Getting into teaching

[pap]

I've been looking at the Government's get into teaching scheme. As someone who has frequently talked about becoming a teacher in later life, this seems to be an ideal set of circumstances to make the move. You can get a 25K tax-free scholarship, or failing that, a 20K bursary if you fail on the scholarship.

 

I'm getting to the point in my current career where most stuff is easy, and I'm far too honest to ever be a pole-climber. The idea of being able to teach kids and better their life chances seems hugely edifying in comparison.

 

With two kids going off to Uni in the next couple of years, I'm just worried about the money. Everything will be fine if I can keep the business going for say, 16 hours a week. Is this expectation remotely feasible, or will training take up all of my time?

 

Other advice would also be welcomed.

 

DISCLAIMER: Don't worry SaintsWeb - I'm not teaching history

[View From The Top]

I've been looking at the Government's get into teaching scheme. As someone who has frequently talked about becoming a teacher in later life, this seems to be an ideal set of circumstances to make the move. You can get a 25K tax-free scholarship, or failing that, a 20K bursary if you fail on the scholarship.

 

I'm getting to the point in my current career where most stuff is easy, and I'm far too honest to ever be a pole-climber. The idea of being able to teach kids and better their life chances seems hugely edifying in comparison.

 

With two kids going off to Uni in the next couple of years, I'm just worried about the money. Everything will be fine if I can keep the business going for say, 16 hours a week. Is this expectation remotely feasible, or will training take up all of my time?

 

Other advice would also be welcomed.

 

DISCLAIMER: Don't worry SaintsWeb - I'm not teaching history

 

 

I'm currently sat in my classroom having given this week ofthe holidays up for GCSE revision classes (they've just gone for a smoke) and I also have a student teacher under my wing and deliver some ITT for my local uni.

 

My wife is also a teacher; she retrained after our 1st kid to ensure the school holidays off.

 

My advice is this. Think long & hard as if you're not 100% committed to it you won’t survive.

 

Decide what subject and what age group. Most of us (secondary& post-16) work 50hr+ weeks and average around £30k unless ASTs, management roles etc. The hours are longer and the demands greater in Primary. Government’s own figures have Primary sector averaging 60hr+ per week and my own experience would support that.

 

It’s a great vocation IF you are in the right place, if you’re not it can be soul destroying.

 

As for the training, in my experience, the more, shall we say, mature, entrants have a much better grasp of it then the youngsters.

 

Once the training is over you then actually learn how to do the job & after 3 years of teaching you’ll be competent.

Edited 15 April, 2014 by View From The Top

[pap]

Was thinking of secondary school education, really.

 

I've worked 80 hour weeks in my time; don't happen very often - but it has been known to. Most of the time, I do around 50 hours all told but invoice for slightly less than that.

 

Three years of being crap at your job sounds about right; had exactly the same experience in this game.

[Bearsy]

I'm currently sat in my classroom having given this week of the holidays up for GCSE revision classes (they've just gone for a smoke)

 

[holepuncture]

The idea of being able to teach kids and better their life chances seems hugely edifying in comparison.

 

Good luck, but please stick to the curriculum and not your hysterical conspiracy theories!

[pap]

Good luck, but please stick to the curriculum and not your hysterical conspiracy theories!

 

History, you mean?

 

Not teaching that. Still don't know if I can handle the wage adjustment, if I'm honest.

[Hatch]

History, you mean?

 

Not teaching that. Still don't know if I can handle the wage adjustment, if I'm honest.

 

real teachers do it for love

[pap]

real teachers do it for love

 

Yeah, weirdly enough - I'm not looking at a 50K pay cut because it makes sense on a financial level.

[saintbletch]

Very interesting papster. I'm going through a similar thought process myself at the moment.

 

I've just become a STEM Ambassador. It's a program that aims to inspire children and young adults to take an interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. I'm the Tee is STEM, so I (will) go into schools and colleges to act as a mentor and hopefully inspire those young adults in my charge to hack into the Pentagon, or at the very least teach them how to code.

 

I'll be doing this in my spare time, but I do have a mission to inspire our youth to follow a career in technology. My work involves wielding words nowadays, but I started out as a coder and I, like you, was completely enthralled by the process of learning to code. Nowadays it's very difficult for someone to master the complexity of developing software when they the stuff they can download for free is so complex that it would take them a decade to master the skills required to develop it. But if we don't keep shovelling technology experts into the economy, we'll be in real trouble in years to come.

 

I'm not sure if I would be able to hack fulltime teaching, but my business does give me time during the 'working' week where I can do this. Plus working in TMS with Toke and the Bear has taught me that I am good with children. Mind you, I can't slap legs in schools like I can in TMS.

