HOW?

Not by any stretch a rant or a proclamation of how hard I work. I promise.

Just a question in response to the reported suggestion of a senior politician on 15/2/2012 that school hours should be extended


"The education secretary recently said teachers should welcome the touted initiative, which would see school days extended and summer holidays cut.

"If you [teachers] love your job then there is, I think, absolutely nothing to complain about in making sure you have more of a chance to do it well," he said at the time." (Huffington Post).

I just want to know HOW? Is the right honourable gentleman going to change the laws of time and space in order to extend a normal day from 24 hours to 36?

I only ask because I am at a loss as to how I can squeeze any more in.

Monday - 8.30am started work, left school at 8.25pm after full day, senior team meeting and Governors meeting.
Tuesday - 8.30am started work, left school at 4pm, arrived home at 4.30pm, starting working at 4.45pm and apart from an hour to cook and eat tea, I have worked until 11.30pm.

Even if you take out an hour a day of breaks (hahahahahah) each day (well, OK, not today because of doing break duty and then lunch duty), I have done 23+ hours already this week. Add another 90 minutes each day of travel time as well.
Effectively, if I am to follow the European Union of a 48 hour week, then by Thursday night or maybe breaktime Friday morning, I will have done my hours!

Don't think that would go down to well if I upped sticks and left?

So, yeah, it did turn into a bit of a rant, and it's on behalf of all of my colleagues in various schools, who do more than is expected, or who have to work way more hours than is fair or realistic to maintain a work life balance, to spend time with family or to concentrate on being well.

It was not righteous indignation that caused such an outpouring of disbelief at the honourable gentleman's suggestion, it was a question of "how and when".