Why do you not want to go into teaching maths?

So there is a massive shortage of maths teachers in the UK to the point it was recently announced they are trying to recruit from abroad now.

So theres many reasons why this is the case, stress, workload, behavior, pay etc.

So you guys that could potentially be maths teachers, what is stopping you from becoming a maths teacher and does the situation concern you?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2016/06/02/good-teachers-cannot-be-replaced-by-buying-new-teachers---we-mus/

Reply 1

Kevin De Bruyne

Original post by The_Hunted

I'm a third year maths student looking to do some 'teaching' modules in final year, I have thought about teaching maths but I think I would only do it close to retirement, if that were an option.

Whilst the bursary is nice, I think that there is just more money elsewhere and for me that is the main reason.

I also feel apprehensive about the idea of having to control a class and I guess from what I have observed in the school I went to where one (maths) teacher got bullied, it is quite off putting... so maybe looking at private schools might be an option to consider here.

Reply 2

Et Tu, Brute?

**** pay, **** pension plan and **** holidays in comparison to what they once were.

Reply 3

Notnek

Especially in the first few years, maths teaching is very hard. There are a lot of easier jobs that you can get after a (maths) degree that pay a lot more.

If the job just involved teaching maths to students who want to learn then I'm sure there would be a lot more maths teachers. But you need to be able to control a class and many graduates may not be natural teachers so have to work extremely hard on these skills.

Also you may be confident with the maths but being able to teach a topic to someone who doesn't know it can be a completely different skill.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 4

Notnek

Original post by SeanFM

Have you considered tutoring part time? It can be good money and doesn't really have any of the stress of teaching. And you may find after a while that you like it so much that you want to become a teacher full time.

Reply 5

Kevin De Bruyne

Original post by notnek

I have, and saw that on some websites the main people who feature are 'so and so with a 1st in Philosophy from Oxford' and I don't think I can compete with tha as an undergrad student :s-smilie:

... it is something I would consider whilst working, possibly... may I ask how you broke into it?

Reply 6

Notnek

Original post by SeanFM

I have, and saw that on some websites the main people who feature are 'so and so with a 1st in Philosophy from Oxford' and I don't think I can compete with tha as an undergrad student :s-smilie:

... it is something I would consider whilst working, possibly... may I ask how you broke into it?

I was in a similar position to you when I first started. I wasn't at Oxbridge and didn't have any teaching qualifications / experience. Are you doing a maths/science degree?

I made a profile on one of the main websites (FirstTutors I think) and showed my grades and passion for maths and I also mentioned how I'd been helping online (TSR) for a while. I charged a low rate and ended up with three students - you can look around to see what would be a competative rate. Since then all my students have come from word of mouth.

Reply 7

Et Tu, Brute?

Original post by SeanFM

I have, and saw that on some websites the main people who feature are 'so and so with a 1st in Philosophy from Oxford' and I don't think I can compete with tha as an undergrad student :s-smilie:

... it is something I would consider whilst working, possibly... may I ask how you broke into it?

teaching people maths is a lot more about how you teach than about your education stats/background. I came out of school with a C in GCSE maths (foundation tier) and not really understanding any of the basic concepts. I passed based on memorising how to do things. I did a foundation year and was entered into the basic/beginner maths class (due to my weak maths background), here I met probably the best maths teacher I've come across, and their background is actually in chemical physics.

The maths module I was on wasn't an eligble prerequisite for the higher level maths modules in the year after the foundation (which was needed for the level 2/3 maths modules, ie I was essentially limited to non-maths intense courses throughout uni). But as I had a really good teacher and I put in a lot of effort I managed to take the higher course and I've been doing fairly well on any of the maths modules I've gone on to take at uni, a large part of that started from having a teacher at level 0 who was able to explain the concepts and find out which parts students tend to struggle with.

For example, in trig, on the level 0 module we were taught something about a circle and moving around the circle to find the solution, I really can't remember it exactly, it was a pile of crap and confused the hell out of me and was struggling with trig. Then in the optional classes the Dr. who was teaching them showed me exactly what the sin/cos waves were etc and instead of this bs circle idea I was sketching the cos/sin waves and actually understanding what I was doing when finding solutions. Sure the circle thing might have worked fine if I took more time to learn it, but it wouldn't have helped me out down the line when things got more complicated with sin/cos functions.

I've rambled a bit here, but the point is, when it comes to teaching, credentials mean nothing unless you can actually teach well and understand your student's difficulty. I wouldn't be deterred/intimidated by the background of others, just because they got x% from y uni, in z subject, doesn't mean they're a good teacher of that subject.

Reply 8

Kravence

It's not worth becoming one for all the effort it takes you to get there in comparison to other teaching jobs and I hate the teaching profession anyway