More than 2000 Illawarra teachers from both the public and Catholic school systems rallied in Wollongong this week to demand better pay and conditions.
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They spoke of experiencing burn-out amid staff shortages and growing administrative burdens that take them away from the classroom and their core business of teaching children.
In response some have questioned the teachers' demands, saying their work hours and holidays mean their jobs aren't as hard as they make them out to be.
But teachers say these are myths that don't reflect the reality of the profession.
1. 'They get lots of holiday - 12 weeks!'
Teachers say that while they might spend 12 weeks away from the classroom each year, they don't get to relax that entire time - instead, they spend large chunks of it doing preparation, reports and other administrative tasks.
On the Mercury Facebook page, one teacher said that last school holidays she spent four to six hours each day, for seven of the 10 days, writing teaching programs and reports.
The Christmas holidays, she said, she studied the students profiles of her new class and prepared programs for term one.
2. 'They work short hours'
Similarly to the perception they get lots of holidays, teachers say their work day does not end when the school bell rings.
A high school teacher explained on the Mercury's Facebook page that the job involved hours of lesson planning each night, including preparing instructions for students, finding 'real world' context for that information to engage the students, preparing practical materials and ordering resources.
Teachers also have to mark students' work and give feedback, plan excursions, write risk assessments, and undertake other administrative tasks.
She said teachers also fulfilled the role of mentoring and supporting students, and often their colleagues.
"Society does not see the work that happens outside the classroom," another said.
3. 'Why do they enter the profession if it's so hard?'
As one person commented on social media: "That's the problem - people are choosing not to".
"They need better conditions because so many teachers are leaving and there's few new teachers coming in," another said.
The people that remained in the profession did so because they were passionate about "educating young minds", one commenter said.
"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," Kiama High School teacher Rebecca Roth told the Mercury at Thursday's rally.
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