Pulling 60 to 70 hour weeks, supervising two classes at once from hallways, stagnant pay, and being buried under a "crippling" amount of paperwork: welcome to a day in the life of teachers in the Illawarra.
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More than 2300 teachers and their supporters, representing 111 schools in the Illawarra Shoalhaven, gathered to demand an overhaul to the profession at Lang Park in Wollongong on Thursday.
Wielding placards and chanting, among the sea of red that represented the NSW Teachers Federation and yellow that represented the Independent Education Union (IEU) of Australia, were public and Catholic school teachers who have been pushed to the brink.
Exhausted, angered teachers from the crowd laid bare the reality of what they face in 2022 to The Mercury, with many revealing they have contemplated quitting due to the immense pressure those in the industry have been placed under.
According to Anna*, a Wollongong Catholic high school teacher, many changes to the industry have been enforced over her four decades in the sector.
She said a "business model" has crept into teaching over the past 10 to 15 years, and that teachers have become overloaded with mandatory administrative paperwork.
Working 70 hour weeks, and preparing lessons until 1am in the morning has become the norm for Anna. If changes aren't made, she fears she will have no choice but to quit the field she has poured her heart into for so long.
"We're feeling the burden, we've got to this level where we just can't take it anymore," Anna said.
"Not only are we working the usual hours that people assume, we have pre-meetings before school, meetings after school, and each night we prepare lessons. On the weekends and in our holidays, we're programming."
Melissa Cairns, a Bomaderry High School teacher, echoed the sentiment that teachers are overburdened with paperwork.
"Generally, it's around over 60 hours a week that we're all working. We are so tired, and the administration burden that is currently crippling us is only growing," Ms Cairns said.
"A lot of the administrative tasks that we have to do are mandatory and the Department of Education are enforcing even more mandatory tasks every year, and that takes us away from planning for our classroom."
For Rebecca Roth, a Kiama High School teacher, this year has marked a "breaking point" in her career, and said many teacher's home lives are suffering as a result of being overworked.
Despite the increased challenges, she said she won't give up the fight for better conditions.
"We can't afford to give up for ourselves as teachers, and we can't afford to give up for our students, because this will impact them," Ms Roth said.
IEU Illawarra organiser Tina Smith said Thursday was an historic rally, with public and Catholic teachers joining forces for the first time in 26 years to demand better pay and conditions.
She said every day, classrooms in the Illawarra are being merged due to staff shortages.
"When there's not enough teachers to teach, then you've got teachers who are just doing supervision work," Ms Smith said, "people are upset and exhausted that they can't maintain what they want to do.
"The love of teaching has now turned into a crisis."
Unions and teachers demanded a reset of teacher salaries, improved conditions, and an increase of two hours in the preparation time teachers have each for marking and lesson planning.
Thursday marked the second teacher strike in two months, and Ms Smith added more could be on the cards should the NSW Government choose not to negotiate with unions.
*Anna's surname was withheld for privacy.
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