to think people enjoy being teachers?

[inneedofgoodideas]

Hi,
I am seriously considering taking a PGCE to train as a secondary history teacher. However, I have read so many horror stories from teachers who don't enjoy their jobs....
so if any readers are current/ex teachers, please can you give me an honest review of whether you enjoyed it or not?
I'm in my mid-20s, living in London and currently very dissatisfied in my job. I have a first class degree from a good university, and a Masters degree from another good university, both in history. I love history, and want a job which involves communicating with people and 'making a difference' (cringe) so thought teaching might be a good way to go.
any advice much appreciated :)
thanks all!!

Ex secondary history. Please bear in mind that the history you will teaching is probably NOT the history you love. Youll have to get to grips with (maybe) The Spinning Jenny and try to get a bunch of technophiles to appreciate just how big an impact this had to people in the industrial revolution.
I wanted to go back after having my children but i just found it so hard to get back into. Im sad really. I would love to go back bur ive been out for too long now.

All the teachers I know love teaching, but the marking and data collection crap that goes with it can get ridiculous and unfair. It turns a working week into double he ours that I (FT) do.

Live the actual teaching. However, that's a very small part of the job, the rest of which is a variable shit storm.

If you enjoy having no life, working up to 80 hour weeks, answering to data and plenty of poor management, go for it!

And that right there is why I keep half filling in the application forms and then binning them!

For what it's worth, he (as a career changer) always says that he thinks teachers who taught straight out of university are generally much less happy than those for whom it's a second (or more!) career.

I would disagree with this actually! It’s the career changers who don’t stick at teaching in my experience-I am in my 20th year now so have seen a lot of people come and go.

I’ve seen many career changers come in all guns blazing with their, ‘I’m not afraid of hard work-I’ve had a job in the ‘real’ world you know’, and then subsequently leave-fairly broken-after a few months/years.

It’s the ones who always wanted to teach who seem to stick on in there, despite it being increasingly bloody awful-trying to laugh and see the good side in every new initiative.

To the poster who asked what else we wish we’d done instead of teaching, I would say-dentistry, SaLT or Occy Therapy maybe. Those were the things I looked at. Maybe doing a psych degree and gone into being an EP.

I really really wish I hadn’t done teaching though and that makes me sad. I actually love teaching-being with the children-those ‘lightbulb’ moments, but that’s about 5/10% of the job. The rest is just observation, triangulation, data, micro-management and other forms of new-fangled edubabble bollocks.

I teach primary asn and work 3 days a week. I love my job but previous jobs were better for my mental health and family life.
In the last week of term I promised my dd2 I would be home by 4.30pm.at the latest. I just made it, I live 10 mins drive away and take no breaks but it can't be done due to work load just now.
I would say if you love it do it. But don't do it and play at it. These are kids lives and they need motivated teachers who feel supported by slt (😄😄🤔😕)
Be prepared to be blamed for the ills of society, to be seen as lazy and just after the holidays etc. In primary you certain ky15 spend a massive chunk of your wages on supplies.
I am paid for 21h, on a good week I work 30h minimum on a busier week I easily do 50h+
I love it, my dh hates it and my dd2 wants me home on time one day.
Go get some experience and if you like it do it. X

Love the teaching part and the children.
Sadly, the data, the figures, the government, the box ticking, the workload and the expectations are all driving it down to be an exhausting, micro managed, joyless role.

(Oh and 100% rests on working in a good school with good support)

I know quite a few teachers and most love their jobs, just not the bureaucracy and other things involved. I teach English as a second language, so not in school, but I just find it very rewarding, especially when I see students do well.

Definitely depends on the school you’re in. I know one (London) were you have to apply for your holiday, I have no idea how that works! They pay well, having looked at a post there recently, no way would I work there.

I’m moving schools this year because I don’t fit where I am, management hate me, I hate them. Can’t wait to leave. I’ve always been happy/well-regarded in previous jobs. This year has been horrible and I’ve debated leaving the profession, but I love teaching and I hope to be able to enthuse a new generation.

I've noticed on this thread that a lot of the people who say they love it are part time, and/or in alternative provision of some kind.

