OU degree and teaching

[manchestermom5]

Anyone got into teaching after completing an open university degree? Contemplating on enrolling for the OU BA English Language.

Yes. I did history. I am a primary teacher now.
Doing the degree with the OU was looked at favourably by my PGCE provider as they said it demonstrated my motivation, time management and commitment - all of which will be important in teaching.

As @twinkletoesimnot (was your PGCE with Sunderland?)

I did international studies.

I also retrained as a 6-12 Montessori elementary teacher, which was intense. I don't think I could have survived that training, without OU experience.

I loved it and would really like to do a masters with the OU

No @justprance
It was a region specific scitt course in the East of England.
I applied for 3 different providers though and they all offered me a place and had similar, positive things to say.

That is great! It really is a great way to learn and shows true discipline (IMHO)

It depends how motivated you are. I have done two degrees. One OU and one bricks uni. I preferred the bricks uni as I felt more support from peers.

I am also a teacher

No experience, just curious - does choice of BA degree subject have any bearing on how in-demand you will be as a teacher?

It depends if you want to teach in primary or secondary.

I did an English degree with the OU and taught In secondary schools

What’s your situation, @manchestermom5 - and do you have an idea of where you might want to teach?

Thank you everyone for the replies, I want to teach in primary , my plan is to get a BA English language and do PGCE.

So, is there anything in particular you want to know, @manchestermom5 ? About studying with the OU, or about the prospects for English teachers?

Have you done any distance learning in the past? Do you anticipate any challenges - in terms of family life or finding time or energy for the course? Are you hoping to get through the degree and training in short order or is this a long term plan?

And do you know anyone who has studied or is currently studying with the OU? I always think it’s a particularly impressive thing to do because I would find it hard to motivate myself if I were not bumping into tutors and fellow students in lectures and seminars and pubs every day.

I did. I did BSc (hons) Mathematics and it's learning with the OU and I am now a maths teacher.

looking to retrain in tech now though.

If you look at how much education is haemoraging teachers I would just make sure you have a plan B. Make sure your degree is something you could explore other avenues with after - ie don't do years of OU study to realise you don't want to teach!

Thank you everyone, yes I am sure I want to get into teaching. Just one more question, what are the other avenues after completing a BA English Language.

I started my OU science degree when I was a TA and then ended up being asked to work as an unqualified science teacher as I had the intention of teaching afterwards anyway. This was truly a ridiculous plan and not one I'd recommend to anyone as teaching + OU degree + being a single parent was beyond hard. I did get a lot of experience though and would have been a good teacher but I decided not to qualify in the end and left teaching as working conditions are so poor. I would recommend working as a TA though and getting a real understanding of additional needs as it is invaluable when teaching a class.

I now work for a different public sector organisation and have met over 10 other former teachers since starting a few months ago.

Ooh what's the new job/what area is it.

Asking for a friend...