Page 18 | Is teaching really that bad?

Cremeegg456 · 2022-03-15T22:39:54+00:00

I did a secondary PGCE and gained a pass with Merit, and 'outstanding', that was 6 years ago and I've never completed my nqt year. I know the PGCE isn't representative of what actual teaching is like though but I remember it being what seemed like a lot of unnecessary paperwork, but we also had the assignments on top. I've done various work with young and elderly people since which I've enjoyed, but I've never made a lot more than minimum wage. Had zero hours contracts, agency work etc. I did enjoy teaching but I am just not prepared to work evenings and weekends as well, it's just not worth having no life for me. Not prepared to work more than 45 hours a week. But truthfully if I want a higher and more stable income I think I would have to go into it, if I'm thinking of buying a house, children etc in the next few years. Would be interested to hear from people as to what their work life balance really is.

PickupperPenguin · 09/02/2023 11:52

I left teaching three years after qualifying. It became unbearable for many reasons - constant low-level disruption, no accountability from parents and students, no support from SLT, unsustainable work-life balance. I had students vandalise my classroom with no consequences from SLT, a parent accusing me of bullying her Year 9 son because me wanting him to sit in his seat and listen was apparently unreasonable, another student threw a chair at me across the classroom. Then in FE, I was on a zero-hours contract where I was paid per teaching hour but nothing for planning, marking, parents’ evenings, open evenings, writing mock exams, writing schemes of work (during those long holidays), the list goes on.

Despite all this, so many of the students were a delight to work with and I still feel that I let them down by leaving. It’s a thankless job and I’m not surprised teaching has such a recruitment and retention problem. I really wish the general public knew what it was like to work in schools and colleges at the moment. I think my experience wasn’t even that awful compared to what some teachers and support staff go through.

crochetmonkey74 · 09/02/2023 12:00

Weird post OP
I am a teacher and the PGCE mentor- you can't pass with a Merit or Outstanding

You can gain secure in the teaching standards for observations but the PGCE is simple pass or fail- as is the ECT year

crochetmonkey74 · 09/02/2023 12:02

I am a head of dept 25 years in

I do not work weekends or evenings but I do get in at 7.30 and stay until 6pm

Your HOD friend must be doing the same

CohenTree · 09/02/2023 14:03

saraclara · 09/02/2023 09:31

So only one is the teachers pension. The others private ones that he chose to invest in.

Please stop with the misinformation that a teachers pension can be higher than a Chartered accountant's. There's enough bullshit going around about teachers on this board without you deliberately adding to it.

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No, my father never invested a penny in private pension schemes, but in any case you're missing the point. I shared the information about his income in agreement with @TheNefariousOrange who said that the economic situation now is entirely different to the 1950s when our parents were starting out.

So... please stop accusing people of spreading misinformation when you haven't bothered to find out the context. “There's enough bullshit,” etc etc...

saraclara · 09/02/2023 14:11

CohenTree · 09/02/2023 14:03

No, my father never invested a penny in private pension schemes, but in any case you're missing the point. I shared the information about his income in agreement with @TheNefariousOrange who said that the economic situation now is entirely different to the 1950s when our parents were starting out.

So... please stop accusing people of spreading misinformation when you haven't bothered to find out the context. “There's enough bullshit,” etc etc...

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Then how could he have three teacher's pensions? Seriously, if you're not deliberately misinforming people, there's something that you're misunderstanding here. There is only one teacher's pension scheme, both now, and was when he was working. I'm a retired teacher. I could not have more than one pension with the TPS.
Anything else that he derived a pension from, wasn't the standard pension scheme. He clearly invested more money into pensions in some way.

BrutusMcDogface · 09/02/2023 14:13

SmallOrFarAway · 15/03/2022 22:45

In my experience secondary teaching was just not compatible with a young family. My own kids needed me and I just didn't have enough hours in the day to complete my marking and planning plus actually see or spend any time with my children. So I wouldn't think it's the most ideal job if you are planning a family. Once my kids are bigger I could probably return but I can't foresee it until they are at least year 9 or beyond. Obviously many do make it work but I just felt too pulled in all directions.

What are you doing now, if you don’t mind me asking?

BrutusMcDogface · 09/02/2023 14:14

crochetmonkey74 · 09/02/2023 12:00

Weird post OP
I am a teacher and the PGCE mentor- you can't pass with a Merit or Outstanding

You can gain secure in the teaching standards for observations but the PGCE is simple pass or fail- as is the ECT year

I was thinking this, too. 🤔 I just assumed things had changed since I qualified, but obviously not.

