Teacher Training PGCE

[giddyfeet]

I went back to university as a mature student and completed a degree in media writing, which, as the title says, is all sorts of writing for the media, mainly journalism and film studies.

I did go through a period of trying to get into journalism but as I am not in london, 18 and willing to work for 12k a year that did not get very far.

I was a communications assistant for a while but could not settle myself into the vulger world of marketing.

I am not running my own web design business but I don't like working on alone, sat at the computer and am now considering, in an attempt to get a "proper" job, going in to teacher training.

I read an article in the Independent newspaper saying that people with a 2:1 or higher can be fast-tracked into the classroom and I started to think that maybe teaching isnt that bad an idea at all. I wouldnt want to be fast-tracked (I would go to uni and do the pgce) but I am attracted by a regular wage, a job that will offer something different every day, challenges, getting some kind of respect but also because I am desperate to live in Australia and this would give me the points that I need. Plus I really want to go on to further study but can't afford to and the govt will pay me to do this.

So my questions here are - are any of you doing teacher training? how do you find it? at uni i was quite shy talking in front of groups of people and hated the being centre of attention thing during presentations so I am concerned that I may find teaching difficult in that respect but does it get easier? does it really fit in well with being a mother (I have a 10yo)?

I'd appreciate anything else you can tell me too.

I am considering teaching English, Drama and Media to 11-18 year olds.

Thanks

That should read "I am now running my own web design..."

Will probably be doing mine next year- hang on, will grab the website

here

FWIW the only downside I can see is that I have beena dvised to plan to stop my life for the PGCE year as it is serious graft! Bt otoh, its a year. One year, thats all. Your ist year is the year called NQT and you will be assesed through it, then its done. complete.

I did my PGCE as a mature student.

We had to show that our degree had a significant amount of overlap with the subject that we were prepared to teach.

So, for example, if your degree was in engineering and you wanted to teach maths, you'd have to show there was a lot of maths in the degree IYSWIM.

The PGCE yer is hard work, as is the NQT that follows it.....as is the rest of the teaching TBH! I spent all of yesterday and this morning marking CW, for example and it still ins't finished!

You do get over some of your 'stage fright' but you also do need to be a bit of a performer. If you continue to find talking in front of kids a probems (most people get over it btw) then teaching isn't the job foryou.

It 'fits' with kids to a degree, you get the long holidays, but at the same time you never get to see your kids in plays, in school time, because you are working. Also your holidays are excellent but inflexible.....a bind if you don't get the same holidays are your kids. My MIL is bailing me out next week for example as I am back in work, but my kids are not.

It is a fantastic job, if you really want it. It would be a huge amount of work to do 'just' for the points to get to OZ.

my dp did his PGCE the year before we had our son. He found it relatively easy but he had got a 2:1 in electronic engineering. He teaches physics. I think the only downside to the course was that one of his placements was 50 miles away so the commute to that was a pain. He is also very shy and hates having to speak to people he doesn't know. He had to make a speech at a wedding a few weeks ago and was really nervous before hand, but he can stand in front of a class of 30 and teach no problem. At the uni he did his PGCE at if you had kids and were their main carer then this was taken into account when they sorted out your placements. Parents tended to get the local ones. Ds wasn't born then hence him getting the placement in another county.

Thanks for that website. I did see it the other day and have sent off for an information pack. Someone else did say the first year was really hard work, they would come home and have to sleep for an hour just to get through the evening but I think thats the same with any dynamic job when you start out.

I was out clubbing with a teacher on the weekend (met her that night) and she was saying she finds the worst part the marking but I think I would quite like that. I'm sadistic like that! LOL.

And yeah, I was told my degree would be seriously hard work but I managed that so I should be okay.. Time will tell!

What do you want to teach? (subject and age group)

I teach science 11-13, bioligy and physics 14-16 and Biology 16-18.

You'll need to love marking if tyou want to teach english! One of the 'worst' subjects re amount and type of marking IMHO. My best mate is an English teacher and I wouldn't do her marking for all the tea in China!

Have you thought of going into a school to experience what it is like? Most courses will only accept you if you have some school experience. The PGCE is bloody hard work, so be prepared to have no life for a year. Teaching is a fantastic job if you get the right school for you - you mentioned you were looking for respect: Don't be surprised if this is not forthcoming! Good luck to you.

martian - thanks for that info, its really helpful.

I heard that your degree subject has to overlap the subject you wish to teach and I think my degree would be okay with english but I am not entirely sure. It is something I will need to look into.

My access tutor advised me to teach some years ago (her reasoning seemed to be due to my already being a mother) and I said I hate talking in front of people and she said its ok because they are younger than you but I never believed that would make it okay on its own. Time will tell I guess. I'll soon find out if it is for me in that respect.