 

What would you teach do you think? How about lecturing in PPE - it'd be a busman's holiday!

[Tokyo-Saint]

Bletch is back, Bletch is back! I used to be a teacher Papster. Good points - job satisfaction you get from passing on your extensive knowledge to others + no matter what others pretend - the holidays. Bad - pay and in this country you seem to have no power to enforce discipline or the iron fist as I preferred to call it.

[LGTL]

If you're looking at a 50k pay drop and you have kids just off to uni I'd think you barking mad to do it. I don't think the satisfaction and holidays are worth 50k personally. If, like me, it's the only thing you've done in your working life then it's pretty good.

[pap]

The kids get next to fk all in terms of Uni support atm, largely down to my wage. Shifting to a teacher's salary would enable them to get more from the Government and apply for certain scholarships they're presently barred from. Same sort of thing with benefits, really.

 

There's that, plus the fact that I could probably still retain a fraction of my client work.

 

It's also worth pointing out that my wage is contingent on me working 50 weeks a year.

[Ohio Saint]

Pap, what qualifications do you already have?

 

My daughter starts teacher training in September for high school age. She has been a teacher's assistant for several years, and eventually decided it was her vocation so she studied and got a degree at the Open university. The rest was a bit of a breeze, and she is very confident of her abilities honed as an assistant. I just spoke her her a moment ago, and she was in total agreement about the three year period as mentioned earlier to become competent in handling students....First year too soft with them, second year two harsh, third year giving mixed messages to them!

 

I know I haven't really added anything to the conversation, but am interested in this thread.

 

PS I've mentioned it before, but as an assistant, she used to oversee some of Sam Gallagher's many detentions when he was about 14!

Edited 15 April, 2014 by Ohio Saint

[pap]

Ohio; Highest level of education is a degree in Software Engineering, and I qualify for all sorts on account of my grade.

 

bletch; Will probably teach Computer Science, particularly with the new onus on programming.

[Huffton]

.First year too soft with them, second year two harsh,

 

See me at the end of lessons....

[View From The Top]

 

Don't worry, I teach in a college, so they can.

[Tamesaint]

Very interesting papster. I went through a very similar thought process as you 4 years ago when I had just turned 50. My son was about to start at university. I was sick of being a bean counter and wanted to do something more rewarding.

 

I have a degree in a relevant subject but wanted to do primary school teaching. The idea of there not being enough male role models in primary school teaching and the thought of being able to make a difference really appealed. I went on a 3 day SCITT taster course which was really good and re - inforced my idea to change career.

 

So why didn't I do it? Why am I still counting beans? Money was undoubtedly a factor. The bursaries that you quote didn't seem to be around then and the thought of little money cioming in for a year whilst I trained didn't appeal. Salary wise after training there would also have been a big gap between what I would earn and what I was used to.

 

Money nevertheless was just one factor. I just found it so difficult to get onto a training scheme & so difficult to get the classroom experience that is needed whilst keeping down my full time pretty demanding job. If you have nothing else to do getting the required experience and getting a training place may not be too difficult - to do this whilst keeping down a normal job is not easy. I found many obstacles in my way and in the end I decided it was not worth it.

 

Do I regret it ? Probably not. I guess my motivation was not strong enough. By now, I would have been well into the teaching frame of mind and my job would have been a lot more satisfying than my current role but I probably have a better life than if I had switched. I think I was too old, too set in my ways to go down the teaching path in my early 50's . If I could have my time again I would definitely go into teaching on leaving university but there is no point in looking backwards.

[for_heaven's_Saint]

Currently on my training year to teach Primary. It's enjoyable (most of the time) but bloody hard work. Couple of people on the course have managed to keep working in retail at the weekends, but I know there's no way I could have done that. I'm on the School Direct program so I'm in school 4 days a week, every week.

[bridge too far]

Currently on my training year to teach Primary. It's enjoyable (most of the time) but bloody hard work. Couple of people on the course have managed to keep working in retail at the weekends' date=' but I know there's no way I could have done that. I'm on the School Direct program so I'm in school 4 days a week, every week.[/quote']

 

Good luck!

 

My SiL went into primary teaching all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. He's now desperately trying to find something else as he finds it so very stressful. He loves the teaching but it's the paperwork and preparation that's finished him off. 60 hour week working every night at home and one day at the weekend let alone a lot of time during the 'holidays' preparing for the upcoming term.

 

He has very little time for his two young sons and that's stressing him even further. Such a shame because he's a great teacher.

