Talk me out of teaching

[Avaricii]

I don't enjoy my job. I've drifted into something that doesn't fulfil my need to feel like I'm making a difference. It pays ok.
I'd like to teach secondary maths. I think I'd be great at up to GCSE and have a relevant degree. But all I hear is that teaching is so stressful. What I don't get is why it's more stressful than any other stressful job? I'm stressed every day at work now so at least I would get a less stressful summer with my still primary kids who I feel are growing up fast at camp or at after school clubs.

Promise this isn't a goady post! I think teachers work very hard. But I can't see any reason (apart from a bit of a pay cut) to not make the shift...

It is stressful and full on, but equally is v rewarding. I am a secondary school teacher and I love what I do, but I appreciate there are far easier and less stressful careers out there! For me..
I love how every day is different
I laugh every day (but cry lots too!)
I work ALOT at home, but have learnt to balance this over the years
I enjoy watching my students start as children in Y7 and leave as young adults in Y11, with a goal and an idea of where they are going next. It's super rewarding!
I would only recommend it if you enjoy dealing with sassy, grumpy and hormonal teens on a daily basis though! It stretches you daily, but if you love your subject and have a passion to share it with others then you will do well :)

Sorry - not sure I'm putting you off. Realistically it is tough, the pay is crap considering what the job entails, and if you find yourself working for a tough school and a bad Head it can be awful! But there are so many schools, you will find the one that fits with you hopefully.

I’m a teacher and love my job. Most of the time I don’t find it stressful and the holidays are amazing. HOWEVER I teach part time in an independent school, plus my kids are a bit older now and don’t need me as much so I have a very rose tinted view! And unfortunately there are cuts/redundancies being made in this sector so my job isn’t as secure as it used to be.

I think the key is finding the right school.

And oh yes the pay is poor in terms of profession. I’m not earning that much more than when I started 20 years ago, but that’s my choice for staying in small private schools and not becoming management.

Progression not profession!

If you are stressed now what would you take a pay cut for the same level of stress?

In your shoes, take a week off and volunteer in a classroom and shadow a teacher.

An acquaintance of mine got locked in a supply cupboard by one of the kids in her class. Nobody let her out until another teacher passed by and heard her cries.This was the last straw in a long line of issues she encountered. She left not long after.

One acquaintance worked a year without pay following qualifying, apparently that's the norm.

She's quit now and gone back to the job she had before she had the idea to go into teaching.

My cousin is a long standing teacher, high level, been a teacher for years, she spends some weekends just marking work, during family dinners etc 🙄

Another friend is a teacher, she has been in it for years, she is a certain character, she is auch an amazing character, her class loves her, but she finds it incredibly stressful coming up with ideas to "teach" the curriculum in an interesting yet exciting way to keep them locked into learning. She is always switched on, in everything she does she is always thinking of ways, so we may be on a night out, you mention something you did or somewhere you went and she will use, and change that idea to come up with something for school.

The long standing teachers I know cope, yeah they may have some issues but thier experience a mnd other things outweigh the issues.

The new starters I know have all tried and failed for various reasons, I don't think it's a good place to go into. Kids can be horrible.

Maths is less stressful because

• schools value you -actual qualified maths teachers can make their price and get part time if they want because of the scarcity value
• much easier marking so you have the evenings/weekends/hols to yourself
• excellent resources available for lesson planning
• no pressure to do endless trips or cultural like eg MFL

Teach in an indie /better hols/smaller classes I was a career changer and have enjoyed the job but would never teach state unless short term if you can’t get a job in an indie.

I'm no expert. My perspective is having seen my 3 children go all the way through school...
I think you'd be mad to teach primary. Endless lesson planning that seems to be repeated year on year. Difficult class sizes with mixed ability students. Lack of support due to general budgetary/ staffing issues. Non supportive parents.
The secondary school teachers at my children's schools (both grammars) all seem relatively happy and no overwrought vibes. They teach their 'favourite' subject. They aren't dealing with a vast variation of ability. And the students are engaged.
I'm in the South East.
Grammar school haters please don't derail this thread.

Agree definitely not primary!!!

🤣

@toomuchfaff of course it's not the norm to work without pay. Only student teachers on their training year do that. Other routes into teaching pay from day 1. OP you will get lots of horror stories but honestly I love it and would never do anything else. Secondary maths is a great choice as it's valued by parents and staff and even kids accept that it's important. Whenever I cover a maths lesson there's never any sort of bother, the kids know they need to get on. A lot depends on the type of school you are in but assuming you show yourself to be competent in interview lessons you'll be able to have your pick.