SmallOrFarAway · 09/02/2023 15:56

@BrutusMcDogface I'm a TA in a primary now. When my youngest was a baby I ran my own business for a while but lockdown put paid to that! By the time that was all over both mine were in primary school so freed me up during the day a bit more. I was lucky to find a job at a school that starts and finishes at slightly different times to theirs so I can do the school run. I love working with the younger children and not having all the planning and admin to deal with. But obviously the money is not great so I don't think I could do it for the rest of my working life, I will probably have to go back to teaching at some point if only to top up my old teacher's pension. But I'm hoping to use my experience with the primary curriculum over the next 4/5 years to eventually transition to a primary teaching job. I can't imagine going back to the demands of teaching secondary.

Shinyandnew1 · 09/02/2023 16:17

I can't imagine going back to the demands of teaching secondary

How do you think the demands of teaching primary are different?

Girlswithgoodbodieslikeboyswithferarris · 09/02/2023 16:36

Shinyandnew1 · 09/02/2023 16:17

I can't imagine going back to the demands of teaching secondary

How do you think the demands of teaching primary are different?

Of course the demands are different. Not saying that one is harder than the other, but they are most certainly different. Even within high school; it is very different teaching the lower years than it is teaching the upper years. (More misbehaviour in the lower years, more pressure in the upper years)

Restinggoddess · 09/02/2023 16:52

If you are only considering teaching because you think it will afford you something or the holidays will balance - don’t

Shinyandnew1 · 09/02/2023 17:01

Girlswithgoodbodieslikeboyswithferarris · 09/02/2023 16:36

Of course the demands are different. Not saying that one is harder than the other, but they are most certainly different. Even within high school; it is very different teaching the lower years than it is teaching the upper years. (More misbehaviour in the lower years, more pressure in the upper years)

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I wasn’t asking if the pp thought the two were different. Clearly they are.

I just wondered how.

I was genuinely interested as to what would make her leave secondary teaching but want to do primary teaching.

GuyFawkesDay · 09/02/2023 21:14

IME primary is even more insane than secondary. Marking every book daily, parental pressure, same class ALL DAY EVERY DAY. I'd go crackers! I have no idea how anyone does it, they're all saints. I am exhausted after 3hrs with year 7 🤣

Macaroni46 · 09/02/2023 23:45

SmallOrFarAway · 09/02/2023 15:56

@BrutusMcDogface I'm a TA in a primary now. When my youngest was a baby I ran my own business for a while but lockdown put paid to that! By the time that was all over both mine were in primary school so freed me up during the day a bit more. I was lucky to find a job at a school that starts and finishes at slightly different times to theirs so I can do the school run. I love working with the younger children and not having all the planning and admin to deal with. But obviously the money is not great so I don't think I could do it for the rest of my working life, I will probably have to go back to teaching at some point if only to top up my old teacher's pension. But I'm hoping to use my experience with the primary curriculum over the next 4/5 years to eventually transition to a primary teaching job. I can't imagine going back to the demands of teaching secondary.

Sadly I think you'll find the demands of primary equally ridiculous if not more so.

Purplepeoniesdroppingpetals · 09/02/2023 23:53

SoftwareDev · 15/03/2022 22:42

It's not as bad as you think - it's worse.

There is a reason hundreds of us are leaving the profession!

This with bells on. I love working with kids but everything else is dreadful and all of my core dept want to leave this year - we’ve had two adverts for my core subject out for a year (leafy shires school) and had no applicants.

SmallOrFarAway · 10/02/2023 08:08

@Macaroni46 I know the demands of primary teaching are almost as relentless, and don't worry I'm not under any illusion it would be easy! I don't think that comes into my goals at all, nobody goes into any level of teaching for an easy life.

But just in terms of real gained work-life balance time, compared to all of the endless planning and essay/coursework marking that used to take up my evenings and weekends, plus countless after school and holiday revision days I used to have to give up my own free unpaid time for, losing break and lunch for detentions or calling parents or filing in behaviour reports, that side of things seem more manageable. Just by the fact that inevitably smaller children are writing much less, I feel like it's possible to grab some time back there. And from what I've seen the lesson planning seems much more collaborative, so resources and lessons are shared across the year group with everyone pulling together, which cuts some of the workload down a fraction. The pace also seems much more manageable, the teachers where I work are free to change the lesson if it's not what seems right, or give the kids a movement break if needed. It wasn't like at all in my secondary school, it was all totally relentless, every minute had to be accounted for, and no concern was given to either staff or pupil well-being. It may be though I'm just comparing a very bad high school to a very good primary! I won't know unless I actually make that move myself, but for now I love being a TA and am very happy to have changed lanes.