At the Charter School
where I am student teaching, it is mandatory for all teachers to take part in
the after school tutoring program. Teachers in this school have a daily
schedule starting at 7:30 and ending at 4:30. The teachers have their
own grade level students whom they are required to tutor every day. They have
different content areas that they address after school on each day of the week. These
teachers are not paid extra for staying after school and tutoring, it is
considered to be part of their job. It is part of this charter school’s curriculum.
I am very surprised about many things that I see at this particular charter school
because it is run quite differently than are the public schools in which I have
observed. Many assignments here are
mandatory for teachers.
What are your feelings about
having mandatory after school tutoring on a daily basis? What
do you think about requiring teachers to participate in this after school tutoring
without being given additional payment?
I look forward to hearing your comments.
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ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting topic as my friend who works in a public school is dealing with the same issue. Although it is not mandatory for them to stay after school every day, it is mandatory that they hold tutoring sessions twice a week. From my point of view, I think tutoring your students can be beneficial, however; not all students will benefit from the same teacher teaching the material.
ReplyDeleteIf teachers are being mandated to stay after school to tutor, is it really helping those students who are struggling? Will these students really begin to get the concepts that that teacher maybe teaching, especially if the teacher is just re-teaching a lesson to the student(s) and not thinking of a different way to teach the material? I do think tutoring is important and that some students will benefit, but some may just need someone else to teach a concept in a different way.
Also, by 4:30 most students are “burnt out”. They are ready to go home and relax as a 7:30-4:30 day is plenty long enough for anyone. Another reason is that teachers in general, have a lot of work to do after their students leave. Their days are not finished at 4:30 when the students go home. Teachers have papers to grade or check and assignments, tests and lesson plans to create. If teacher are spending an hour or two extra after school tutoring every day when are they supposed to get all their “paper work” done?
In all, I do not agree with teachers being mandated to stay after school to tutor. I believe that teachers should have times and days during the week that they are available for their students to get extra help. When people are willing to do things the results are usually positive.
I too am surprised by this, because I have never heard of such a thing either! I feel as though if teachers are going to be required to participate in after school tutoring, they should be compensated in some way. These charter school teachers seem to have a long day as it is, so adding to that with tutoring is a hefty load. I think the teachers should have the option of doing this tutoring program. They should also be paid for these additional work hours, as well. Many teachers have families to get home to and some even have other jobs, so to force them to do additional unpaid work hours seems unfair. Hopefully things change for these teachers so they are rewarded for their hard work!!
ReplyDeleteI have also never heard of something like this. If teachers are required to stay after school to tutor there should certainly be some sort of payment. Charter schools already seem to have long hours and like Danielle said, many teachers most likely have families to get home to. I do understand that because they are teachers it is the norm to tutor students but I also feel that staying after is a lot for a teacher. In the school I am in the students come in early for tutoring on days designated by the teachers. By doing this is gives the children opportunity to get tutored by their teachers and works with the teachers schedule. If the teachers have to be in at 7:30, maybe they could have the students come in an hour prior to school starting. Teachers also have a lot to do after school as is, such as grading, lesson plans etc. and I know some teachers that already stay late to finish these things. If they have to tutor on top of it I believe it would be way too much to do without any compensation. Hopefully they can find on a better way to work with the teachers schedule, I personally like the students coming in the morning but that also may not work for some teachers.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with the above posts; it is surprising that the things you mentioned are required of the teachers at the charter school where you are student teaching. It certainly does seem like a lot of extra, perhaps even unappreciated, tasks are expected of the teachers at this school. However, in trying to see the other side of the situation, I have to wonder if the teachers clearly knew about these expectations before taking the positions. As a soon-to-be new teachers on the job hunt, perhaps if no other schools were offering us jobs except for a charter school that required us to stay after school and tutor, we would be more than willing to take a position with a couple hours of extra work a day if it meant avoiding unemployment. If the teachers at the school were well-informed about their required daily hours of work before taking the job and also were clearly informed of their salaries, I actually do not really find it unfair or unjust that they need to stay after to tutor. If they knew that 7:30 - 4:30 would be their schedule upon accepting positions in the school, it does not seem like there is much to be alarmed about.
ReplyDeleteIf the job position requires teachers to stay after school until 4:30 then that is a part of their job. I think the teachers would need to take that into account when accepting the job position. I think it would be definitely difficult for teachers to plan lessons and do all of the stuff they need to after school when they are required to tutor their students. I agree with the above posts that it may not help if the same teacher is tutoring their own students.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with Christina that if tutoring after school until 4:30 is part of the job requirements at the school, then the teachers should take that into account when accepting the position. I also agree that is definitely a lot of extra work to tutor every single day, but again it is the job requirements. If the teachers were unaware of this requirement then that is definitely a problem. I am also surprised to hear that they are not paid extra for this. Usually teachers are paid extra if they participate in after school programs or activities. I feel that since these teachers are putting in the extra hours to tutor every day after school then they should be getting paid extra; but this is just my opinion. I feel that after school tutoring is definitely a great idea because does truly benefits the students. I wonder though, are the students required to attend after school tutoring? Or is this just for students who feel like they need or want extra help? What happens if no students show up for tutoring? Or do teachers decide if a student needs it?
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of what everyone has said. I do think that if it is a job requirement, and they were aware from it from the beginning, then teachers would just have to deal with it. However, if that is not the case then I do agree that teachers should be compensated for it in some way. I feel as though these tutoring sessions should not extend an extra hour in school. I think tutoring should be given to those who need it (recommended by teachers and approved by parents) and be done during the "in" days during lunch time when the students cannot go out and play because of inclement weather. When there's no inclement weather, I think there should just be scheduled days during that lunchtime for students to be tutored. I agree that they will "burn out" if the school day is extended. Then the whole purpose of the tutoring would be voided if the students feel that way.
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