Teaching can be wonderful - and although I agree finding a good school to teach in does make a massive difference, it’s sad because children in tough schools deserve good teachers too.

My tips would be to go and shadow a teacher for a week to get a sense of whether or not it is for you. However this will take up a week of annual leave and not easy if you have small children at home!

With maths you have a good chance of being able to argue you deserve to start higher up the pay scale - worth considering when weighing up whether or not to switch.

Pay in teaching is rubbish. I was on 32k when I left 5 years ago. For that I was working over 50 hours a week in term time, and approx 5 hours a week in hols. I should probably have been doing more to keep skills up to date and plan more exciting lessons. I found thinking I wasn't doing my absolute best stressful. Yes holidays are great when you have kids, but you will miss all school time shows, sports days etc. Constant observations with ridiculous suggestions on how to improve lessons, meetings after school that could have been covered in 5 mins in an email, angry parents, some very negative colleagues, never ending marking. Life is so much more peaceful (and better paid) where I am now in the corporate world. Having said that, if you're not happy where you are, you could give it a go. Maths will have far less marking and is always in demand. You'd then be able to tutor too, which can pay reasonably well. If you hate it, you could always go back into the private sector.

What do you mean when you say it's the norm to work a year without pay? A friend of mine has just changed career to teaching & got a tax free bursary to train, so says she on a significantly lower salary in her first year qualified, but certainly not working for free!

I'm an ex secondary maths teacher. The only thing I miss is the kids. The thing I hated the most, after coming from a high-powered industry job, was the way I was treated by management (aka SLT). I was controlled in every way and regularly 'told off'. One day, a member of SLT came running into my classroom, where I was with 30 kids, and shouted at me for letting a pupil go to the water machine to fill up their bottle - they had just rushed from PE and were struggling with thirst. The first couple of years were horrendous - nobody in my school would share resources/lessons so I would get home at 6pm then sit up until after midnight planning lessons for the next day. Towards the end, I would get up every morning and cry in the shower. I was signed off and given antidepressants. I know now that my school was incredibly toxic but I went on to do supply for 6 months and most of the schools I went into were exactly the same. Good luck with your decision.

Thanks for claryfying, working without pay is something to consider for someone going into the career as a student teacher

This is 100% spot on.

I worked in a high stress job for the ambulance service before going into teaching - there were literally lives on the line - and I found it less stressful than teaching.

Don't do it. I taught secondary and sixth form and packed it in. Some people are born teachers but I wasn't. I think I did a great job and I put my all into it, but I had a permanent knot in my stomach. When you leave work you can't forget it because you are always having to plan the next lesson and look forward. I felt like I was on an endless treadmill of lesson planning. They change things every year so it's hard to even re-use things.

There are nice children, but the ones you remember are the horrible ones that make your life a misery. 12 years after leaving I can't remember any of the nice children but the horrible ones are burnt into my brain.
You are under constant pressure to perform and produce results. I found practices I didn't agree with like spoon feeding of coursework.
I have utmost respect for teachers. Please be very, very sure it is for you before leaving a good job. I left a good job in the IT industry for a pay cut, and I have lost all my earning potential now.
The only good thing about it was my children were small and I had the summer with them, but even that was spoiled as the stomach knot returns as September approaches.
I ended up with stress, packed it in and felt like a massive burden had been taken off my back when I made the decision.
Maybe you would be a born teacher, I don't know. I know people who love it but I also know many people who have left it behind. Just don't go into it thinking life will be easier - because it certainly won't. It is hard work. If you enjoy stress/work free weekends and evenings, teaching isn't the best option.

Don't do it.
Schools have become circuses.
The students don't have to do any work anymore. The teachers have to do everything.
The whole system has been turned upside down.
There is widespread contempt among students and parents for teachers and a free education.
You will be facing a high degree of physical and mental abuse.
It is the last job.
It is not suitable for anyone who wants to have a life outside school, to have any free time, or spend time with friends and family.
Expect to put in 70+ hour weeks minimum.
Schools are their own universe.
You'd be better off sweeping the streets than teaching.

It's stressful because it is non stop from 8:00am - 16:00, you have to be 'on' and performing the whole time. There is no guarantee you'll even have time to go to the loo or even sit down for something to eat. A genuine issue for many older female teachers going through the menopause if they experience flooding or if you have any issues requiring regular toilet access such as Crohn's or IBS or just heavy periods.

