Misconception #49: Those who claim teachers are lazy have never observed the profession

It's a common occurrence when someone criticizes the work ethics of teachers just to have a loyalist to the profession shoot back the idea that they have never observed the profession. In reality, an overwhelming majority of the criticism is based off of personal observations.


When I was in school, teachers would read while we would do our schoolwork. I had teachers who would have students grade the work of other students so that they wouldn't have to. Some teachers even had students grade their own work.

Arguments against the work ethic within the teaching profession are almost always based off of observations from former students who spent years observing teachers on the job. In fact, teaching is perhaps the world's most observed profession.

Before these teaching loyalists come down too hard on me, I should probably point out a little quirk to this argument. The criticism regarding work ethic relies on what is being observed in the classroom. There is some behind-the-scenes work that is not generally considered.

Perhaps the arguments in favor of teachers' work ethics would make more sense if the loyalists insisted that the critics have never observed what goes on outside of the classroom. Instead, it's always about never observing the profession. These are two very different arguments.

I will admit that I haven't personally observed the work teachers do outside of the classroom. Despite that, I'm pretty sure that the blanket statements provided by the supporters aren't constant. I believe that the work ethic among teachers is highly variable.

A lot of the work that teachers are supposedly doing revolves around lesson plans. I'm sure that there are a lot of teachers who reuse their lesson plans on a yearly basis. I'm also sure that some teachers use lesson plans that were created by others. I don't think there is any question that I have had teachers who tried to minimize work for themselves.

On the other side, there are a lot of teachers out there who feel that working harder will provide benefits to students. The more they benefit the students, the better they will feel about themselves. As I have said repeatedly over the years, nobody takes education for granted more than the teaching profession. These teachers don't understand the impact their work really has on their students. To feel like they are making massive contributions to society, these teachers are putting in more work to destroy minds. Work ethics within this profession should not be viewed as bragging rights.

In summary, criticism of the work ethics within the teaching profession are overwhelmingly based on personal observations of the profession while on the job. Loyalists to the profession insist that the personal observations never occurred. While there are components of the job that are not widely seen, that's not the argument being made, and those unseen components are nothing to be proud of.

If someone embraced the narrative of those who are blindly loyal to the teaching profession, I'm sure I will be told that I would never be able to handle the job a typical teacher is expected to perform. That's true. I have a conscience, and I could never handle job duties that would require me to harm innocent children.