For any of you considering going into teaching, I just responded to an email request that really made me reflect with my response. Whew.... I think I need some more coffee:)
Hi Cheryl,
Hope you are well. I am looking for a little insight into the world of academia.
My husband and I had a baby boy this past June and I cannot possibly imagine returning to the ridiculously long hours of production - typically 12 a day!
I am considering looking for some teaching opportunities but would first like to hear from an insider what it's like!
Hope to hear from you,
My response:
Congratulations to both of you!
I can tell you that teaching takes a lot of time as well! but some of that can be done from home, so that is a plus. I assume you mean higher education? Depends on the school, but I can tell you when I started as SCAD, I was prepping for classes and grading mostly from home. In class contact hours were 20 hours per week for a full load, I was teaching 5 so it was 25 hours in class, 4-6 hours required office hours, not to mention the 30 minutes before/between/after. So actual "work" hours were about 35 hours a week. Grading 80-100 students was cyclical; with 3-5 projects per quarter. It takes me about an hour to grade 15 students projects (we're talking character rigs that need to be troubleshot). Ad to that the prep time for class (usually 4-5 hours of prep time per 2.5 hour class, per week) As time goes on and you repeat a class, that gets quicker. Then there were meetings once a quarter for various committees, peer evaluations, open houses, and paperwork at the end of the quarter (quarterly reports, student comments, final grades)
UCF is a bit different for me since I'm on tenure track. I have been teaching a lighter load (2 per semester) but the number of students is greater (35 per class instead of 20) This year I'm teaching 3 per semester. This semester I'm teaching my first studio online class, which has 85 students. They have weekly assignments (15 total) and 7 semester projects. It takes me about 6-8 hours on Monday just to grade their work for that one class. 6 hours required office hours as well. Our class contact hours are 5 per week per course as well. Grade paperwork and annual reports are required at UCF too.
In addition to teaching at UCF I have creative work: writing books, working on animated films, etc. And service; committees after committees. LOL I'm a faculty senator, on the graduate policy committee, undergraduate curriculum committee, library representative, and I'm on a hiring search committee.
At SCAD, 4 quarters a year = 40 weeks/12 weeks off (but really more like 8: the weeks before the quarters were not "off" as I was prepping and getting ready)
At UCF I don't work summers. I teach only Fall and Spring semesters so I roughly have off 2 weeks at Christmas, but my summer is long and wonderful: May, June, and July. I still am usually working on my writing and creative work during that time, however.
I remember Phil Young, an animator from Disney who worked with me at SCAD for sometime telling me, "Gee, I thought I would get a break leaving production to teach. I have never worked this hard at Disney."
To be a good teacher and impact your students positively, it takes plenty of time, commitment, and did I mention time? Nathanael was in daycare from 6 am to 6 pm for most of his life. Still is. He gets dropped off early at before school care, and picked up late most of the week. Working at UCF actually allows me to spend more time with him since I have this weird commute thing happening. I pick him up after school at 3:30 on Mondays and occasional Fridays. I never got to do that working at SCAD. I finish in April and Start 3 weeks after he does in August, so most of August and May I get to pick him up at 3:30 after school, too. (and a couple weeks in December).
Sorry this is so long, but I hope it gives you a clearer view of teaching. If you have more questions, please ask.
Hi Cheryl,
Hope you are well. I am looking for a little insight into the world of academia.
My husband and I had a baby boy this past June and I cannot possibly imagine returning to the ridiculously long hours of production - typically 12 a day!
I am considering looking for some teaching opportunities but would first like to hear from an insider what it's like!
Hope to hear from you,
My response:
Congratulations to both of you!
I can tell you that teaching takes a lot of time as well! but some of that can be done from home, so that is a plus. I assume you mean higher education? Depends on the school, but I can tell you when I started as SCAD, I was prepping for classes and grading mostly from home. In class contact hours were 20 hours per week for a full load, I was teaching 5 so it was 25 hours in class, 4-6 hours required office hours, not to mention the 30 minutes before/between/after. So actual "work" hours were about 35 hours a week. Grading 80-100 students was cyclical; with 3-5 projects per quarter. It takes me about an hour to grade 15 students projects (we're talking character rigs that need to be troubleshot). Ad to that the prep time for class (usually 4-5 hours of prep time per 2.5 hour class, per week) As time goes on and you repeat a class, that gets quicker. Then there were meetings once a quarter for various committees, peer evaluations, open houses, and paperwork at the end of the quarter (quarterly reports, student comments, final grades)
UCF is a bit different for me since I'm on tenure track. I have been teaching a lighter load (2 per semester) but the number of students is greater (35 per class instead of 20) This year I'm teaching 3 per semester. This semester I'm teaching my first studio online class, which has 85 students. They have weekly assignments (15 total) and 7 semester projects. It takes me about 6-8 hours on Monday just to grade their work for that one class. 6 hours required office hours as well. Our class contact hours are 5 per week per course as well. Grade paperwork and annual reports are required at UCF too.
In addition to teaching at UCF I have creative work: writing books, working on animated films, etc. And service; committees after committees. LOL I'm a faculty senator, on the graduate policy committee, undergraduate curriculum committee, library representative, and I'm on a hiring search committee.
At SCAD, 4 quarters a year = 40 weeks/12 weeks off (but really more like 8: the weeks before the quarters were not "off" as I was prepping and getting ready)
At UCF I don't work summers. I teach only Fall and Spring semesters so I roughly have off 2 weeks at Christmas, but my summer is long and wonderful: May, June, and July. I still am usually working on my writing and creative work during that time, however.
I remember Phil Young, an animator from Disney who worked with me at SCAD for sometime telling me, "Gee, I thought I would get a break leaving production to teach. I have never worked this hard at Disney."
To be a good teacher and impact your students positively, it takes plenty of time, commitment, and did I mention time? Nathanael was in daycare from 6 am to 6 pm for most of his life. Still is. He gets dropped off early at before school care, and picked up late most of the week. Working at UCF actually allows me to spend more time with him since I have this weird commute thing happening. I pick him up after school at 3:30 on Mondays and occasional Fridays. I never got to do that working at SCAD. I finish in April and Start 3 weeks after he does in August, so most of August and May I get to pick him up at 3:30 after school, too. (and a couple weeks in December).
Sorry this is so long, but I hope it gives you a clearer view of teaching. If you have more questions, please ask.
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