calling secondary teachers! what's it really like?

[dingdong05]

I'm thinking of training as either and english or drama teacher (my degree is joint) obviously there should be more jobs as an english teacher, but i do love drama...

anyhoo, i'd really like the real deal, from the coal face as it were- what's it like being a teacher? dish the dirt- are you happy with your work or not so much? did you expect something different? how much time do you spend in admin and preparation?

and importantly, how do you work tbe long hours around your family?

tia- and please be as honest as you can be!

Thanks everybody! I really appreciate your time replying here.
I think I'd enjoy working with teenagers... I've done drama with that age group for years and have been doing voluntary sessional work with school refered 14 year olds for the last year... but it has always been in more informal settings. And always through drama, drama, drama!

Another question, is if I do train as an English teacher, what are the possibilities of moving into Drama further down the road? Is there some kind of prof development scheme, or would I have to do another PGDE? Obviously I couldn't retrain as a Maths teacher (I'd be doing the students a serious disservice ), but my degree is in Drama and English... I'm not looking for a way out of the subject already, just fact finding!

As I understand it, if you train as a teacher, you're qualified to be a teacher. You can do any subject or age group (except early years I think and it may be different in Scotland). You're learning the skills to teach; any additional subject knowledge can be revised and added on, as it would have to be anyway if you stayed doing one subject. My two drama teaching colleagues never have enough drama to fill their timetable; they both teach citizenship and English as well.

If you're the sort of English teacher who isn't afraid to do drama in their classroom and as an integral part of their practice, you'll have the edge over a lot of your colleagues, believe me. I have colleagues who would never dream of making a mess of their room so that kids can get up on their feet

I am in my third year of English teaching. It's bloody hard work (see previous comments about pressure to get the C grades) but you work your guts out in your NQT year and build up a bank of resources which you can then recycle and adapt.

Having said that there's lots of pressure, there's also nothing like knowing that you're necessary. I love the fact that I am teaching my students some of the most important skills that they will ever need.

Dunno if anyone's suggested this yet but if I were you, I'd spend some time in a couple of schools working with the staff so you get a real feel for the highs and lows. Try to find a challenging school to see what it's really like so that your PGCE isn't too much of a shock!

You wouldn't need to re-train to jump from English to Drama. I trained in both, but the other Drama teacher in my dept at my last school had actually trained as a History teacher. It's more to do with interests and what you're willing to do in most schools - lots seem to fill up gaps with things people are willing to have a go at - I've been asked in EVERY interview what else I could teach if I was needed to which I haven't always been happy with!