It’s an early Friday morning and, while most students are still cocooned in their warm sheets at 7 a.m., English teacher Natasha Ritchie is already in her classroom, finalizing the day’s lesson plans.
Although she has already worked for two weeks of summer break plan her overall lessons, Ritchie often spends an additional hour every morning to create, tweak and improve each day’s lesson.
A little less than an hour later, Ritchie's English 11 Map students groggily trudge to their seats. When the second bell rings, she stands poised in front of the classroom, ready, once again, for her four hour and 15 minutes of in-class teaching.
Contrary to the belief that teachers have the opportunity to grade during the day, Ritchie says she rarely has the luxury to do so. Initiating and directing class discussions, she is constantly away from her desk throughout the entire period.
Three periods later, it is 2:20 p.m. and her school day is still not over. After the sixth-period English 11 MAP students leave her room, Ritchie settles down in front of her computer, responding to emails from students, parents and colleagues and dealing with other business until 4 p.m.
“I rarely have the energy to grade after this, especially with a 4-year-old (son) at home who expects that I can give him at least an hour of focused attention,” Ritchie said.
Because of her intense workload on weekdays and dedicated family time, she finds herself resorting to “power-grading” sessions on the weekends to catch up, clocking in at least eight hours almost every weekend.
She has fallen into a routine of continuous grading and missed family time. By 1 p.m. on a Sunday several weeks ago, she has finished a total of 24 “The Great Gatsby” essays, spending at least 20 minutes on each of them. To finish grading all 112 of her students’ essays, it will take her more than 37 total hours.
“[Twenty-four papers graded is] not even a full class, and I missed three family activities,” Ritchie said. “My husband and son went on a bike ride and picnic at Wilder Ranch on Sunday and fishing on Saturday. I missed both!”
Teachers like Ritchie put in countless hours each day to keep their classes moving ahead. Their efforts are often overlooked, brushed off by some students' remarks on how slow some teachers are at grading papers. Some parents even complain in the form of emails, also blinded from the work teachers put in behind the scenes.
With a full-time teacher having 130 or more students in five classes, he or she often has several dozens of assignments and tests to grade each semester. Sacrificing their personal time, they carve out hours outside of school to provide students with quality lesson plans, timely test results and essay feedback.
Another example of this is AP US History (APUSH) teacher Kim Anzalone, who always has a fresh stack of either homework assignments or tests to score on her desk.
Anzalone spends a full week grading three classes of APUSH tests, which include both multiple-choice and short-answer questions. Amidst furious grading, Anzalone also prepares for upcoming assignments and notes, which includes updating the Canvas calendar a month in advance.
“It is a continual process,” she said. “There is always something to grade during my prep period in addition to lesson planning.[There] is never enough time.”
According to Anzalone, her students understand that because of her tight schedule and heavy workload, she may not be able to return assignments as quickly as they would like.
Likewise, Chemistry teacher Kathy Nakamatsu’s students and especially her TAs comprehend the time-consuming work put into each class. One of her TAs, junior Amy Zhang, has developed a deeper appreciation for teachers, having experienced first-hand a portion of Nakamatsu’s workload.
“I understand why teachers have to so many things on their plate, so it makes sense why it takes awhile to grade a test,” Zhang said.
For instance, Nakamatsu said she finishes her teaching plans for an entire unit, which consist of the topic, the order and time frame allocated for each lesson, in two to three hours. Preparing ahead of time helps her to alleviate some of the stress within the week and free up time to correct labs and tests.
Similarly, Ritchie strives to return graded work in a timely fashion while still providing insightful comments for her students. Although holistic grading is far more intensive, Ritchie prefers giving students more feedback than simply scoring on the individual criterias.
“I try really hard to give immediate feedback on drafts or in class after quizzes,” Ritchie said. “I also try to share general trends immediately after [starting to] grade a batch of papers.”
The work a teacher puts in behind the scenes is often disregarded by students, who are more than often just eager to see their test results.
“It is frustrating [when students complain] because I already put in full eight-hour days at school, more at home and then miss family time to grade on the weekends,” Ritchie said. “I understand that students want feedback before it becomes less meaningful, but it takes such an incredible amount of time to give thoughtful and genuine feedback.”
To alleviate her often times intense workload, Ritchie suggests allowing students to grade their own papers, an effective method she has implemented this year.
Ritchie also said that “the most notable solution, the only one that would really make a serious dent, is to decrease class size.”
By reducing the number of students in each class, there are fewer essays to score, assignments to check and tests to grade, significantly diminishing the long hours of grading.
Though at times the workload can become stressful, Ritchie ultimately loves being a teacher.
“I absolutely love planning; this is the fun stuff,” said Ritchie. “Curriculum creation and revision are incredibly rewarding and enjoyable. This is how teachers stay life-long learners.”
