becoming a teacher - your views please

[TheWheelsOnTheBusHaveFallenOff]

hoping there are some teachers out there who can help - or who can direct me to other sources of info please!

I am thinking about retraining to become a teacher (secondary level). I have literally just starting thinking about it so have done NO research, and am about to scuttle off to further reaches of the internet but wanted to ask here first for advice on

a) is this a good idea? I love the principle, I think I'd be good at it - but am scared by thoughts of tough inner-city sink schoolkids gobbling up the likes of me for breakfast

b) is it possible to train whilst being a lone parent to an under-2 ds and working p/t in a completely unrelated job too? and how long might it take me to train?

Really grateful for your experience. I will be back later to check in as I'm off to get on with the research right now.

Thank you.

It depends why you want to be a teacher really. i am a teacher of 14 years standing (secondary music and German)...whats made you want to go into it?

I teach and I love it, I cannot imagine doing another job that would give me such joy.

I don;t know about training part time, not sure if it is possible. Training while being a lone parent two 2 kids will be tough. I find it hard to cope with one child and a partner but I do have the holidays.

love the name

go for it if you want to. Lewis is gonna be your expert here, i think - she is doing similar...

It also depends on where you train and ultimately end up teaching - i imagine teaching in some nice rural comp is better than the inner city London comp that i trained in (Jamie Oliver appeared to like it though!) - however it gave me a good grounding and made me realise what the job entailed in terms of social work and policing situations

well said asd

I trained as a teacher when I was 39, at the time I was not a lone parent, but my dh was in the RAF at the time and spent vast amounts of time away. My ds was 3, and dd was 6.

How long it will take to train depends on what qualification you already have.

All teachers will have either a subject degree, and a PGCE (or GTP or equivalent) or a degree in teaching.

the first degree will take you 3 years, and the PGCE another year on top. A B Ed will usually take 4 years. Most secondary teachers have the sunject degree /PGCE thing.

It can be done! It is bloody hard work at any time, more so if you have kids yourself, but you should#t be put off. I love it. It is the best job that I have ever had.

Most kids are wonderful. Some days I find it hard to belive that I get paid for doing something that is so much fun! Some days it can be crapola....but that is life, no?

and I trained part time with the OU. I took 2 years over my PGCE instead of 1

I teach primary, so no advice on secondary, but I love it...best job in the world. However, it's going to be v.v. tough training with a lo and a job so be sure it's what you really want.

My advice would be to get some time in a school as a volunteer before you even think about it, and talk to as many teachers as possible. The job might be very different from how you perceive it.

Good luck!

I am thinking the same thing and haven't got much further than you TWOTBHFO.

Do you know what subject you want to teach as not all of them are core subjects or whatever you call them.

I would like to teach psychology to 14-19 yr olds for example but there are very few courses available for this but it is much easier to find a course for english and maths.

You can train with the OU so I don't know if that would allow you to train and teach doing another job. Might be worth a look.

Although nothing to do with original post -
I wonder how many London city workers will turn to teaching now? Lets give it a go... after all guffaw guffaw it can't be that hard...think of July and August (haw haw!)....the fact that our yearly wages are the same as some of their monthly bonuses...grrrrrr

Oh cross post with MB - you can do it part time!

IME Niece Psychology is a growth subject in secondary sixth forms and at GCSE too....

With the OU you do all the book work and 'lectures' in your own time, so I did all that side of thing at night when the kids had gone to bed....no lectures to get to, which was a big advantage.

You have to do the teaching practice units as 'blocks' ie full time, but they are a little more flexible that most Teacher training colleges.

You get the training grants as for the normal training courses, but on a pro rata basis.....so I got the £6000 grant, but over 2 years. I was aslo offered as job by both my placement schools, as were most of my fellow students

I did my teacher training when I had two young DCs - One two and 3/4 and the other a couple of months short of his first birthday.

I didn't have too many problems with the training as I had just stopped working full time in industry.

The PGCE run from September to July, so less than a year. It was pretty much school hours, and I didn't find that I needed to do a lot in the evenings.

thanks all for speedy replies ...

I have a degree, in politics - so possibly not a core subject but I would love to teach it if possible.

I would like to go into teaching because I passionately believe in the different that education can make to a life, to the doors it can open, to the way it can help you to think, to feel, to reason.

I have spent a long time workign in offices writing "important" documents for "important" people and have always loved it ... but recent life changes make me want to do something more hands-on. Not particularly about making a difference or putting something back or those sorts of epiphanies that can happen after a big life event, but just thinking it is time for a change, time to do something more vibrant and interesting and more directly rewarding both for me and for the people I would be working with.

So I guess I need to think about a PGCE and doing it part-time, or I need to think about ditching my current part time work and throwing myself into full time training and on the job experience.

And yes I live in London - and what I don't want to happen is getting thrown into a very unrepresentative touch school for training purposes and finding it all too difficult and horrible when I have a rosy vision of keen and eager young sponges wanting to soak up some learning!

or a tough school even. I am hot on spelling and grammar too!

Wow squeaky! Not a lot to do in the evenings!!! I have been a mentor for PGCE students for the last 5 years and they all moan that they have more work on the PGCE than they ever had on their degrees...although i loved my PGCE work and hated my degree work and found my degree much harder going mentally but the PGCE much harder going physically and emotionally

What about doing some work experience? Talk to local schools and see what's possible [probably need a CRB check]

I've been teaching 4 years and I love it. Never boring, always exciting [I still get excited/nervous before a lesson] you can really make the job you're own and be part of a big team. Fits in well with childcare, very flexible: I currently have permenant job 3 days a week and do pirvate tutoring and supply ad hoc. Pay is good, holidays good {though the 13 weeks is for the kids not for us hard working planning teachers!], and not really effected by bastard credit crunch.

Can be mega hard work but even feeling that one kid has got somthing out of your work makes it worth it.

Best of luck to you. Let us know how you go on!

If you live in London research the Institute of Education or Goldsmiths' College - both vg teacher training institutions

My current school teaches "Government and Politics" at A level and its popular and as a deputy head said to me once you are qualified you can teach everything (ha ha!!)

Maybe your students didn't come out of industry, asdmum

My best mate went to Goldsmiths and she is a shit hot teacher.

No they didn't..but everyones experience of industry is different i would say. My sister and brother in law do long days and have very high powered jobs in industrybut don't bring work home with them - sure they stay at the office till 7 or 8 but me and hubby (both teachers) regularly work until 12 or 1 in morning...i don't think you can say one is harder than the other as they are so different

Yay! MB i went there! I loved it!!