[jawillwill]

I considered doing teaching about a year ago. I'd just finished my Masters and hated, with a passion, my current job (which at the time I had been in for about a year). I'm still in that job now having decided to stick with it. Although I'm a few decades younger than you by the sounds of it, I too have always had teaching at the back of my mind.

 

Anyway, I got pretty far in the application process. I applied to Brighton Uni (took the numeracy/literacy tests you're required to do - don't be scared by anything you might read online that makes these sound difficult. If you've got a couple of brain cells you should be able to pass these no problem). I went to the interview/did a presentation, and got a conditional offer subject to completing a couple more weeks of work experience in a new school. I did this, and I'll be honest, it was a culture shock. Sitting in classes with some of the rudest, loudest, stupidest and disobedient-est children I have ever met was a real eye-opener and put me off for life. I won't name the school, but while not the best, it didn't exactly have a bad reputation either. I would be scared it I had to work somewhere like that - or heaven forbid, somewhere worse.

 

After a bit of thought, I declined the offer to uni. All things considered, I'm glad I stayed where I am. I think I was on the verge of the biggest mistake of my life had I gone ahead with it.

 

Anyway, good luck. You might like it better.

[for_heaven's_Saint]

Good luck!

 

My SiL went into primary teaching all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. He's now desperately trying to find something else as he finds it so very stressful. He loves the teaching but it's the paperwork and preparation that's finished him off. 60 hour week working every night at home and one day at the weekend let alone a lot of time during the 'holidays' preparing for the upcoming term.

 

He has very little time for his two young sons and that's stressing him even further. Such a shame because he's a great teacher.

 

Yeah that doesn't surprise me. I'm thinking of perhaps doing it abroad when I'm qualified.

[norwaysaint]

Seems so long ago I can barely remember, but the fact will always be that the teaching education you get at college will give you at most 10% of what you need to learn, the rest all comes once you step into a classroom, during practice, but even more during your first actual year as a teacher.

 

I've done most age levels from 4 up to 40 and they are very different. Primary is by far the hardest, most exhausting in the classroom, but also by far the most fun and there is little marking, but you spend all breaks and a couple of hours after school preparing stuff. Secondary I haven't done enough of to give a good comment. Sixth form actually usually has "planning lessons", and you might teach similar things to different classes so there's repetition, but it can be interesting and there's discussion at a higher level, loads of marking though and obviously lots of time used up just preparing for exams, which all teachers hate.

 

As a teacher the important things are to be flexible and able to think on your feet. Things rarely go quite as expected, but you have to be able to think quickly and create a lesson around what actually happens. If the students don't get it, it's your fault and you have to think of other approaches that will work.

 

I've been teaching for 20 years now and still enjoy every day of it, it's probably not for everybody, but if it suits you you will never have a dull day at work again. Don't listen to too many horror stories or opinions from people who haven't worked in schools either, I can't remember the last bad day I had at work and I've worked in some pretty rough areas.

 

I also still remember my first ever teaching practice, it was a disaster because I went in and tried to act like I thought a teacher should, the next I went in and decided just to teach with my own personality and I've never looked back.

 

My wife earns the equivalent of six figures, more than double what I earn when bonuses are included, but she's only ever been jealous of how much I enjoy my work...and my holidays.

[for_heaven's_Saint]

Seems so long ago I can barely remember, but the fact will always be that the teaching education you get at college will give you at most 10% of what you need to learn, the rest all comes once you step into a classroom, during practice, but even more during your first actual year as a teacher.

 

I've done most age levels from 4 up to 40 and they are very different. Primary is by far the hardest, most exhausting in the classroom, but also by far the most fun and there is little marking, but you spend all breaks and a couple of hours after school preparing stuff. Secondary I haven't done enough of to give a good comment. Sixth form actually usually has "planning lessons", and you might teach similar things to different classes so there's repetition, but it can be interesting and there's discussion at a higher level, loads of marking though and obviously lots of time used up just preparing for exams, which all teachers hate.

 

As a teacher the important things are to be flexible and able to think on your feet. Things rarely go quite as expected, but you have to be able to think quickly and create a lesson around what actually happens. If the students don't get it, it's your fault and you have to think of other approaches that will work.

 

I've been teaching for 20 years now and still enjoy every day of it, it's probably not for everybody, but if it suits you you will never have a dull day at work again. Don't listen to too many horror stories or opinions from people who haven't worked in schools either, I can't remember the last bad day I had at work and I've worked in some pretty rough areas.

 

I also still remember my first ever teaching practice, it was a disaster because I went in and tried to act like I thought a teacher should, the next I went in and decided just to teach with my own personality and I've never looked back.

