Hi,
I work in an FE college in a non-academic position and am considering moving into teaching English at GCSE and functional skills levels. I am very realistic about, and have experience of, the behaviour of students on vocational courses who are retaking GCSE English or maths and their low motivation, reluctance to attend etc. However, I'd be grateful for any views of lecturers teaching in this area and what they consider to be the positives and negatives of such a role. I'm interested in everything from: students' behaviour, staff morale, support offered to new staff in terms of resources to accounts of what you enjoy about the role, professional satisfaction etc. An acquaintance with experience in this area shocked me today by stating unequivocally that I should avoid this field of teaching due to the difficultly in teaching students whose main interest is their vocational course and not their English GCSE which they have just failed!
Any thoughts to offer up? TIA.