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Original poster

I want to be a teacher

31 replies

puddinggal · 25/03/2004 21:05

Am I too old to start wanting to become a primary school teacher? I am 28 (29 soon!) and do not have a degree. DO I first need to get a degree and then do a PGCE? Is there another way?

Are any of you teachers and like the job? or not?

Any info appreciated as this will change my life and I need to think about it in depth first.

OP posts:
hercules · 25/03/2004 21:07

Best not read the thread on private schools then.
There are various ways you can do it. The two main ways are get a degree then do a pgce or do a Bed (four years).
For more info look on the canteach.gov site

hercules · 25/03/2004 21:07

Def not too old.

Hulababy · 25/03/2004 21:19

You are not too old. Try the Government site for recruiting teachers for more information here.

And good luck. Teaching can be very rewarding at times.

hercules · 25/03/2004 21:21

Wouldnt do any other job.

Original poster
puddinggal · 25/03/2004 22:06

Thanks for the advice. I have looked at the websites. There is a university near me that does a degree called BA hons in Education Studies which looks interesting and a good first step.

Got to sort out the hours and money, but feeling more positive. I have e-mailed the university thanks

OP posts:
Paula71 · 25/03/2004 22:21

My friend Mandy has just become a secondary school teacher at the age of 35 so you can never be too old. I will not tell her about the last part of my sentence or I'll get something chucked at me when next we meet!

She has three children, now aged 10, 5 and 2.

Go for it pud!

I thought about it but may just head for Classroom Assistant. What I'd really love to do is be a careers officer - do they even have them at school now? So I could try and help children become what they want rather than what they are told to be! Our careers officer was rubbish, say no more!

Paula71 · 25/03/2004 22:23

Sorry I meant to say she did her degree in Business Studies and that is what she now teaches.

popsycal · 26/03/2004 09:03

Not too old at all! Hercules mentioned the main 2 ways....there are afew more options however. Depending on where yo are, there may be a SCITT scheme where you train whilst working in a school - though you do need a degree first.
Have a look at the links provided

hmb · 26/03/2004 09:07

I went into teaching after having my kids and did a lot of other jobs first. You are not too old....I was a lot older going into teaching!

For all the down sides, it is an amazing job. A bit like motherhood, the best job in the world, and the worst often at the same time!

I love it. There is nothing quite like seeing the light of understanding in a child's eyes when they 'get it'. And the vast majority of kids are great.

susanmt · 26/03/2004 10:14

Good for you puddinggal. I'm a SAHM at the moment but I love being a teacher when I'm not!

You're not too old - I went into it at 23 but am enjoying having a break and think I will be much better at it when I get back to it as the more life experience you have the better a teacher it makes you IMHO.

If it's for you, then there's no job like it - it's fab.

Original poster
puddinggal · 26/03/2004 16:32

Thanks for the support

One of my options at the moment is to carry on with the Open University (I have done 1 year already). This will take me another 5 years and then do a teacher training course(probably a year) after that. this means that when I finish my degree I will be 34. Will I be too old to get a job as a teacher then? I think it is good because I will have more experience - but will a primary school see it like that?

What do you all think? Thanks

OP posts:
Original poster
puddinggal · 26/03/2004 16:33

ps. sorry about the smileys - got carried away!

OP posts:
Original poster
puddinggal · 26/03/2004 16:33

:0

OP posts:
Hulababy · 26/03/2004 16:38

puddinggal - you will be fine; 34 is not old at all for it, and IME some schools would activiely encourage it. Many of their staff is the older age brackets are leaving the job (have been in it for years and going for early retirement or leaving for other work). Therefore at the moment the average age of teachers is pretty low - many schools would want to redress that balance again.

Fisil · 26/03/2004 19:13

If you want to wait that long there would be no problem - 34 is not at all old, we have people in their 50s training with us.

We have had people without degrees doing a scheme - I think it's called the registered teacher scheme - you train and do a degree at the same time. It is hard work but you get paid and it is quicker. If you finish your degree you could do the GTP scheme when you get paid to train for the year.

It is a great profession - I love it!

Mog · 26/03/2004 21:00

There was another thread on this recently. All of you teachers seem so positive, but all I seem to hear are horror stories about the enormous workload and strain teachers are under and many are desperate to leave. How do all of you cope with being mums and teaching and what is it you love about the job?

popsycal · 26/03/2004 21:01

i don't cope...
Trying to be positive...

Ghosty · 26/03/2004 21:08

Well, I will be honest ....
I couldn't cope and so moved to the other side of the world so that I could be a SAHM ... When I was a teacher I gave my job 150% .... when I had DS I couldn't do that anymore and I began to resent my job and the time it took from DS ...
My job suffered ... my son suffered ... my marriage suffered ....
I know there are hundreds of people who manage and cope but I couldn't ...
Sorry ...
Puddinggal ... it is, however, the most rewarding job you can do ... so go for it! You are not too old at all ... in fact you are most probably much better equipped than a 22 year old graduate who has spent 4 years drinking her way through Uni ... ...

popsycal · 26/03/2004 21:09

I oculd have written Ghosty's post - excpet for the moving to NZ bit
Though dh wants us to....

hercules · 26/03/2004 21:22

With 2 kids I am only going back parttime. Would never contemplate it full time again for a long time. Too many nights of ignoring ds in order to mark, write reports etc etc.

Mog · 26/03/2004 21:43

What do you think would make the situation easier? A primary teacher friend said there was a national decision to get primary teachers non-contact time but there are no resources at most primary schools to make this possible. What would make teaching a more manageable job or is it always going to demand a lot if you want to do it properly?

popsycal · 26/03/2004 21:44

i teach in a middle school with priary age childrne and get a small amount of non-contact time - it helps but not enough

it is the nature of the job

hercules · 26/03/2004 21:46

Smaller class sizes, more teachers to share the work load, less paperwork, no tutor group, no admin tasks that could be done by someone else(there are lots of these). A limit to the hours worked in one week.

judetheobscure · 26/03/2004 21:48

Teaching would be more manageable if the children were better behaved.

hercules · 26/03/2004 21:49

Or were strapped into their chairs!

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