What can a teacher do except teach?

[tilliebob]

After over 2 decades at the chalk face I need to accept the fact that the joy of teaching is well sand truly lost to me now.

I recently changed jobs and schools as I needed to get out of where I'd been for years and see if it was just that madhouse that was getting me down. Sadly, it seems not, although I have given myself a year to see if I settle in before I make any decisions.

What do teachers do when they can no longer teach? Those who can't, teach...those who can't teach....erm.....

[WaitingForMe]

What subject do you teach? What parts of your job do you like best?

[tilliebob]

I'm a primary school teacher. What do I like? I need to think about that to be honest....most of the joy of the job has been sucked out of it with endless paperwork, changing of goalposts with increasing speed and my own health issues.

In recent years I've been out of class doing various remits and have now moved out of class teaching for good (in theory...however whenever anyone is off, there's no supply to be had).

[rollonthesummer]

I am in the same boat so will be watching your replies with interest! I have been teaching primary for 15 years and there is no pleasure left in the job. Endless observations, paperwork, target setting, blame, misery etc

I don't know where to go from here!

[MrsShrek3]

there's a book with that title... have you seen it?
I went from SEN into management for a charity working with people disabilities. T&C far better than in LEA education. Having just had a few years back in schools and desperately needing to get put again asap, there are heaps of things I can/will apply for.
Make yourself a listof all the skills that you (we) have from teaching:
time management
organisation of self and others
admin
IT
....and the other 30...

then check out some person specs

good luck. Lots of stuff out there, and all make you feel more valued and professional than working in a primary school.

[Grockle]

I had a thread like this recently. Will see if I can link to it.

[Grockle]

here it is

[tilliebob]

Thanks Grockle - I'll read it when I'm home again and can read on the laptop

[GW297]

Supply is the nice teaching bit without all the paperwork, boring meetings and demands on your evenings and weekends. It's also very flexible.

Tutoring 1:1 is rewarding and fairly lucrative I find.

[Rooble]

I come across a lot of people who've got out of teaching and work for the educational arm of charities/public sector organisations such as UNICEF, Lets Get Cooking, Oxfam, Christian Aid.... A lot of the organisations that give schools accreditations for stuff (again, UNICEF, various green charities) need people with insider understanding to assess schools. Those charities aren't all based in London, though the jobs seem to involve lots of travel. One of my friends became a disability coordinator for her LEA. This does involve lots of form-filling though, and negotiating funding etc.

[Rooble]

Or you could always become an Ofsted inspector ;-)

[Misslaughalot]

I'm a former primary school teacher, although I only managed 7 years before deciding that I needed to do something else. I now work for an educational software company, on their curriculum support side, producing training materials for their software. I love it!

I found my job in the TES, under the other workplaces/organisaions section! might be worth keeping an eye on?

[tilliebob]

No Ofsted up here - I'm in Scotland It's HMIe here and they wouldn't look at a wee pleb teacher like me (phew).

[mumnosbest]

Came on to start the same sort of thread so will watch with interest. I've been teaching 14 years and am fed up too. Quite fancy being a HILTA but couldn't afford the pay drop. I've done supply but it's just too unpredictable when you have 3 DCs and a mortgage. I've hung out this long under the premise that school hours fit with family life but as I work most weekends, evenings and half the holidays that's not really true :(

[colander]

Have you tried the private sector? I had had enough of state, and switched to a private school. I now have my love of teaching back again.

[aroomofherown]

Have you thought about being a specialist assessor for learning difficulties? It's a reasonably expensive course but I think the testing is fairly lucrative if you do it privately.

[Grockle]

I am thinking of applying for a job in a school office. 20 hours a week, huge drop in salary with with tax credits, means I should only lose £25 a week. For not doing stupid hours, getting hurt and being exhausted. Very tempting.

[GW297]

I've always fancied working in a school office.