I’m a lazy teacher because I refuse to give my students detention or homework

The educator explained that she was “trying not to be a statistic who leaves the profession in the next five years.”  

Teaching is, without a doubt, one of the most difficult jobs in the world.

Whether it’s prep or Year 12, there is plenty of work in moulding the next generation.

When they’re not in the classroom, they grade assignments, write reports, and keep up with plenty of admin.

Not to mention detention, marking homework, excursions, and the list goes on. 

An Australian teacher has taken to Reddit to make a confession that has garnered a wave of support. 

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An Australian teacher has confessed to being "lazy" in certain tasks. Source: iStock

Teacher admits to being “lazy” in certain tasks

“I'm a lazy teacher,” she confessed before asking if anyone could relate. 

“As in, putting in the bare minimum for admin tasks and putting their energy in explicit teaching instead?” she clarified. 

She added that she was “trying not to be a statistic who leaves the profession in the next five years.”  

“Compared to the other teachers in the office, I feel like an outlier,” she said. 

She listed the ways she has been a “lazy teacher”, including “not issuing students with detention”, as it “eats at [her] own time.” 

She also began recycling similar report comments “by adding slight tweaks” to “each high, medium and low student”. 

“I can't be bothered writing personalised comments for my 100 plus students when only 20 per cent of parents read them,” she said. 

She also will keep her feedback to a minimum to those who ask for it, leaving “quick dot points” with “two positives and two room for improvements”. 

The teacher avoids calling parents unless they “explicitly” ask her first in an email, “rarely” contacts parents of students “who are frequently absent”, and won’t issue homework because she doesn’t have “the time or energy to mark it.” 

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“Work smarter, not harder”

Other teachers agreed with most of her “bare minimum tasks” and argued that she wasn’t actually lazy. 

“My focus is always curriculum and what will benefit the students,” shared a supporter. “ If it's just bureaucratic admin, it gets the minimum I can get away with.” 

“Not lazy,” added another. “This just sounds like a smart teacher that has boundaries and understands work-life balance.” 

“Work smarter, not harder,” many wrote. 

Another asserted that the teacher wasn’t lazy, she was doing “what you have to do to survive.” 

“It is weird that we consider this to be a lazy teacher, where I would argue that this is being a lazy administrator and a lazy disciplinarian,” added another.  

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But others questioned why the teacher didn’t give their students homework or inform parents of ongoing absences. 

“[The] only concern would be the absent kids,” one added. “...or ones that may need a bit more support if they don't have a great home life that supports learning.”

“In Queensland, this has recently been outlined as not part of our job on workload reduction documents,” a teacher commented in response. 

“Kids need to do homework to meet the achievement standards,” argued another educator. “I’m not going to penalise those kids who can meet the standards by denying them the opportunity to practice outside of school.” 

Another teacher said they “split the difference” by giving students homework “regularly.” However, they don’t “mark it or check for completion.”

Originally published as I’m a lazy teacher because I refuse to give my students detention or homework