 

My wife earns the equivalent of six figures, more than double what I earn when bonuses are included, but she's only ever been jealous of how much I enjoy my work...and my holidays.

 

That depends a lot on the school's policy. Some schools now demand in-depth marking for every child, every lesson, every day.

[View From The Top]

That depends a lot on the school's policy. Some schools now demand in-depth marking for every child' date=' every lesson, every day.[/quote']

 

Big time. Bo**oxs to working in the primary sector.

 

Friends on ours who are primary school teachers are burning out or bailing out.

[Jonnyboy]

I considered doing teaching about a year ago. I'd just finished my Masters and hated, with a passion, my current job (which at the time I had been in for about a year). I'm still in that job now having decided to stick with it. Although I'm a few decades younger than you by the sounds of it, I too have always had teaching at the back of my mind.

 

Anyway, I got pretty far in the application process. I applied to Brighton Uni (took the numeracy/literacy tests you're required to do - don't be scared by anything you might read online that makes these sound difficult. If you've got a couple of brain cells you should be able to pass these no problem). I went to the interview/did a presentation, and got a conditional offer subject to completing a couple more weeks of work experience in a new school. I did this, and I'll be honest, it was a culture shock. Sitting in classes with some of the rudest, loudest, stupidest and disobedient-est children I have ever met was a real eye-opener and put me off for life. I won't name the school, but while not the best, it didn't exactly have a bad reputation either. I would be scared it I had to work somewhere like that - or heaven forbid, somewhere worse.

 

After a bit of thought, I declined the offer to uni. All things considered, I'm glad I stayed where I am. I think I was on the verge of the biggest mistake of my life had I gone ahead with it.

 

Anyway, good luck. You might like it better.

 

So you hated, with a passion, your job, met some rude kids and now like your job? Weird.

[Whitey Grandad]

Big time. Bo**oxs to working in the primary sector.

 

Friends on ours who are primary school teachers are burning out or bailing out.

 

My son's ex-wife was originally a nurse but she spent 3/4 years teacher training and then the only position she could get was at some sink school down Shirley way somewhere. After a term or so she gave up and is now back in nurse retraining.

[pap]

Some very interesting and insightful replies; thanks a lot, all.

 

For me, it's a case of the circumstances potentially being right to do it. As others have pointed out, the money hasn't always been there for post-graduate study. Most of us have ongoing family commitments, with all the budget that implies. Who can really take a year off?

 

I'm now 39; think it's a relatively good age to go in. Even considering those shaky first three years, I'll still be able to put 20 years into the profession. A couple of my lecturers have done well out of writing books for specific subjects; as someone with knowledge of the curriculum, that could be an option in the future.

 

Most of the people I encountered in earlier education weren't really professional practitioners, so this will be an interesting experiment from the government. I did some work experience at St Marks back in the early 1990s teaching kids to use stuff on Archimedes computers. Really was a great experience; most of them went away knowing something they didn't know before. I also did a talk at a posh-ish school in Liverpool on a careers day. Again, the bloke who showed me around wasn't really a practitioner - and viewed me as some kind of Gandalf from a mythical technical realm of wizards.

 

Apparently the government are going big on programming with their computer science curriculum. Good move, according to some of my sources; they do not rate the latest grads at all, which probably accounts for the amount of resources being allocated. For me, programming has always been the fine art of solving puzzles for money. I think a big part of the skills shortage might be down to the point n click generation not quite realising what the pieces are.

 

I don't hate my job. I can approach this application with a fair degree of ambivalence, which I think is actually the right position to be in. This isn't really a grass is greener situation; I'm not looking to escape. However, a set of favourable circumstances have emerged which are making me consider whether long-term plans should become short-term ones. I'm going to a School Experience Placement shortly, which should give me a better impression of what school life is like these days.

 

Ultimately, it may be something I defer until next year; this year may be too soon - Juvenile Unit #1's finance papers are going in for Uni shortly and depending on the respective bodies' ability to revise based on new circumstances, this may be something that ends up slipping. That may not be an entirely bad thing; the money is there for a few years and it might afford me the time to do a few more SEPs to form a more rounded assessment of the situation.

[for_heaven's_Saint]

Big time. Bo**oxs to working in the primary sector.

 

Friends on ours who are primary school teachers are burning out or bailing out.

 

Yes lots of experienced teachers looking to get out. I'm coming in as my first real career, and I'm not convinced I will do it long-term. Kind of worried that I'm putting all my eggs in one basket at times, not sure how easy it is to move from teaching to other decent jobs...