To retrain as a teacher at (just turned) 50?

[MyPearlCrow]

Just that really. I was a solicitor/partner in a law firm for my first career but burned out /got bored and cynical, so gave it up. luckily we can afford for me not to work which I realise is such a privilege.

I volunteer in a primary school now several days a week and essentially do an unpaid TA role. Here, TAs here are essentially teachers without all the planning/prep/responsibility, as in they actively teach the curriculum to small groups of children. They are highly skilled.

I have considered being a TA. I have been offered a paid role at my current school. But I’m still considering my options and it’s desperately badly paid. And all the TAs here are technically over qualified (all degree educated, or ex teachers, but don’t want the ridiculous workload of a teacher; entry requirement for TA role in England is just passes in gcse English maths and science) but they are paid peanuts. But it’s such a rewarding role and I love it. I think I could really add value.

Complete honesty here: I also realise that I’m used to running the show, in my old job. I suspect that in time I would want to make my own decisions on how to deal with my class, rather than carry out someone else’s instructions. I can already see ways I would want change up the teaching/approach for some children who are struggling. I am acutely aware that teachers just don’t have time to individualise the curriculum for 30 kids though, so I’m aware I might be looking at this from the 6-8 kids I currently take responsibility for in lessons and the ability to do this with a whole class might be much more limited.

i really love being with kids, I value education, I’m a good ‘teacher’ - as in I love to explain things simply and differently to children (or in my old role, to adults too).

Teachers - am I mad? I know too well how hard the job is these days. The primary curriculum here is crazy complicated. The breadth of ability and need is jaw dropping. But I truly believe in state education being a passport to a better life and would love to be part of that.

or do I just take the TA role, qualify up as much as I can in TA courses and accept I’ll be minimum wage forever but trying to make a difference?

important point: I have kids, so want to work part time. And train part time too. I know there are options for this but it will be competitive (I have top grades academically which I think might help). If I do a part time pgce, could I do my first year as a newly qualified teacher part time or is that not an option?

I don’t underestimate what a massive, difficult, demanding and at times (currently) desperately frustrating role teaching is. Am I too old for such a huge challenge? I’d love some wisdom from teachers and ex teachers please.

Why don't you set up as a tutor for those with no additional income? You already do it as a volunteer so just do that.

Develop a strategy to get struggling kids to x, y and z level, and ways of teaching that will suit those who you want to teach and then offer that. I'm sure there will be parents who don't have the money to buy a tutor who will bite your hand off.

Please could I dissect why? From the outside, it’s difficult to see all the reasons, and I really want to know the details.

I'd do it. I retrained as a secondary school teacher when I was 48. I'd previously been a solicitor but when the kids were at primary school I worked as a volunteer and midday assistant and then retrained. The PGCE was very full on but I learnt so much and it's definitely worth doing. I then did my NQT year at 0.5 and it was fine. I was supposed to do it for two years to qualify but at the end of my first year somebody from the LA came to observe my teaching and signed me off. I don't quite understand what happened but effectively I completed my NQT in one year even though I was only 0.5.
I taught French at secondary and I then worked part time for several years in a lovely school. We then moved and I did supply teaching just after covid and that finished me off. Generally the kids are great but the system is shit. Having to tell pupils that they can't go to the toiket; constant bollockings about length of skirt/ blazers not being on etc - I hated it. It also feels like crowd management at times in secondary. Anyway - I'm back doing law now. But that's just because something came up that fitted in with my current situation. I'm still glad I retrained and I wouldn't rule out going back to teaching. In your situation I would definitely do it. You have nothing to lose. Also do your research on where you do your pgce. I did mine at Keele University - and the course was amazing. We all got so much support. The teaching was excellent. When I did my NQT I was with other trainees and their courses sounded very poor in comparison. So research your local options.

Working part-time as a teacher tends to end up working almost full-time but for part-time wages. I retrained as a teacher when I was 45 and worked full time for 10 years before the stress got too much. Going part-time didn't help at all so I left.

Are your children still quite young? If so, I wouldn't, you'll never see them.

Because I have a need to contribute still and feel i have a lot left to give?

idealistic I know but perhaps I am.

Having worked in a school - albeit secondary - I wonder if you are imagining a level of autonomy in the job which you just won't get? Expectations etc are set for you, curricula are dictated to you, often teaching methods are also dictated. You might not have the level of overall control that you would like.

This is really interesting, thank you. Amazing you’ve found something that works for you back in law too.

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Why not go for it and try? It seems like you have a good sense of what the job entails having volunteered at a school for years. It’s a very difficult job, and you might burn out after a decade, but it’s not like you’re looking to embark on a 40 year career given your age. Since you don’t need the income, if you find it too overwhelming you can always stop. I don’t see a lot of downside to trying.

