Being a quiet person and applying for a Primary PGCE...

Depends, I had a scary teacher who rarely spoke

Before starting a PGCE you'll have to get work experience in a school, so write to local schools asking if you can volunteer, that's the only way to judge how you'd handle it

Basically, I'm in my second year at uni and I'm wanting to apply for a PGCE to be a primary school teacher. I will have to apply in September. But I've been trying to think of my own personal qualities and what qualities a primary school teacher 'should' have..

I'm just quite a naturally quiet person. Like I am trying hard to be louder but it's hard like in a work enviroment I tend to be much more quieter than the other people at work. Because I work in retail it has an effect on my customer service because sometimes with music on etc, some customers can't hear me. But my customer service (apart from being quiet) is good, like I'm patient, listening, polite and friendly. Just I don't have a loud tone of voice.

I'm a bit scared of being a primary school teacher and being naturally quiet because I have a feeling that it might hold me back from becoming a teacher. I also have a job as a student host for my uni which involves giving tours and presentations (it's not as often as my retail job) but I have tried to project my voice and I think it's ok but sometimes might not be loud enough. I feel confident in myself. I just think when I'm with my nephew, niece and little brother (ages from 3-4) I'm not good when it comes to managing behaviour but I'm good at other things e.g. caring for them.

I think I wouldn't be good at managing bad behaviour in the classroom. I really don't want my quiet-ness to stop me from being a successful primary school teacher or even getting onto a PGCE. Does anyone have any advice please?

Is being quiet a weakness for a primary school teacher?

Being quiet shouldn't hold you back - teachers come in all different personality types and you will receive all the training you need to help you manage behaviour and use your voice effectively as part of the PGCE.

However I would say that perhaps you might benefit from a little 'real life' experience before you go into teaching. Working in an office or other professional environment for a while will teach you the skills that good teachers need - confidence, assertiveness, time management, people management, etc. I don't think going straight from school to university and then back to school is necessarily the best method for creating successful teachers. Many teachers have never left the playground and it shows. You don't sound like you have very much self confidence and you'll need that in spades to cope as a teacher - not necessarily just with the kids, but with your colleagues, too. Schools are tricky places in which to work; most teachers will tell you that it's the adults who cause them the most problems, not the kids! I know you want to get started on a career straight away, but there really is no rush. The best teachers in my school are the ones who came to teaching as a second career. They're the best people to work alongside too - because they've actually grown up!

The best teacher I ever had (at secondary, mind) was incredibly quietly spoken- you will have no problem. In fact if you can't shout there will be no temptation to do so! I 'have a go' at shouting and it never ends well for me!

Basically, I'm in my second year at uni and I'm wanting to apply for a PGCE to be a primary school teacher. I will have to apply in September. But I've been trying to think of my own personal qualities and what qualities a primary school teacher 'should' have..

I'm just quite a naturally quiet person. Like I am trying hard to be louder but it's hard like in a work enviroment I tend to be much more quieter than the other people at work. Because I work in retail it has an effect on my customer service because sometimes with music on etc, some customers can't hear me. But my customer service (apart from being quiet) is good, like I'm patient, listening, polite and friendly. Just I don't have a loud tone of voice.

I'm a bit scared of being a primary school teacher and being naturally quiet because I have a feeling that it might hold me back from becoming a teacher. I also have a job as a student host for my uni which involves giving tours and presentations (it's not as often as my retail job) but I have tried to project my voice and I think it's ok but sometimes might not be loud enough. I feel confident in myself. I just think when I'm with my nephew, niece and little brother (ages from 3-4) I'm not good when it comes to managing behaviour but I'm good at other things e.g. caring for them.

I think I wouldn't be good at managing bad behaviour in the classroom. I really don't want my quiet-ness to stop me from being a successful primary school teacher or even getting onto a PGCE. Does anyone have any advice please?

Is being quiet a weakness for a primary school teacher?

I can't stress enough how much you should get some on the job experience. I thought I wanted to be a primary school teacher, I thought I'd be good at it because I'm quite a loud and entertaining person, but I found I wasn't nearly patient enough and I've ended up doing something completely different. If I hadn't done the work experience I wouldn't have known that and might have wasted three years at uni doing something that just wasn't right for me. Good luck.

I have a place on Teacher Training (Teach First) for when I graduate.
I used to be a very shy and quiet child, I had low confidence naturally. It is only since uni I have addressed it and to my uni friends I am pretty confident and they are shocked if I say I used to be quiet. I still have the good things about being quiet in me, like you say, being a good listener, patient and caring. There are days I like my own company and really in your face loud people irritate me!
To improve my quietness, I did loads and loads of things with children and work in a school, I got really confident that it is something I am good at and love. That, combined with being a lot better at making conversation and not worrying what people think of me, gave me the confidence and I really have changed a lot. Ifeel much better about myself from diving into opportunities and meeting new people and not being the quiet one in the corner.
I knew teaching was what I wanted to do and that I am capable of it- but that to get on a course I had to also SHOW the assessors this.
Anyway, going off topic a bit!

In terms of being quiet and teaching, it is ok to be a quiet person, you have- as you point out- many attributes others lack! I had some quiet teachers and even though I'm more confident now, I'm never going to be a super loud, crazy teacher. But I will be an excellent one in my own style. You need to be confident in front of a class and be able to almost 'get in role' as a teacher - fake it until you make it!
Get some experience in schools to see if you can definitely see yourself doing what teachers do. Theres no shame in admitting in reality it isnt for you, there are lots of other jobs with kids. Are you confident but quiet? You need to be confident teaching to believe in what you are doing and be assertive.
You will be taught behaviour management, don't imagine it to be shouting at children- that is awful management! It is actually much subtler and quieter things like how you keep them engaged, wait for silence before talking, setting clear expectations, high standards from day 1 etc.

Sounds like you need to look into it more as to if it is for you- don't let being quiet put you off as long as you can see yourself doing it successfully and being confident.

Thank you! I'm doing a 6 week placement full-time in June, so I'm hoping this will help me to decide. The most I have stayed in a primary school for is 2 full weeks but that was in year 10 high school! Then I did one full week in college, and then volunteered an afternoon a week for 3months. I do think it was good experience at the time, but I feel like I should spend a good solid amount of time in a school. Is the Teacher Training course based in the classroom? Like on the job training? If so, maybe I should consider that to get more hands on experience.

It is only a problem, when you are so quiet, that it becomes difficult for some pupils to understand you. It becomes crucial, if these students have some real (maybe only very small, but still it can have an effect) disabilities concerning hearing OR in some situations (trip outside of school in a very loud environment, etc.). Another group of students who may have problems with a very quiet teacher are Immigrants, because they already have to concentrate more to understand all, what he is saying. Nevertheless shy and quiet is not the same and you can train your voice, e.g. singing or acting, which should be fun and may give you some techniques to use more facets of your voice.

I am only saying that, because you meant some costumers can't hear you.

Concerning authority: No, that is determined by a lot of things and unless you are too quiet to be understood, I can't remember a teacher having lost authority because of being "a quiet one". Staying quiet at school is not easy.

Yeah I understand what you mean. I guess I'm going to have to try and work on projecting my voice for situations like that. Thanks