AIBU to think I could become a teacher?

[Myusernam]

I was really badly behaved in school. My mum was an alcoholic and I was an only child, I think I just wanted attention.
Anyhoo, I left school with only average level standard grade qualifications. I started in an office as a junior and worked my way up in oil and gas to earn quite a high salary and did pretty well by a young age.
I quit work when I had my daughter as I wanted to stay home while she was small. I went on to have a second daughter and I love my life. However once my girls are at school I want to have a career. Am I being over ambitious to think I could go back to studying and eventually become a primary school teacher? My friends and family think I would make a good teacher but I’m just afraid I would fail academically as I never studied or did well when I was at school.

No, no such thing as being over ambitious! Go for it. It will take a while to get all the necessary qualifications. On the plus side, you probably will have the right empathy and rapport with students, which is so important.

Good luck!

My friend has just done an access course for Uni, then studied to be a speech therapist. You can do this. I would get in touch with organisations that train you whilst you teach, as they are gagging for people and they will give you advice as to what you need before you go down that route.

If it’s something you genuinely want to do then, yes, you sound like you can.
You got qualifications despite difficulties and worked your way up in your field so you definitely seem capable.
Just be sure you know what the job entails and you definitely want to do it.

If you really want it go for it although primary teaching is very hard to get into.

My brother has learning difficulties and will be starting his post grad in teaching after the summer . Like you he struggled in school and only came out with poor grades. So he went to collage then on to uni to get his honors degree.

But because he never got higher English and Nat 5 maths (as it’s now known) he had to study them part time after uni. So it’s been a very long process of getting to where he wants to be. But it just shows it can be done.

As one teacher at school said he would never amount to anything. And I’m just so proud of him now.

So definitely go for it but make sure you have lots of family support as it won’t be easy