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.

@MyPearlCrow but you can use those skills and interests in so many other areas.

It reads as though you're looking for validation rather than actual experience as you've argued back against every single negative and latched on to all the positives.

You don't need to work so why not continue with your volunteering role which you seem happy to do?

OP, you say of classroom assistants - “all degree educated, or ex teachers, but don’t want the ridiculous workload of a teacher”. The fact that they have left teaching should tell you something. I did TT (primary) as an older person, and although I loved the university bit of it, I found being un school immensely stressful, not least because it was quite clear to me that they had been expecting a bright young student, not someone rather older. You say you are not afraid to put your head above the parapet and have your own ideas - certainly at the schools I was in, this would have gone down like a lead balloon. Even asking why things were done a certain way was seen as an implicit attack on the teaching, when all I had wanted was information. If you feel that you can hack it, then by all means go for it - but it can be exhausting, stressful and thankless. The kids are always a joy, but it very much depends on which school you are in and which teachers you are put with.

My twopennyworth is that you’re 50 now so like it or not your body will be ageing. 60 may well be the new 40 but for a lot of people life isn’t quite so kind and ageing creeps up on them without them realising until it’s too late.
Can you really see yourself at 60+ being responsible for a class of 30 lively children, some, with very challenging behaviours, along with everything else that comes with role - not forgetting all the curriculum/management changes that will be foisted on you that you’ll be powerless to do anything about and the fact that as you want to work part time you’ll have to share your job with another person who may not work the same way as you.
Teachers are leaving the profession in droves, There has to be a reason why this is case.They can’t all be wrong.
If you love what you are doing now I’d be accepting the paid role offered and saving my self all the stress that comes with a fully fledged teaching role. You obviously like the school you’re in and may not be so lucky if you decide to retrain. You will already be helping hugely the pupils assigned to you and I’m not convinced that by putting yourself through a PGCE and becoming a qualified teacher you’ll be helping any more children than you are helping now.

And you are responsible for everything, even the things you can't change.
Loved teaching, love children, was very successful but left after 30 years ground down and seriously suicidal. Its taken 10 years to recover and it doesn't look like its improved.

Do you think having a strong, mature voice from the inside would help stave off some of those expectations or is that cloud cuckoo land?
OK, this is exactly what I thought and sorry, it is cloud cuckoo land! Each school is a little kingdom where the Head and SLT rule. An NQT is at the bottom of the pecking order and your ideas and opinions count for nothing. It takes years for you to begin to build up that authority again.

My past experience opened lots of doors later in my teaching career because i had strategic skills which many teachers wouldn't have. I ended up with a wonderful role and was very respected in my MAT. But it took a long time for that to unfold. The first few years were pretty miserable, feeling I was failing and had made a terrible mistake. I'm glad I hung on in there, but most of the mature entrants I trained with quit in the first couple of years.

At mid 30s it exhausts me.

I've been teaching 6 years; I love it. It's not easy but is any public sector job these days? Find the right school and the hours you work will fly by in the best way. If you're able to work part time, even better as that'll give you the stamina.

Really helpful, thank you. I can see how challenging that would be but would not have been able to ‘see’ it, having not done the job myself.

Find the right school

That's key, but massively easier said than done. In hindsight my school was a good place for me to work. The HT was quite hands off, and she trusted me to deliver what was right for my children (I worked in special ed, so each class could be massively different from the one before, and the dynamics could change overnight). But after I retired, she left, and now it's apparently a hellish place to work.

My daughter went into the same kind if teaching, partly based on what she saw me doing. She's worked in two schools for three heads and is close to a breakdown because of the pressure and constant micromanaging.

I know of very few schools where teachers are not feeling a ridiculous level of pressure

I'd like to add to my comment upthread, that I do feel these responses are very negative. Of course I understand why - I was a teacher who left after burning out. I've been at the chalk face and suffered the worst treatment from bullying senior leaders, and seen the first behaviour including knives in my inner city job, and endless curriculum and assessment changes and demands. So I totally get why the ex-teachers are so cynical.

However I don't believe we should actively put others off entering the profession. Our children desperately need people like OP, with passion, enthusiasm but also life experience, professional world experience and maturity.

I'm still on the frontline, working with children to try to make the world a better place, just not in teaching. I haven't given up hope and I hope the OP doesn't either.

Yes teaching is bloody hard, and the system is full of faults, but some people in life are cut out for rolling up their sleeves and making a difference. Don't do it if you want an easy life, a cushdy 9-5 though. But if you're passionate and realistic then please go for it and be a force for good in this sector.