DS in an RQT. He teaches in a large state secondary in outer London. He loves the actual teaching but not all the gubbins that comes with teaching these days. He already refers to his classes as "my kids".
Fortunately, I think he is wise enough to see that it's no longer possible to be a perfectionist in teaching and live to tell the tale. He works hard, bringing stuff home evenings, weekends and holidays but still ensures he finds time for his hobbies and a social life, even though it's not easy to do so.

I know he loves the fact that every day is different and there is no time to be bored.

Teaching was his number one career choice but whether or not he will stay long term is probably down to the way he gets treated. He already realises where you work rather than the teaching itself is the key whether you stick it out.
Fortunately he isn't motivated by money as these days moving up the pay bands (even where they exist) is no longer a given so whether he will ever reach the dizzy heights of MP6 and beyond is probably more down to budgets than whether he is a great teacher.

I've been teaching secondary for over fifteen years. The workload varies depending on number of exam classes/time of year etc but on the whole I have managed to retain a good work/life balance and have so far found it to be compatible with family life (in comparison with other friends in different professions). I do get annoyed by the constant and often silly new initiatives and a lot of the unnecessary paperwork but I made a conscious decision early on not to get bogged down in it and to make my peace with the fact that there will be aspects of the job that irritate me and to rise above it and see the funny side. I do what needs to be done but am happy to attach less priority to tasks that I know won't make a difference (e.g., I didn't engage at all with the trend of 'verbal feedback' stamps in exercise books and soon enough everyone had forgotten about it anyway and moved onto the next bright idea). Like any job, try and take ownership of what you are prepared to get stressed out over and what you will let wash over you. I pay no attention to the negative press about exams getting easier or kids not being taught 'the right things' etc etc. As long as I am happy at work and my kids are doing well then I can't see the point in getting bogged down in all the crap. The best piece of advice I can give you is that if you find yourself in a school with a rubbish Senior Leadership Team then just look for another job - don't waste your life working for people who aren't supportive of you. Find the best school you can, get stuck in and enjoy it!

I did a pgce and changed direction completely. I now teacher English at a school in the Middle East. It's a great way to travel and you will always find work. Of course teaching also fits around a family too.

I love teaching (secondary science). Children are endlessly entertaining and I get a lot of satisfaction from my job.

There are times when it's really tough and the workload is heavy (I am marking many assessments at the moment) but I wouldn't do anything else.

Don’t do it, it’s not the work load or the cuts it’s the total lack of respect from students (I’m a history teacher in London) they treat you like dirt. I would find a job where you are respected. Honestly don’t do it!

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that I loved teaching, light-bulb moments are amazing, but loathed the box-ticking and ever changing curriculum at the political will, of both parties.

If education could be taken away from the politicians and the extremists in education then the children of the country would be far better served.

Ex primary teacher. Left due to parents & how repetitive it was come National Curriculum. I trained in a very deprived area which was really rewarding as you felt scholl was their only nice place to be & they often didn't want to go home. The wealthy area I got my first job in was a shock. Every single night, queue of aggressive ex career women, now SAHM's complaining about having £100 trainers ruined, blackberry juice & grass stained shirts & 'bullying' (being jostled in the dinner queue) the & asking for nightly 2hrs homework for 8year olds. They were relentless & draining. Every PTA meeting was a backstabbing battle & lasted hours longer than it should have. Head was no match for them. Every teacher I met new or experienced in my training days on my probationary year was planning an escape.

I adore teaching but I understand it isn't for everyone.
Could you shadow someone for a couple of days to see whether you may enjoy it?

Sorry - I shoud have said Secondary Vice Principal/ Science teacher

As almost everyone else, I love being in the classroom but the pointless bureaucracy is killing me. I’m 21 years in and middle management. Didn’t go higher because I like being in the classroom.

I don’t know how much longer I have left in me though. I’ve taught English and History and they are heavy going marking wise.

My advice to my younger self would be not to go into teaching. My school is easier than many others but I’m still on my knees.

Oh and I had a career in management before being a teacher so I know what the private sector is like too.

I love teaching! However I am in a school with no behaviour policy (well a weak one at best) we are over worked and understaffed. In my department alone we a losing 6 members of staff and not able to get any teaching staff so have had to go with temps who have never taught before! After Christmas the classes will be absolutely awful. Teaching is good as long as you don’t have to fight to teach