Pallets for Pedagogues

Georgia - "It's not good for my back," winced forty-two-year-old Sara Freeman of Mason, Georgia as she pulled herself up from her cot. "But at least I can get some sleep."  For the second time this week, Sara slept at her school.

Heavy workloads have made sleeping at
school a necessity for some teachers

Sara teaches third graders at a Power Is Power (PIP) charter school, one of a growing number of schools offering cots for teachers who want to sleep in the building so they don't waste time going home.  "I would rather be home in my own bed but that's not always possible. By the time I'm done tutoring students, grading homework and tests, updating my bulletin boards, reviewing student data, writing my lesson plans and individualized education plans, it can be very late.  So I just pull the cot out of the closet and try to catch a few winks."

Sara is not alone.  Teachers in Arizona began sleeping at their schools last year after their districts began providing on-site sleeping accommodations. According to the National Center on Time and Learning, a nonprofit research group in Boston, about 100 schools - more than 90 of them charter schools - across the country provide sleeping accommodations for their teachers. Martin Shell, Tucson school board president is convinced it will ultimately benefit students. "It really is a time saver for our employees.  Now as soon as they wake up, they can work.  The more time teachers are at work, the more work they do and we are convinced that will result in higher test scores."

Although it may sound extreme, some teachers seem to make the most of it.  Darren Smithfield, who teaches seventh grade math in Tucson, showed us around his classroom/bedroom. His desk discreetly hid the cot and contained his toothbrush and electric razor.  "My wife came by and visited on Wednesday night. It was nice, we ate together in the cafeteria, the kids read books in the library while she and I talked about what we would do this weekend if they let me leave, I mean if I go home." He added quickly, "And you know the cot is not so bad, you get used to it after a while."

The cots were paid for by a generous grant from the Walton Foundation while the blankets and pillows were given by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Reality Alert: 

Interested in how we came to write this? Read Survey: Teachers Work 53 Hours Per Week On Average

Teacher Families Have Had Enough!

"I strained my back carrying boxes of paper to her car," complained Walter Jee of Queens, N.Y. whose wife works at PS 899.  "It happens every year.  It's just too much."

Tired of being asked to assist with school responsibilities, family members of teachers organized themselves into a group called Fed Up Families (FUF).  "A few of us met when we traveled with our loved ones to a teacher conference.  We had so much in common we decided to stay in touch. It grew from there," explained President Lucille Nana, whose daughter teaches in Chicago.

Nana describes many of the group's early meetings as "bitch sessions." "We had a lot to get off our chests. For instance, every time my daughter visits, I can't find my craft scissors.  Some of us have been mistreated for years."

As their membership grew, the children, spouses, parents and siblings of educators decided to work via Skype to draft a list of their complaints.  This list includes:

• countless hours spent in teacher stores, Staples, Office Max and Target
• hoarder-like conditions at home 
• lugging school materials to and from the car

"We're fed up," cried fourteen-year-old Patty Walborn of Norfolk, Virginia.  "Last week my mom dragged me to her classroom twice.  I helped her put-up bulletin boards, level books and wash curse words off desks.  I'm sick of it."

Patty's sentiments echo those of many FUF members. "The problem is no one understands the sacrifices we make to support our teacher family members," explained President Nana.  "We just want to raise awareness about some of the issues we face." The group is considering holding an October rally in Washington D.C.  Others think more drastic action is needed.

"I think we should go on strike," Patty eagerly suggested. She had more to say on the subject but her mother, a middle school teacher, pulled her away.