I propose that primary and secondary school teachers be given an 8-hour working day, in the same way as for other jobs (8 hours on the job). It is probably clear to everyone that the "preparation" that is supposed to be done at home is in the vast majority of cases not done (the exception being beginning teachers), but that this time is spent on other activities, such as instruction (of course, without the s.p.-it is more common than you imagine), proofreading, translating, etc.
I came up with the suggestion when I was talking to some teacher friends during the last 2 general strikes in the public sector. They were complaining to me in one voice that the strike meant that they had to be at work until 3pm (how outrageous, isn't it?!), whereas on a "normal" Wednesday they were leaving work from 11:30am to 1pm. When asked what they did during this time, I got a single answer - the things I had been putting off for months.
Given that their hours are already 15 minutes less than mine, and for every hour they are given a break of 5 minutes (not to mention the main break), I wonder how it is that they are paid so much better on average than a graduate economist (in absolute terms, and not taking into account the aforementioned illegal work; I won't even mention it in terms of the time they put in)? If they had to stay at work and work intensively on the programme, at least during the 1-week holidays, I would understand, but as it is ...
I can't remember the last time I took a break during work, let alone had a snack in peace, and I still can't afford to go home at 13:00, which is typical for most teachers. I don't know how they have been able to secure such a privileged position over all other workers (5 minutes rest for every 45 minutes of work, a main break, 1 week paid holiday every 8 weeks, 7 weeks paid holiday over the summer, counting home preparation as part of working time, etc.). I believe that the proposed change would increase the efficiency of our education system and increase the productivity of teachers (and, consequently, of future workers and the GDP). Last but not least, they have taken away 2 January for the same reason ...