...to quit my PGCE?

[fridascruffs]

I am doing a 'part time' PGCE through the OU. When I signed up, it was 3 years and a certain amount of the school placements could be done full time., so I had to have only 5 weeks then 8 weeks off work for full time school placement.

Once I started the course, it came out that they'd reduced it to 2 years and NONE of the placements could be done part time except the first 2 weeks, leaving me to negotiate 4 weeks, 8 weeks, then 10 weeks off work in a 2 year period. I've done the 4 weeks placement.

My tutor keeps telling me she's never had anyone successfully complete the PGCE while holding down a job, especially while having young DCs (I am alone with them, have them all the time). Someone else told me on the phone I shouldn't expect to be able to work during the PGCE- in spite of the fact that their marketing booklet on the course uses a woman who had to continue her job during the PGCE as a case study. I can't quit work.

Now that I am on the course, I am finding it very poorly run. I keep finding ut about stuff that I'm supposed to do after I have failed to do it- there is no central list of what you're expected to do when, so you have to trawl their website for clues as to what's expected.

The last straw happened a week ago- they told me I had to teach a sex education unit as the centrepiece of my 8 week school placement. I am doing a physics PGCE and have no intention of teaching biology. I don't want to be judged on how well I teach sex education, for which I have zero enthusiasm. I would probably not use the PGCE for straightforward teach-in-a-school jobs as there are no longer many part-time jobs; I'd do tutoring and home schooled kids instead, so i don't necessarily need it.

I don't like to quit, but that's just about my only motivation to continue at this point.
WWYD?

What degree do you have already?
Surely you could just home tutor with that anyway.

Sorry to not answer your wider question, but your comment about not intending to teach biology caught my eye. In many, many secondary schools, teachers are required to teach subjects aside from the one they have specialised in. In the worst cases (ie the school near me) they have situations such as their English teachers teaching GCSE Geography, which is appalling, IMO.
It's not ideal for schools to do this, but jobs are few and far between at the mo - you may find you have to compromise.
Good luck to you - you have certainly bitten off a lot, but I hope it works out for you
xx

Tbh, my first thought is: if you don't want to work in a school, why are you wasting your time and money? You don't need a PGCE to do tutoring but it is also very very hard to make a living out of tutoring. I teach and I tutor to make a bit of extra cash but that's all it is.
If you can't give up work, do you realistically think your work is going to allow you to take 10 weeks off? If not, then there's your choice made for you.

I trained as a chemistry teacher and accepted that I may have to teach any science expecially at KS3. Very few schools teach specialisms lower down the school. I have always taught my specialism at KS4 and A-level and am currently on sabbatical lecturing at a university.

It does sounds like you've been messed about by OU but it does depend on whether you actually want to teach. As a physics specialist you should have good job prospects and part-time physics posts aren't unknown because it is the most difficult specialism to recruit for. Could you perhaps use your experience from your OU placement and cash it in to another PGCE that is better run? COuld you do GTP?

Firstly, sex education isn't biology, it's PSHE and it si very common to teach it whatever your specialism (and it is also essential on the PGCE course I think - our trainees certainly have to do it). Secondly, were you to teach Physics in a school, you might well teach biology (including reporduction) to younger students. Thirdly, you might well find a part time job as a Physics specialist in a school.

As I understand it you now have to pay to do the PGCE yourself? If you're already parted with money I'd been inclined to say keep going.
You might not want to teach in school now but circumstances change. Once all your DCs are in are a bit older you may find working full time is possible. If you have already negotiated 4 weeks off work you may be able to sort out the other placements with your employer?

When did yuo start? If it wasSeptember you are only a few weeks in, and if you hate it already, how will you cope?
For yuor information, my experience is that everyone hate theior PGCE. I've never heard of as good or well run one. Also no one is or trains as a "physics teacher" - you are secondary science. You may or may not have a degree in one or other science, but htat has no effect on your PGCE. Once you are a teacher you will find that your timetable will not even be limited to science, let alone one aspect of science. And you will need to teach for a year a in schools once you have finished the PGCE, in order to get qualified teacher staus.
If you have any specific questins I can help you with, please send me a message

Have you nearly finished or are you only just starting? If only starting, doesn't seem to be much loss if you stop now. Do you get a refund?

I did a (full-time) PGCE after a physics degree - had to teach 3 sciences up to yr 9 and if had worked as a teacher that would have been up to GCSE probably (depending how desperate they were for physicists). Teaching sex ed to yr 7 was far from the worst bit: they just expressed themselves bored because they'd done it at primary and my main task was to get them to use the correct words for the various bits of anatomy (broadened my education, that did!).

I did finish my PGCE, hated it but learnt a huge amount, and then went to work in a totally different profession (finance-related). Never regretted it.

Hi
I did my PGCE exactly the same way you are- through the OU- the flexible teacher training course. I really dont see why you couldnt have a job whilst you arent on placement but I think having another job whilst on placement is probably too much.
I carried on working until my level 2 placement (took leave for the NA and L1 placements) but after that I gave my job up.

As a science teacher it is very likely you will have to teach all 3 sciences. When you get into school you will also be expected to take on the "professional role" of a teacher which might include delivering PHSE lessons- which could include sex ed. I did some PHSE sessions during my PGCE but they were on stuff like bullying, charities etc. You will have to teach subjects which arent your specialism- I cant believe you didnt know this before you started as you should have evaluated your subject knowledge for all 3 sciences. I have had lesson observations for a subject that I didnt even do myself for GCSE- but really you just have to get on with it.

