Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.

[Ohdesireer]

Is this saying still relevant?
I only ask because I’ve wanted to be a nurse all my life, I never got my GCSE’S and didn’t think I was clever enough.

I’m now mid 20s with two DC (3&4)
I decided at the start of this year I was going follow my dream.
I’m halfway into my GCSE maths, if I pass this then onto an access course for a year then uni.

But I’m put off, I got myself a job in a care setting to gain experience for my application. It’s shift work and my partner also does shift work, he’s the main earner so his takes priority and probably always will.
Trying to figure out shifts is a nightmare, I also narrowly escaped having to work Christmas Day (some CF was going to call in “sick” and I would be the next person in)
The thought of missing out on Christmas Day with my kids is daunting. I know people do it, but they know they have to do it and still choose to work in that job.
I don’t know if I want to be the mum who isn’t home for Christmas.

As my partner already works shifts and weekends, I want the DC to have some stability and a parent who is there on weekends.

I think getting into teaching would be the best option for me, maybe a primary school teacher.

My partners mum is a teacher at a blind college.
She leaves at 8:30am and is home by 5pm Mon - Fri.
Once in a blue moon goes into work at the weekend and even then it’s not a must.
And obviously has half term off.

I’ve looked a lot into nursing and the further I look the more I’m put off. I live in a small city (I’m not even exaggerating when I say, most people think it’s a town) so jobs in nursing are hard to come by unless it’s with the NHS.

I’ve heard the saying “those who can, do; those who can’t, teach”
I haven’t looked much into teaching yet, I’d just like advice if people still think this.

I’m not saying I believe it, I just want to know if others honestly do.

My family never expected anything of me.
My mum always said to me, I’m going to end up pregnant at 18, live in a council house and aspire to nothing. She was correct, this indeed did happen. But I now own my own home. (Nothing wrong with living in a council house, but 90% of them in my area are filled with druggies so not the best environment to bring up kids in)

I feel like if I go into teaching, my family will still think I’ve amounted to nothing. Yes I overthink, but the quote is just stuck on loop in my head and I think I need someone to snap me out of it.

I don’t mean to offend anyone, this is just what has been drilled into my head for years.

AIBU?

probably

Teaching is a respected graduate profession. As well as being a bloody hard job that I for one know I couldn't do. I think people who go into it thinking about the holidays and expecting non-demanding hours tend to drop out very early on, if not in training. Bear in mind you would need a decent amount of experience working with children, volunteering in schools etc before even getting on to a course. Definitely something you need to have a passion for if you were to pursue it.

My mum has worked in a primary school for 40 years - she works 12 hour days at school and then does an extra 1-2 hours in the evening and 4-5 hours at the weekend.

When we were younger, we were dropped off at breakfast club/childminder at 7am and picked up at 5.30/6pm. She could never come to our school plays/events etc.

Obviously the benefits were the school holidays, but again she often had to work. I’d say she only takes 3 weeks off fully a year.

It’s really hard work and to be honest, that’s what has put any of us off going into teaching.

I think you've misunderstood the saying, to be honest.

^My partners mum is a teacher at a blind college.
She leaves at 8:30am and is home by 5pm Mon - Fri.^

You are in for a serious shock if you think that is the standard working hours for teachers. I think you need to do some research into the actual reality and why we are losing teachers at a shocking rate. It is extremely hard work and completely not family friendly. You need to be very clear on what you are getting into and, with all due respect, you have to go into it for the right reasons as the workload, pressure and demands of the job are immense. Most teachers who want any work/life balance have to work part time in order to actually do the job in normal full time hours. I think you need a reality check to be honest as I've not seen any indication from your post that you have any desire or passion to work with children at all and without that you won't last five minutes.

I'm biting my tongue a bit at all this, but why don't you get your maths and English gcse for now, and then work as a TA with your eyes open for a bit?

I wonder if you realise how incredibly rude that saying is, OP

One of the reasons that I'm surprised that anyone in teaching is offering her any advice at all. GBS was full of nonsense but he appeals to a certain kind.

Why don’t you study part time and become a TA? You’d get a real idea of the life of a teacher, useful experience and you’d be in a better position to decide if you wish to pursue it.

Personally, and I am a teacher, I wouldn’t become a teacher with young children unless I had a partner who was going to do the bulk of the childcare and housework as it’s an incredibly demanding job. You are forever putting other people’s children before your own.

