To wonder why someone would want to be a secondary school teacher?

It is all the positives people have said. However it's had a negative impact on my family life as I feel burnt out at the end of most days. My dc are sick of seeing me work at home. Is that balanced out by spending holidays with them? I'm not sure

Holidays, pension, good pay, easy entry into the profession.

I’m a secondary teacher.

in it’s day, it’s still the best job in the world…

it helps that I work in a good school and I adore the subject I teach!

It's endlessly rewarding, interesting, and challenging on every level, emotionally, physically and intellectually, which more than makes up for the downsides.

This (and others on here tonight) are such positive messages, they should quote from these in recruitment campaigns for Teaching

You’re not being unreasonable. Why do you think so many teachers are leaving the profession?

I couldn't ever teacher, I'm sure the students would eat me for breakfast. I'm support staff and sometimes spend a small amount of time in the classroom with the teachers. I think they are amazing, some are much better at it then others (as in they can actually get the whole class to listen to the instructions and do the work) and sometimes it's the students that are the problem. Working in a core subject area we have all students and some just are not interested in the subject or very weak at it.

I do worry that most of our teachers are older and not long for retirement. Their aren't many young teachers and certainly not many good traning candidates. I can see in 10 years time we will have lost half the department to retirement and their will be no one to replace them. These teachers are still here as it it's worth them retraining into a different career, they are hanging on for their pensions. But there certainly aren't many younger teachers coming in or staying.

I'm a science technician, I will sometimes support practical work in the classroom. But try to hide in the preproom most of the time.

I noticed that there alot of teachers 45 + and not much below.

We've got the highest proportion of primary and secondary teachers under the age of 30 in the OECD. We have a very young teaching profession on average as a lot of female teachers quit in their mid thirties which coincides with motherhood. It's not a very family-friendly profession.

I really enjoy teaching, as in being in the classroom with the kids. It is very tiring and intense though, and I'm part time. I don't think I could have done it as long as I have if I were full time. Hats off to those who do.

I've done office work though, and that was boring as hell. Teaching is never boring.

I certainly wouldn't want my dc to follow me into the profession

I qualified and left within 2 years. It’s an impossible job. I loved the young people but class sizes and classroom dynamics are all wrong. Workload is ridiculous. The only ones sticking it out are those who can’t leave, or who love self-punishment.

Nice to read some positive experiences! I take my hat off to secondary school teachers, thank you!

Kids are hilarious. Yes you get naughty and rude ones but the vast majority are not. When you close the classroom door and you’re teaching your class in peace, it’s the best job in the world.

I've taught for 25 years and still enjoy it, most days. However, if I had my time again I wouldn't enter the profession now- it's a tough gig.

It's definitely tough! My sister (34) has been a secondary school teacher for 12 years. Granted she complains often and has bouts of tears here and there due to the high load of marking/lesson/assembly planning... but she loves it! Mainly the student/teacher bond. If you actually have good control your class and they respect you it can be very rewarding. It only goes downhill for her when they don't get good grades because she's so passionate about them succeeding.

In my eyes, the holidays aren't pay off it make it worth it. If I was a teacher I'd start worrying/shitting myself, every August about the coming academic year.

YANBU.
I wanted to be a science teacher when I was younger and became a science technician as a first job/stepping stone. It was a very rough school, but was a huge eye opener. The teachers had to go through some shit. It looked so stressful.
I decided then and there aged 23 that it wasn't for me.

I really really wish I was cut out teaching and take my hats of to all secondary school teachers, it seems like a rewarding but very tough job.

That's quite the opposite to my experience. Nine if the secondary school teachers I knew personally 5 years ago are still teaching.

It’s a weird environment. It’s totally unlike any other work environment. Teachers are often kind of put into competition with one another and everyone is desperate to be recognised. There’s also a lot of scrutiny and fear so you end up with lots of people just working like slaves. Once you’ve done it for a while the pay is good and it’s hard for people to find jobs with comparable pay.

Awful. Plus for male teachers safeguarding is such a horrid threat for just normal hardworking people

I’m 34 with a mortgage and kids, so to quit teaching would mean taking a pay cut and having to move to a smaller house, I’m not willing to start all over again . When my colleagues and I discuss quitting this is one of the main reasons that comes up

You’ll also notice that vocation is almost exclusively used for traditionally female roles. Nurse, vocation. Doctor, clever man job. Teacher, vocation. Professor, clever man job.

I used to wonder the same and I wouldn't be suited to it, but after I looked round our local secondary schools, I understood why people do it. I found a lot of the kids charming and interesting and I could see why people would enjoy working with them. Obviously kids aren't charming and interesting all the time, but people probably find the challenge enjoyable. I couldn't be a police officer either, but can see how people enjoy the variety and challenge and would be bored by an office job.
I'm not saying I don't think the job is difficult etc, just that I can see why people choose it.

Most being 45+ tells me that everybody else refused as it wasn't Directed Time, leaving SLT to show up for a change.

I think it depends on the teenager you meet - I know lots of incredible ones and I was an ok one myself but I also know some horrific ones too and their equally horrible parents and I wouldn't want to deal with that drama .

I’m not a secondary teacher and wouldn’t want to be (the rules around blazers at our local high school has me riled enough 😄) but I’m a singing teacher and love teaching teens! Granted I’m probably going to get a pool of willing ones, but they give me hope for the future. Secondaries I guess have violence, bureaucracy, drudgery etc. But there must be some good bits.