Not at all, reading and digesting whilst multi-tasking. I’ve asked for more information on stated negatives so difficult to see how I’m only looking at the positives?

It's the same with any profession though - if you have toxic people leading the helm, it will be unpleasant. That's not exclusive of teaching and good leaders are able to somewhat shield teachers from the nonsense sent our way by the government. Weed out the toxic schools with the right questions at interview. It's no less a risk than taking any other job but the reward can be brilliant.

To add, I've taught in inner London schools and rural village schools. Very different demographics and challenges, but the thing that has been the same between them is great leadership. That makes all challenge manageable.

My cousins both taught for many years .Husband took early retirement due to stress! I would think carefully ,My friends husband also taught ,and was head of year.He got given early retirement against his will and was replaced by younger and less experienced staff I think successive govts seem to target Education and use it as a political football.From Tony Blair "Education Education Education" Micheal Gove promises ,Reading and number skills in UK lag behind our counterparts .

@MyPearlCrow

I could have written this, about 5yrs ago. Similar age, academic level & career etc.

Over 10yrs ago, I took a career break to have kids, started volunteering in the local Primary, did my level 3 TA qualification part-time (self-funded), was given a paid TA job there, as soon as one became available & have been there ever since! I've done every course going & regularly teach an entire class of 30 Upper Key Stage 2 kids, as well as smaller intervention groups. I am horrifically underpaid for what I do, as are the vast majority of my TA colleagues - up & down the entire country.

Having toyed with the idea for a while, I got to a point around 5yrs ago where I seriously thought about doing a PGCE - I'd reached a 'now or never' moment.

However, I'm SO glad I didn't.

The UK education system is SO broken. There's literally no funding for anything, every school is woefully under-resourced, vast numbers of specialist provision schools have been shut down, meaning that there are hundreds of kids whose needs are not being met; through no fault of the incredibly hard working teaching staff. The utterly awful (& often aggressive) behaviour of increasingly large numbers of children & the abuse from their parents is at an all-time high, workloads are insane, support is non-existent, expectations from every angle are ridiculous & don't even get me started on the bunch of cockwombles who are supposedly 'in charge' of it all & have no fucking clue what we're up against on a daily basis.

SO many of my wonderful teacher friends are mentally, emotionally & physically exhausted...& leaving in droves. It's SO sad.

My children are now teens & I'm currently investigating alternative career options myself. It genuinely breaks my heart but I can't see it getting any better, any time soon.

Thank you for all the comments. I am reading them all. It really is mixed bag of experience/views which is so helpful.

leadership - lots of reference to toxic/poor leadership. In my kids’ schools and this role I have only seen supportive leadership. What does poor leadership look like in education? I’m guessing SLT are similarly handcuffed by crazy government demands?

Gosh, so helpful and yet desperately sad.

can i ask what you were thinking of doing instead? Are you fed up with the TA role being underpaid/underappreciated?

suggestion about taking on an SEN role upthread, thank you for that- can you go straight into that kind of job from a PGCE? Wouldn’t you need years of teacher experience?

I started out as very junior solicitor, quit and became a teacher in my 20s. Absolutely love my job, have been part time, full time and done a stint in SLT. I'm primary, worked across all stages. It's far less pressure than law I find, and the bonus of a holiday never being far round the corner is a joy. Behaviour management is grim and something you need to get on top of asap but if you see it as relationships based career rather than solely teaching then you know what you're getting into. Feel free to pm. I'm in Scotland which may make a difference. Ignore my username, that was related to a buyers remorse worry a while back and keep forgetting to change!

@MyPearlCrow I don't know, it just reads to me as though you feel your experience will be different because of your age and previous career - it's almost like you don't believe people.

Not sure where you’re getting that from. Completely off the mark.

Thank you for your helpful response. Can I ask about Scottish system in general, is it as ‘broken’ as England in terms of underfunding/over-demanding nature?

@MyPearlCrow just how it comes across 🤷‍♀️

Not a chance. Lots of people are desperate to get out.

Yeah, definitely woefully underfunded in terms of resources and way less adults than when I first started so less support. Class sizes can be pretty big particulalry up the school. Behaviour can be really poor and takes a lot to manage, also balancing children having phones/social media and that impact especially up the school. I get the impression we're under less pressure than English colleagues though and far less prescriptive curriculum which helps I think.