The much awaited first semester school holidays are finally here, bringing a state of euphoria to the students and a sense of foreboding to parents and teachers. School holidays usually bring happiness to students because they don't have to wake up early, go to school, stay cooped up in cramped classrooms, listen to teachers babbling and staying on for god-knows-what activities until late in the day. Parents on the other hand, simply hate school holidays because they now have to contend with bringing up their children, the noise they make, the quarrels and what-have-yous; all the things that their part-time nannies, the teachers, had to put up with during the school days!
Teachers, however, are a different lot altogether. True, every teacher in the right frame of mind, waits longingly for the two-week school holidays. But, when the holidays do come, reality sets in because a teacher's work knows no boundary. Let's do a check-list!
First of all there are the mid-year examination papers to mark, which usually takes at least five days (read five working days!) to complete especially if you are teaching the upper secondary classes. Secondly, there is the keying in of marks which has to be done during the school holidays, which takes another day (read another working day!). Then, there are the resource materials to be done for the lessons in the next semester (that would take another three working days!) like searching for materials through the Net and printed materials, designing and creating exercises and building question banks! If, there is any consolation, teachers would be left with one day for school holiday. If they're lucky!
I guess the green-eyed monster that is the public, should not be envious of teachers when they think of the number of days teachers get for the holidays because that is purely and utterly untrue and it is only on paper. Come on folks! This is reality and this is now! And, please don't read one working day as twenty four hours when it comes to an actual working day!
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