn't want to pay them and doesn't expect them to work so we all pretend they can get everything ready in one day at the start of term. If they didn't get them that one day then a few stubborn teachers would literally come to work with nothing prepared to prove a point (as they should).
Maybe you should find out what THAT day is for before you dribble nonsense here.
It's called Friday, sorry I didn't realise the education system had failed you specifically but then I shouldn't make assumptions about your level of intelligence.
They are still at work those days - it's not a work-free day, they use them for term planning. Teaching might be a nice job in the holiday break but it's a beast of a coalface job having to deal with that many kids and their parents, and deliver good outcomes.
I just wish there were more of them. Successful countries educate their kids to the hilt so they can build a reliable workforce. Unsuccessful countries erode education then rely on cheap immigration labor in a race to the bottom.
Dealing with the parents would be 1000 times worse then the kids - especially in primary, ESPECIALLY at a private school!
You've obviously never known a teacher. They work 10 hour days, 6 days/week with all of the crap they're overloaded with preparing lessons and marking. There's no way they can get it all done. So a single day off to plan at the start of a term is far less than they deserve.
nurses get 6 weeks annual leave in qld.
Teachers get 5 at the end of the year….are you really expecting them to work during their annual leave?
But did you know for some reason they don't get the easter public holidays and actually have to work extra hours throughout the year to make up for having that time off?
In between terms they get 2 weeks away from school, but a lot of it is spent marking, reporting, and planning….a few days there will be free time, so chalk up a few days……but then consider all of the unpaid overtime throughout the year, including late nights and weekends which do not attract any sort of penalty rates or get paid back in any way as time in lieu.
Also consider that teachers cannot take their annual leave whenever they want, it always must be taken at set times throughout the year…..peak holiday times.
On top of that, you get whingers like yourself OP who seem to be very brainless about it all.
If its such a sweet gig, go do the university course, get employed and live the dream!
…..with it being such an amazingly bludgey job, I wonder why so many people will spend 4 years studying, accruing HECS debt, to then go on and quit in their first couple of years and never return?…..madness.
R U OK OP?
If teachers offend you such, maybe start critiquing the other professions like nurses and police?
I’m sure they are overpaid and have too many holidays by your definition, and work too little?
Yeah copped a lot of flak but I’m okay, thanks.
I’m sure they are overpaid and have too many holidays by your definition, and work too little?
I don’t think teachers are overpaid nor that the 12 weeks associated with the school closure is “too many holidays” (it’s also not all holidays). I only think that this particular pupil free day is ridiculous because it’s coming on the back of a 5 week school closure, which could accommodate both a substantial holiday and a mandatory prep day (like Queensland teachers do).
All this talk of a 5 week annual leave holiday gives me a chuckle. I view it as 13 weeks of holiday because I count all non-term time as holiday.
Yes, I have to do some work (couple hours of marking and report writing here and there to meet deadlines) but for the most part, I’m flying overseas or interstate for a holiday.
Majority of the time, I don’t even touch school work between terms until I’m back in the classroom.
To answer your question OP, I honestly don’t know why it is how it is. It’s way above my pay grade but I think it would have something to do with how many contact hours is required by government policy and the school timetables around that. I welcome it because it gives me an extra day to sort stuff out before students come back and I’m glad it’s the Monday before school starts.
Also, it’s not just pupil-free day in term 1, it’s usually pupil-free day at the start of EVERY term.
We don't need no edu-cation
We don't need no thought control
No dark sarcasm,in the class room………