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Original poster

Secondary Teachers - do any of you actually enjoy your job??

29 replies

allgonebellyup · 27/06/2008 14:08

Please tell me you do!

i am struggling to convince people that i really want to go into teaching (English). They all say i will hate it and will leave within the first year.. (including my mum, who IS a teacher).

I know there is loads of planning and marking, and terrible behaviour to deal with, but is it a worthwhile career?

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chocolateshoes · 27/06/2008 14:15

Yes! I love my job and always have. Am in 12th year of teaching now. Have worked in 2 comps. It is fulfilling, so varied, & I love the creative side of it. Yes it is tiring, and very hard work, but I wouldn't change. I do think though that it must be horrendous to teach & be unhappy. It is not the sort of job where you can go in and put a brave face on things iykwim. Maybe your Mum just wants you to be absolutely sure. Have you been in to any schgools to observe and get a feel for things?

chocolateshoes · 27/06/2008 14:15

Yes! I love my job and always have. Am in 12th year of teaching now. Have worked in 2 comps. It is fulfilling, so varied, & I love the creative side of it. Yes it is tiring, and very hard work, but I wouldn't change. I do think though that it must be horrendous to teach & be unhappy. It is not the sort of job where you can go in and put a brave face on things iykwim. Maybe your Mum just wants you to be absolutely sure. Have you been in to any schgools to observe and get a feel for things?

chocolateshoes · 27/06/2008 14:16

Ther I love it so much I've posted twice!

Original poster
allgonebellyup · 27/06/2008 14:21

no observation just yet but am sorting it soon!

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kkdmom · 27/06/2008 14:28

not much time to post but one reason i love teaching secondary is that i have to think on my feet a lot. i like the challenge of it.

i also enjoy building a rapport with the lads (teach in all boys) and they have learnt to take the mick and vice versa without it getting out of hand. I have learnt to be lighthearted with very able and mature top sets as well as with less able and immature sets so it is all part of helping the days pass by.

the down side is the marking, planning and recording of data.

Umlellala · 27/06/2008 14:31

Dh and I both love teaching (10 and 5 years). Although I do love being SAHM more, I will almost certainly do some sort of teaching again. Dh is enjoying the perks of his current job... good salary (leadership scale in outer London), reasonable work/life balance (this is a new one on us - last school where we met was INSANE), home before 6pm every day - if not a lot earlier, 13 weeks hols, and lots of fun and buzzing during the day .

It is very intense of course, especially at teh beginning and like all jobs, depends where you work. Not usually because of the kids but the management (dh and I met in a challenging comp in Tottenham and I most recently taught in a PRU for excluded teenagers in Hackney - but was much easier because the management was better...)

But yes, you can enjoy it! Def sort some observations of various schools... Good luck

kritur · 27/06/2008 17:22

I love my job. The lows can be very low indeed but the highs are fantastic. I've been teaching 3 years in a mid table comp. Last night was the Y11 prom and after an interesting 2 years with an all boys C/D borderline group it was great to see them in their best suits looking like men. Several of them made me cry by giving me hugs and saying thanks for everything. It's moments like that that make all the rubbish worthwhile. I'm also sending my first student to university to study my subject (chemistry) which makes me equally proud. I have been bogged down by coursework, marking, school politics etc but you always come out the other side and overall it's the good times you remember.

Lucycat · 27/06/2008 17:28

Yes I love my job too! Infact I did 7 years, had 6 years off with the dds and have gone back again so it can't be that bad!

Maybe your mum is concerned as she will have seen a lot of changes in teaching in the last few years and tbh it is the 'more experienced' teachers who seem to have found it the most difficult to adapt to the changes - the constant moving of the goalposts etc.
It is knackering - I'm on my 3rd cup of tea to get me through bat and beditme but there really is nothing like it. I've been teaching about counterfeit good s and Fair Trade in the fashion industry today (separate lessons ) and the kids are just so motivated and keen to learn it was a joy!

Get into school and observe is the best advice from chocolateshoes.

Blandmum · 27/06/2008 17:30

I love mine.

Rather like parenthood it can be the best job in the world, and then 5 minutes later it can be the worst. Not for the fainthearted and you have to like teenagers (seems obvious but some teacher I know dont! )

marmalady · 27/06/2008 17:37

Yes I love it and have done for a few years now. No day is ever completely the same and they all have their highs and lows. the students can say the funniest or nicest things and can surprise you when you're not expecting it (in a good way!)

It can be tough though and tiring.Increasingly paperwork is taking on a life of it's own- but where else can i get kids excited about bending wire/papier mache/paper sculpture?!

youknownothingofthecrunch · 27/06/2008 17:44

Hi AGBU. As you know, I'm about to start my PGCE in Sept (doing English too). I work in a school so have spent a lot of time quizzing teachers lately

Those who are not so happy seem to be the ones teaching more marginal subjects, as this leads to them spending half their time teaching in subjects they have no love for (IYSWIM)

If you love the subject, like teenagers and find their company stimulating, and have a fully functioning sense of humour then you will be fine.

