Is teaching 6th form better than secondary?

in terms of workload, planning admin.

like you can more or less chalk and talk with students who are either good at the subject of interested in it, otherwise they wouldn't have picked it?

Original post by thisistheend

... with students who are either good at the subject or interested in it ...

You can't guarantee either. Some students think they are more academic than they are. Some are pressured into choosing subjects their parents think will be good for them. Some pick subjects because they can't think of anything better to do or because they need them for a particular career path.

Reply 2

Samus2

17

Original post by thisistheend

in terms of workload, planning admin.

like you can more or less chalk and talk with students who are either good at the subject of interested in it, otherwise they wouldn't have picked it?

Doing a subject at A-level isn't necessarily a guaranteed interest in the subject.

If anything, there would be more planning and more admin for A-level alone as opposed to lower school.

Whether or not it's better is an entirely subjective comment. I love teaching KS3, KS4 and KS5 for very different reasons, I don't find one key stage easier or better than the others.

Reply 3

Angelil

19

No and no.
Workload and admin wise: if anything there is more, as there is a lot of paperwork associated with official assessments. Plus, they are having to write longer and more complex essays (in my subject at least! I teach English), so these are always going to take longer to read and mark on a per-essay basis than, say, a Y8 piece of work.

As mentioned above, you cannot always guarantee that they are good at the subject/want to be there either, even in sixth form. Demotivation doesn't magically disappear in the sixth form, and some of them have parents who have pushed them in a particular direction (against their wishes). Our school (and to an extent the IB program) also forces students to study English until they are 18 regardless of their motivations or abilities.

Plus, rightly or wrongly, chalk and talk is not widely encouraged in schools anymore (at least not on a regular basis).

Reply 4

thisistheend

OP

2

Original post by Angelil

No and no.
Workload and admin wise: if anything there is more, as there is a lot of paperwork associated with official assessments. Plus, they are having to write longer and more complex essays (in my subject at least! I teach English), so these are always going to take longer to read and mark on a per-essay basis than, say, a Y8 piece of work.

As mentioned above, you cannot always guarantee that they are good at the subject/want to be there either, even in sixth form. Demotivation doesn't magically disappear in the sixth form, and some of them have parents who have pushed them in a particular direction (against their wishes). Our school (and to an extent the IB program) also forces students to study English until they are 18 regardless of their motivations or abilities.

Plus, rightly or wrongly, chalk and talk is not widely encouraged in schools anymore (at least not on a regular basis).

I thought Philosophy might be different. My A-Level teacher just sat in a room and chatted to us about Philosophy and his time at uni. Most of us got As.

I didn't do my PGCE in Philosophy, but it was my degree. I have no wish to teach in secondary schools and struggling to do something other than bit part day to day supply work and a few odd jobs here and there.

Reply 5

Angelil

19

Don't think Ofsted would allow that so much anymore. Education's changed a lot in the past few years. I left school in 2004 and think that a lot of my teachers' practice would not be acceptable now (e.g. not differentiating, not showing learning outcomes etc).

Is teaching 6th form better than secondary?

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