You pick up bugs continuously and often it's easier to drag yourself in rather than ring in at 6:30 and set cover for your lessons.

Emotionally it is draining, physically it's draining and mentally it's draining.

You have to deal with 150 teens a day, many of them will be lovely, but equally many if them will not be. I was sexually harassed verbally via several different students and even verbally threatened with being raped. Sworn at, shouted at and punched trying to stop a smaller student get absolutely pummeled. Admittedly my school was rough but it is not that unusual.

The idea of making a difference and making your students love your subject simply won't happen with the current curriculum, it's too fast paced, depending on the school ofcourse often students abilities are too varied, you are more likely to be teaching classes of students who can't do their times tables or even quite simple maths who see no point in learning whatever you are trying to teach them as "I'm going to be a youtuber/work with me dad" rather then teaching a Higher set of Further Maths students who really like the subject.

If you want to work with children interested in the subject see what outreach positions somewhere like the Royal Institute have to offer.

The holidays are great but realistically 1/2 of Sunday will be spent working, Saturdays will be spent gaining some sort of order over your house, you'll probably be run down Mon- Wed as your body relaxed. You'll only ever be able to go away during the expensive school holidays even where your children are grown.

I WFH now for another Public Sector, work life balance is better, 26 days holidays + bank holidays + up to 18 fully Flexi (toil) days. I struggle a bit with the isolation and how sedentary I am but my MH has improved massively and I didn't even realise it wasn't great. Im more patient with my own DC and my parents have even said my tone of voice is softer and nicer as I'm not in 'teacher' mode.

I love being a teacher now, but am very lucky to have found a school where behaviour is good. Bad behaviour is soul destroying.

The hours are long. I work 4 days a week but end up planning and marking on my 'day off'. The holidays are good but otherwise it is not family friendly at all. There's no flexibility for time off, and at my school we are not allowed time to go to our children's performances etc. There are a lot of late nights. In January now I will have one long working day (i.e. expected to be on site engaging with parents or training) per week (8-7:30; 8-6:30; 8-7:30; 8-5:10) which is tough on top of normal teaching.

The pay for part time is ok but I couldn't afford to live anywhere near my school if our life wasn't heavily subsidised by my husband's better wage. I am at the top of the teaching pay scale.

At primary level it is definitely the parents!

There are lots of things I like about the job - I’ve been in it for over 20 years across secondary and primary. I work in a leadership role now but I’ve done some interesting education roles within my time. The days are varied and fast paced, and that’s something I enjoy. But I’d say the pace is not sustainable really and I am probably at burn out at the end of every term. However it is a job which is rewarding in many ways and I don’t regret being a teacher. I laugh every day and try and find the moments that remind me why I do it every day. I’d recommend getting some experience in schools if you haven’t already to see how you find it.

Lots of jobs are challenging, but I would sum the challenges up in education at the moment as -

increasing pupil needs and decreasing support- this is a huge issue and many staff feel like they are firefighting and not able to meet the needs of our children as there aren’t enough boots on the ground.

behaviour- we are seeing increased violence on a regular basis in schools across the board. Again, this links to lack of resources and support for children. Families are under huge pressures and often have to fight for the appropriate support for their children etc. I find it a bit like a moral injury- I know that some children require x or y, but there isn’t the staffing, funding or resources to provide it. This is something I find hugely difficult personally and I am retraining to leave, ( for a number of reasons so don’t be put off by me saying that) but this disservice to our children is one aspect that has become unmanageable and I can’t see improving with the budget pressures schools are under.

bureaucracy -in some settings anyway. planning, prep, marking and exams takes a huge amount of time and that is outwith your face to face contact with the children, parent meetings, school meetings, assessment, tracking etc.

lack of autonomy in some settings

work/life balance, especially when you start out, but if you have a supportive school that makes a difference

Lack of flexibility - the holidays are great, but time out to go to appointments, funerals, weddings, your own children’s events etc are less doable in many settings.

being generally disliked and disrespected by society - you need very thick skin at times but I try not to read anything online and stick to focusing on what I can do in my school for my children and families and drown the noise out. 🤣

I don't think its a good sign that you say 'i think id be great up to GCSE'. This suggests you don't feel confident about teaching A-level maths and if you don't feel confident to teach A-level maths are you going to be capable of stretching/challenging the top set at 16?

Our children deserve proper subject specialists teaching them not just people who think they'd be 'great up to GCSE' and I wish government would be clearer about this, there are so many weak and poorly qualified maths and science teachers around now.