Should I go into teaching?

You need to bear in mind that these things get easier with practice. You get quicker at lesson planning etc. So while it may seem like it's swallowing masses of your time now, this will to a degree reduce in future.

Reply 2

OP

Thanks for your reply. I just want to know exactly what I'm going into before I fully commit. Are you a primary teacher?

Reply 3

Ribbit1234

15

Days can be tough, and sometimes u have to stay in school until like 7, u have to deal with s hit like annoying parents complaints who won't hear a bad word against their child and will ridicule u but it gets easier with experience. It's really full on. Your work is never done since there's always something to be doing. That's the all the bad points I can think of. Personally I think the advantages outweigh them. Up to you wether u think u can get through it

Reply 4

OP

How do you cope with having your own children and being a teacher?

Reply 5

z33

21

as a yr 13 student, here's my 2 cents

you're gonna be dealing with a lot of **** from kids who may/may not come from troubled backgrounds. At my school, which is considered outstanding by ofsted for behaviour and all that btw, the nicest of teachers get the worst treatment. ESPECIALLY if you are a male. For instance, i go to an all girls school, the (male) teachers have been slapped by little year 9 brats, have had paper, books etc thrown at them, have had children swear at them and disrespect them , to the point where they just gave up on all of us.

I know i was like that up until year 10 when i realised what a little **** i was (obv i never swore at/ slapped a teacher, i just gave them a hard time with homework and classwork and stuff) and tbh i actually regret it. Now i make it a point not to give teachers a hard time. Although i know the majority of students don't feel that way. In the 6th form it's alright, but the little students are way too confident these days.

So if you are willing to look past that (not to mention their stuck up parents coming in and arguing with you for predicting them a C when they're getting straight Us) and you still love teaching, then by all means go for it. Ask the 6th formers at a school you wanna go to what they think of it, that's the best way to find out. At my school, the longest a teacher has stayed is 3 years... unless they're members of the SLG or have a much higher authority, then they're fine. However new teachers get treated like ****, blamed for **** results of students that do not give a ****, and fired.

Also lesson plans almost never work out how you would want them to, so don't spend too much time on them. Teach at a private school, they're better behaved. We literally have teachers having to get on buses and make sure kids from different schools don't fight -_-

Source: safe head of 6th form that tells us straight what we're getting into when we say we want to be teachers

sorry if my comment was a waste/ not helpful lol :tongue:

i tried

EDIT: btw this applies to secondary school

Reply 6

beautifulbigmacs

Maybe you took the feedback from your first interview too literally. If you have several interviews lined up (for anything!) it's likely that some feedback will be discouraging and some will be more positive.

Reply 7

Hello!

I am currently doing the lower primary schools direct course and at the moment it is ok! I have a 3 year old son and a 5 year old step son too.

As a TA the teacher shouldn't be expecting you to do so much at home, they are being unfair. When I was an EYP (early years TA basically) I would work 8-4 and some days take things home but wouldn't be every day I would need to.

So far from all of my experience it is a range of workloads. Some teachers (my mentor for example) work 8-6 sometimes later and take tons home and work all Sunday. But the teacher in the classroom next door works 7-6 and never takes anything home.

It's a lot down to if you faff after school or sit down and do work straight away. Or how organised you can get yourself, for me I am naturally a very organised person so I would be getting resources ready in advance for needing them where others do it that morning or the night before - that tends to be where people have so much as they now have a deadline where if you make them gradually it's fine. Marking too can be done round the classroom during a lesson, even if you get 1/3 seen to it's still a 1/3 less you have to do later.

It varies so much and on so many factors but if it wasn't worth it people wouldn't do it. Don't be put off because your teacher is giving you so much to do its all down to you :smile:

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Reply 8

Terrible spelling this morning apologies!

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Reply 9

OP

The reason I took the first interviewers advice is because it was a school direct course and the other one was a PGCE. I benefit more from practical experience than lectures and studying. I understand what you're saying and I know I took it literally, but my confidence was completely shot at that point. I'm trying not to give too much of my extra time doing TA duties, but also want to give a good impression and show commitment if I were to apply for the school direct programme within the school I'm at at the moment.

I guess I've just got to suck it up. I love teaching too much to give up now. I just need to get organised and quicker at planning and it should fall into place.

Thanks for your help. Just out of curiosity have any of you primary teachers managed to get job share posts after having children?

:smile:

Reply 10

Angelil

I teach secondary for what it's worth. Consider teaching internationally if you want to teach primary - here in France primary children have Wednesday afternoons off!

Reply 11

OP

I doubt that France would accept my EYTS as a teaching qualification though! If only! x

Reply 12

I will be going full time... I couldn't deal with potentially working with someone unorganised or with completely different approach to teaching haha! Some school nurseries still only do the morning session though x

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Reply 13

Angelil

Original post by js211

I doubt that France would accept my EYTS as a teaching qualification though! If only! x

International schools probably would. I don't mean the state sector.

Reply 14

OP

Just had a pretty big blow dealt to me now. After setting up working in a school as a TA because it offered a salaried school direct programme they are converting to an academy in January and have said they will probably not be offering school direct. Apparently the application process from the DFE is more complicated and you can't offer places as a single school. I'm gutted. I'm busting a gut to try and impress and do everything I can to help and I feel like I'm going to end up doing an unsalaried training route, as most salaried ones are given internally to TA's that have already worked at the school. Just feel like I've wasted yet another year to inevitably end up being another £17k in student debt and magically survive and pay the mortgage with the 8K maintenance loan I'd get from the government. Starting to feel like it's not even worth training if I have no life, let alone once I'm qualified. I'll get no bursary as I got a 2.2. What's more frustrating is that I have EYTS and a PGCert in Early Childhood studies but it still doesn't entitle me to a bursary.

Please lift my spirits and tell me it's worth it!

Reply 15

I didn't get a salaried place, this year will have doubled my student loan debt and we are living on £30 a week on food because of bills (mine is rent not mortgage but is £1250 a month) I have two children and it is tough going BUT having worked in schools already and seeing the difference you can make in a child's life and let's face it the holidays..... Yes there is ALOT of work to do in those holidays but you can decide to go out spontaneously not like other jobs. I am only 6 weeks in and already cried a few times but people wouldn't do it if it wasn't worth it. Go for it :smile:

Someone on my course also has an EYTS too she didn't get a salaried place. The standards are incredibly high and you literally get shoved in teaching straight away. The unpaid route is a much slower transition, mine is 20% teaching up to xmas, 50% next term and 80% by the end of summer term I actually prefer it this way x

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Reply 16

IBIB