This is my biggest regret, and it can never be put right now my DC is an adult. Being asked by my DC why I never went to school plays or Harvest Festival, having to miss Parents’ Evening at my DC’s school because it clashed with Awards Evening at my own school. Sundays spent indoors marking and planning. “I wish we had funner times” still haunts me.

They are secondary school so quite independent. But I love being around and present for them now, it’s such a blessing, and I wouldn’t want to compromise that at the altar of helping other children. My own remain my priority.

@MyPearlCrow you don't have to commit to the hell of teaching in order to give something back, though.

I'm 45, did 18 years teaching before moving across to being the head caretaker (I've been rebranded "Estates Manager" but I prefer the old title) at the large comp where I used to teach.

I earn more than the majority of the teachers and don't get any of the old stresses - when I lock the gate at 6.00, I'm done.

Wouldn't go back for all the gold in Fort Knox - it's easy to be an idealist OP, but it just doesn't work.

Another ex teacher here. Despite what most are saying, if your heart is set on it, then do it OP. An old seasoned cynic here saying you'll find out the hard way what we're talking about.

Don’t forget that as well as passing the PGCE there are now two Early Career Teacher years to pass, no matter what the age of the newly qualified teacher. More hoops to jump through, more micromanagement and so often by 28 year olds who have taught for a few years before becoming senior leaders.

To be honest, you won't have the luxury of spending quality time with them if you move into teaching, except in the holidays. Have you thought about training to be a HLTA? More class management but much less stress/workload.

I think that varies.

Im a distance ex teacher and I experienced good and bad - the latter was quite awful for me. There were -10 new starters that year and only 3 stayed. Even the young NQTs left.
This really impacted me. It took a while to recover. A lot of staff are entrenched- I’m very fortunate to have had support to leave and retrain.

I have a lot of respect for teachers who keep going against all odds as it’s bloody hard.

There are some schools that are much better to be in than others. So if you do it please research the school and be discerning when applying for roles.

I'm a qualified primary teacher who did a PGCE aged 32 with a baby and a toddler. I did 16 years of class teaching, later combined with leadership/SENCo, before reaching the stage where I was a senior leader without class responsibility. I think SENCo would be a great role for you with your background and interests, rather than class teacher. First you'd need to do your PGCE then do the NPQSENCO, but you can do that while already in post.

Sorry, but if you tell the school you’re working for that you need to attend your teenagers’ Options Evening and it clashes with an Open Evening/Parents’ Evening where you’re employed, you’ll be told this is what you signed up for and it’s a “non-negotiable.”

I’m so sorry you feel like this. I get it.

can I ask a bit more please? Re planning: at the moment, all my year group’s classes are pre-planned and meticulously recorded in online files. Each week they are printed off and followed by all 3 teachers in that year group at the same time following identical timetables, to the minute. They share other stuff too, so one will do all the art lessons, one will do Spanish with all 3 classes, et . they share their skills and, in my mind, therefore share some of that behind the scenes work. I realise that level of cooperation might not happen elsewhere or in smaller schools.

To be clear, I am not for one minute minimising the workload because I completely apac a see and acknowledge it, but if the lessons are all done/planned for the year, as here, and leaving aside the time to set this up at first (which must be massive), genuine question: what else needs to be ‘planned’, year on year, if that makes sense? This is the sort of detail I’m so interested in, what goes on behind the scenes that ONLY a teacher would know and is utterly hidden to everyone else? It’s those things that will potentially come back to bite me more than the more ‘visible to the layperson’ stuff like dreadful behaviour, crazy curriculum/ expectations.

It sounds like being a TA is working for you but you wish you had a bit more agency. If I were you, I'd discuss that with the teacher. He or she may be able to give you more autonomy as long as you keep the same records they would and as long as they 'supervise' (know what you're doing and that it meets the required standard).

Ex law here, retrained as a primary school teacher, loved it. Went into a leadership role, which I loved and felt ready for. Then had three children and after a few years, felt my job was incompatible with our family life. I left for 5 years and felt unsure of whether I wanted to ever go back. A very part time job came up, and now, a year later, I'm teaching almost full time.

I love the job. It's exhausting, it's not brilliantly paid, I work most evenings, planning and prepping (this is not my school's expectation but I need to do it in order to give them the best lessons I can).

I don't have any regrets, it is hard and I think the leadership of any school is key. In your situation, I would go for it.

If you have 30 children in the class and teach 4 lessons a day, that’s 120 books to mark before you leave work, or in the evenings. Every day. That’s one consideration.

The replies here are very negative, I say go for it! What have you got to lose, you retrain, it doesn't work out and you leave. You would be in the same position as you are now but you will have tried. I think your reasons are valid. I have the same background as you and I would do it in a heartbeat if money permitted.