Some Primary courses actually favour people who have already worked in schools. Barbie is right, being a TA (also hard work but not such long hours) would give you a chance to see what teaching is really about.

Why do you care for people who care nothing about you? For me, peer hostility was a gift as I was free to do what I wanted without caring about what they thought - they couldn't drag me down.
Perhaps think of it as that.

The saying is actually -

those who can - do, those who can't, MANAGE

The role isn’t given the respect it deserves. You’re absolutely deluded if you think it’s 8.30 to 5pm with nothing in the holidays.

I love my job. I’m academically bright and had lots of questions about why I wanted to teach primary because I’m too clever for it, including at my PGCE interview. Some people think you’re a better teacher if you’ve really struggled at school. It’s really frustrating. Getting children off in the right path in life is incredibly important and I love my job. It’s bloody hard work though.

When I was at school I wanted to be a primary teacher, however both my mother and yearmaster told me I could do better. In those days it was only the “less clever” that went into primary teaching. My friend was pretty thick and it took her 2 years to get the 2 highers (Scotland) needed to get into the Roman Catholic teacher training college. It was pretty much those that can do, those that can’t teach. Perhaps that’s why the standard of children’s education fell significantly. I remember I had to correct the correction that my daughters teacher made in her book. Thank goodness teaching is respected so much more nowadays.
I was accepted into the best Teacher Training College in Scotland and still regret that I “did as I was told” and turned down the offer.

I was accepted into the best Teacher Training College in Scotland and still regret that I “did as I was told” and turned down the offer.

It isn’t too late-I went in as a career changer.

I smell bullshit

Why don’t you study part time and become a TA? You’d get a real idea of the life of a teacher, useful experience and you’d be in a better position to decide if you wish to pursue it.

Being a TA Is nothing like being a teacher according to 2 of my friends who are doing a PGCE this year. I expect the experience is useful though.

Wasn't the original saying, "those who can do, those who understand teach?". I think Aristotle said it.

She leaves at 8:30am and is home by 5pm Mon - Fri. Once in a blue moon goes into work at the weekend and even then it’s not a must. And obviously has half term off

I used to be a primary teacher. I easily worked a 60-70 hour week, although I was only in school 8-5 most days. You will have an incredible amount of work to do at home. You'll also spend holidays either working from home or in school anyway. You'll be under enormous stress, enormous pressure and no matter how hard you work it will never ever be good enough for management or Ofsted. Do yourself a favour and don't go down that route. I gave it up specifically to have children as I knew I'd never see them if I stayed.

Also that saying is one of the stupidest things I've ever heard.

I think you misunderstood the quote, INHO.
First heard this from my (teacher) DMum.
I think this means that if you can' do' (for example) nursing , and are good at it, then you do nursing.
If you are a crap nurse, then you teach NURSING to student nurses.
and if you are rubbish at teaching (NURSING), then you do research into NURSING methods.
Replace nursing with whatever career you like.

So my DMum felt that she could 'do', so she stayed a teacher and did not move into teaching student teachers how to teach.
So all the teachers out there (who I feel do a great job, BTW) need not feel insulted by the quote.
It's not a case of being teacher if you are unable to 'do' anything else well!
Please don't shoot the messenger - I'm sure all teachers are excellent at what they do and work hard at it.

Three years doing a nursing degree, during which you will have Christmas off,then you could apply for jobs that do not mean working Christmas. You could go for District nurse jobs... many others..

...and those who can't teach start goady fucking threads about teaching on MN

OP if you have zero qualifications I fail to see how becoming a teacher is a step down

I also fail to see how it's a possibility!

I'm a nurse and have worked shifts, nights, many Christmas days etc for 20 years. That's the job. I thought I had it tough, until my close friend became a teacher. Wow, they have it so much tougher. They may be Monday to Friday but they literally never stop. Lesson planning, marking, writing reports, Ofsted, meeting targets. Teachers have my utmost respect.

I love teaching. I am proud to be a teacher. Over the last 22 years I have taught thousands of teenagers and still regularly run into past students who tell me the impact that I, and my colleagues, had on their lives.

That’s not nothing.

A parent who cheerfully lets their child finish school with no qualifications would be pretty close to nothing in my book. Feel free to pass that on.