The admin part of the PGCE is crap- use the forums as they are full of other students who will undoubtedly be having the same concerns as you.

Have a look at the DfE site, there is something about pgce physics and bursaries, that may allow you to do the pgce full time with a more organised provider.

If you teach sciences, it's pretty normal to be expected to teach all Sciences at KS3 - schools rarely employ science teachers in exact multiples of 3 and it wouldn't necessarily be in your favour when it came to finding employment if you weren't willing to be flexible and teach to at least 1 key stage below where you have a qualification in a subject. You don't need a biology degree to know more about reproduction than year 7.

As far as the course is concerned, though, if it's not suiting you, quit.

Can you afford to go full time and do it in a year? Get it done so to speak? I don't have PGCE. I have PTTLS and this year start QTTLS or QTLS as it's now known. Then I can teach adults and young people. In FE. Different ball game to school teaching. I wouldn't quit though if I were you. I quit my degree years ago and totally regret it now.

by the way I work part time now- I do 3 days a week which fits in perfectly with my (young) children- I dont see any reason why you wouldnt get a p/t job as long as you keep looking. Physics teachers are like rocking horse poo.

Yopu will be expected to teach all science.My DB is a physics grad .He dropped biology after Y9 and is still expected to teach it.

'You don't need a biology degree to know more about reproduction than year 7'
depends where the school is

My DH is a Physics specialist and has often taught Biology, and indeed, sex education (which he enjoys teaching actually, it's not necessarily horrible to teach as it can be satisfying to demystify things for kids and set their bizarre ideas straight!)

You have to be prepared to teach anything if you're working at a school.

For your information, my experience is that everyone hates their PGCE. I've never heard of a good or well run one. I think you could be right there. My DD is doing one in Drama teaching but is doing it along side the group doing RI. She has to incorporate RI in her studies and vice versa. She also has a friend male who is a qualified PE teacher and the only job he could get was in Home economics, he is teaching cookery and sewing. He is only 26 BTW. I think it could be of great benefit to you to do Biology. I think you do have a lot on your plate but the GTTP could be the way to go but I think you would need to start applying now.

Sorry, had to sort the children out before they murdered each other. Thank you do much for all your responses, that's more than I expected.
NannyOgg my degree is in geology, but I did a fair bit of geophysics, and I've completed a year of degree- level phyics prior to starting the PGCE, as well as lab courses in chemistry and astronomy. Yes, i could tutor now.
Emsire Ro- I considered the GTP but I understood you don't get the PGCE with that and I wanted to be able to teach overseas.
But why, kritur,crabapple: I planned originally to teach A-level only, physics and posslby maths, 3/4 days a week.
I started planning this about 3 years ago and it's taken me this long to get this far becasue of having to do the year of physics before I started etc, and during that time things have changed a bit- there aren't so many jobs in teaching for a start, less part-time work, etc. I thought that a physics/ maths teacher would have plenty of work, but things are changing now- they will hav loads of graduates availabel so you'll have to do as you're told.
I have done the first (shortest) school placement dso not far into it, and I am on bursary.
I didn't ask them to get me out of sex ed altogether as ther are only 5 classes to choose form and i have to teach 3 of them; i just didn't want it to be the main thing I'm working on for the second placement, i just asked to do the big project on the Year 8 class instead.
I am not necessarily planning to make a living out of tutoring, rather to contonue in the voluntary sector part time and do tutoring part time as an alternative to teaching. i don't want to work 60 hours a wek as a full time teacher, i have children of my own.
Thans for all your responses, it's helpful to clear my head.

sorry for typos, my fingers can't keep up.

johnthepong- how long ago did you qualify with the OU? It wouldn't take much for the OU to communicate information in a way that is easy to access; they seem to bury important stuff in the most obscure corners fo their website.
Yes i knew i was required to teach biology for this PGCE, that was OK with me, but I don't really want to teach it in the long term and what i was asking for- to do the Y8s instad- wasn't such a big deal I didn't think. I'll find a way round it, if i get qualified and I want to teach in a school.

You can teach abroad with a GTP. I trained a GTP who is now working in Germany.

A PGCE is hard work. I found it much more work than my 4 year Psychology degree.

Sex Education isn't biology.

I planned originally to teach A-level only, physics and posslby maths, 3/4 days a week
When you are hired you don't necessarily know what level you are going to be teaching if you are in a 11-18 school. Also, a head of dpt might be reluctant to give A level classes to a NQT or/and someone whose the subject is not the subject of their degree (ie: geology for physics or even maths).
When you do a PGCE, you should be prepared to teach all students from 11-18 and yes as a science teacher, you are very likely to teach other sciences.
The PGCE is renowned for being very tough, I am afraid, you might have to bite the bullet.

No Madonna I don't think so either; i'ts part of a unit on Cells and Reproduction, and involves discussing When is the Right time to have a Baby apparently. The unit seems to leap from plants straight in to to human reproduction, there are films about puberty and getting rections to show etc. no other animals have sex, as far as I can tell from this unit. They don't get a look in, anyway. It's a long way from Maxwell's equations, is all I can say.
For those of you who are teaching- i have had the impression that schools are hierarchical places, you do as you're told and you shut up- is that a general feature of schools or are they not all like that?