Although, obviously, I haven't even started yet so this is all hearsay. MartianBishop put it best; just like being a parent.

ChocolateEclair · 27/06/2008 18:10

Hello Allgonebellyup! I am in my 8th year of teaching, and I definitely still enjoy it . I am trained to teach Science, mainly Biology, but have also been teaching ICT for the last 4 years. I work in a middle school 11-14 age range. I am also in charge of students teachers on PGCE's and GDP's so I have a lot of experience of people in your position! I think at last count I had 17 student teachers passed, and only one dropout (after teaching 3 lessons!!!!)

The best things about the job are the variety of each day - you NEVER know what is going to happen, being you own boss (well in your classroom at least!), when kids 'get it' because of you, and having a laugh with the kids when you have built up a rapport. At times it can be very like being a parent as well!

The worst things are marking and reports, but you find ways to get quicker fast!

In my school there are a few teachers who can be quite negative, and the older staff who are closer to retiring, can sometimes be reluctant to adapt to change.

If you like your subject, kids in general, and have a sense of humour you will be fine! I would suggest a bit of work experience/observation also. Good Luck!!!

lucyellensmum · 27/06/2008 18:11

I have decided that teaching is for me too - soon the whole of mumsnet will be doing it .

I have managed to do an afternoon "teaching" at a primary school, ages 7-11 and i loved it. The children were so enthusiastic and asked lots of silly questions and their answers were diamonds . It has really thrown a curve ball at me as to whether i would want to teach secondary or not, but ive had no experience teaching in a secondary school yet - i have however had experience of a teenager, my own - im not sure i could manage a whole room full.

agbu - you seem to be vascilating, thats fine, but you have been through a rough time - do you have your first degree? If not, keep your mind open, study for a subject that is taught on the curriculum and keep your options open - the world is your oyster.

lilolilmanchester · 27/06/2008 18:27

Thanks for this thread allgone... I went to uni intending to be a teacher. Decided to go in to industry instead, with a view to doing PGCE a few years later. 23 years later am still in industry. Not because the money's better - I really don't think it is all things considered. But mainly because I don't know a single happy teacher. So why take the risk?

Original poster
allgonebellyup · 27/06/2008 18:35

lilo - well it seems there are some happy ones on this thread!!!!!!!!!!!

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Heated · 27/06/2008 18:46

Where are you going to do your PGCE Allgonebellyup or are your going the GT route? Have you been in to do some obs with an English dept?

It's the wrong week to ask me if I love it - report writing, exam marking, a badly timed lesson obs, plus PMT - but usually it's a good job with some real highs & I work with some really funny people. And it's pretty rare for me to encounter terrible behaviour; one verbal incident this year.

You know more than most because your mum's a teacher. Your PGCE & NQT year are the hardest because it's all got to be thought about and then it becomes instinctive, the prep eases and you find ways to reduce your marking load.

Original poster
allgonebellyup · 27/06/2008 18:53

im hoping to do the PGCE at Brighton

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lilolilmanchester · 27/06/2008 19:07

yes, so listen to them rather than me, allgonebellyup. I hope it goes well and please come back next year and persuade me to take up my true vocation!!!

Heated · 27/06/2008 20:06

Have you done any observation/work at a school? That's generally what a PGCE interviewer likes to hear.

Original poster
allgonebellyup · 27/06/2008 20:58

Well im hoping to be accepted for the Student Associate Scheme so i will get paid too!!

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Heated · 27/06/2008 21:02

Ah good SAS it's the best pre-prep experience to have imo and PGCE courses look on it very favourably.

I think we might have posted on a previous thread about routes into teaching. So glad you're going ahead. When you find the right school, it's fab.

Elkat · 27/06/2008 22:25

Absolutely love my job. I teach 'A' levels only in a college, so only have students 16+, but can honestly say in the 4 years that I have had this job, I have never yet work up and thought about skiving off work because it was monday, or I couldn't face going in etc. I still don't get that monday morning feeling. Sad, but true. I just love my job and would not change it for the world.

lilolilmanchester · 27/06/2008 22:35

Elkat, that's not sad, it's delightful. Exactly what I'd been hoping for myself, but not brave enough to make the move now knowing the teachers I do!

Original poster
allgonebellyup · 27/06/2008 22:35

aah, thats lovely to hear.
Is the pay similar when you teach A levels?

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Original poster
allgonebellyup · 27/06/2008 22:35

aah, thats lovely to hear.
Is the pay similar when you teach A levels?

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