Although moving to Aus is a big motivation in my thoughts of doing this, it is not the only reason. I do think I would make a good teacher as I have a good understanding of how their minds work (still a child at heart!), I am passionate about my subject and I interact with them well and they do tend to respond to me. Although it might be different in a classroom environment. I also feel that I am floating around, wasting my education (I am completely self taught in my current occupation) and that it is about time I settled down and got myself a career. The money wouldn't go a miss either!

tutu - that is interesting and would definitely help me as I have a child (single parent). The thing is the nearest TT centre is in Winchester I think (I am in Southampton) and I was thinking of doing TT in London as I like it there but then I guess they would give me placements local to London (was hoping for southampton placements)?

As others have said the PGCE is a really hard year, obviously more so with a child to look after. It is worth it though.

I'm an English teacher, and I love it, though as Martianbishop said the marking is a killer.

The only specific advice I have is to look carefully at the specific course you apply for - my PGCE was in English, with major focus on literature and language. Some of my friends did their PGCE at a different local uni and had much more media and drama content, which sounds like you'd be better suited to.

Finally, before applying I'd try to get some experience in a local secondary school and look at teacher sites (tes online, or teachit.co.uk for English teachers) to get a realistic impression of the job. I don't think it's a job you can do if your heart's not in it, and it's hard to tell from your OP whether you really want to teach, or are considering it for more general reasons (if that makes sense!)

Slight cross post there giddyfeet, you answered some of my questions just as I posted.

I would echo what chipbutty suggests. It would be very helpful for you to see what goes on in a school in the 21 centuary! What I found was quite a shock, compared to my memories of school in the 1960s and 1970s.

Respect is not automatic, in fact sometimes it can be utterly missing!

Teaching can be wonderful, but it can also be exceptionally challenging. Chilren are often very demading, and their behaviour can sometimes be a real trial.

I don't want to put you off, I honestly love my job, but it can be a real challenge sometimes and I work in a 'Good' school. There are schools in my area that I would not work in!

See what a week is like first.

martian - how do you find the kids at those ages? I was advised to teach primary as they are supposed to be easier to handle but I really want to teach at gcse level.

Yeah, I figured that about English, with all the essays and things! I actually want to teach media as my primary subject but to get funding I am pretty sure I have to teach a curriculum subject and figured English was the nearest to media. I quite liked Maths at school but I don't think that would be a good idea (plus my degree didn't touch on maths) and I know ICT but again no experience in that.

Chip butty - although respect from the kids would be nice, I was more refering to respect from general society. I am probably being naive but I am confident I could get their respect to the point where they behave in class at least.

Media is part of English at Key Stage 3, GCSE and A level, and is also taught as a discrete subject from GCSE onwards.

Often kids are more enthusiastic about media than other subjects, however at GCSE it is seen by some as a soft or easy subject. This may lead pupils choosing it for the wrong reasons at GCSE. In some ways I agree that it's a 'soft' subject, it's relatively easy to get a C without too much work. However those who are dedicated to the subject will obviously put more in, and I've seen some fantastic media/journalism work.

You don't get automatic respect from general society either! You don't get it from all parts of MN, some of the most gentile and rarified for people

How do I find the kids?

95% are great, 4% are daft and easily led, 1% are seriously difficult, either because they have unmet SEN, or have deeply disturbed backgrounds. That 1% can deep six a lesson in seconds! For many of that 1% I feel they should be in a school that caters to their needs. I have sympathy for them, but also for the other children in the class who's education that can sometimes block.

I tend not to have too many problems. In part this is because I teach a lot of A level classes. I also have a 'reputation' for being tough with the little ones.

But I have left school in tears over some classes, don't know a teacher who hasn't, if I am honest

Thanks I will check out those websites.

I am waiting on an information pack from the govt teaching site.

I may go back to my university for some career advice to get some literature on teaching, and I will look into the work experience - thanks for that tip off guys.

And thanks for your realistic/honest responses. I am an up front kind of person in life and really appreciate it when others are too. (Partly why MN works so well I think) It will help me to weigh up the pros and cons of teaching as a job.

percypig....we get the same thing with Human Biology, the wrong kids choose it because they think it is 'easy'. Often they are the kids who are least likely to put in the work and can often be disruptive

I know! I'm all for pupils choosing their subjects, but sometimes I wish we could choose for them. It's worse at A level when you have someone who scraped a C at English Lit, got a B in English on the strength of their coursework (esp Talking and Listening) and therefore thinks A Level English Lit is perfect for them!

percypig - thanks for that info about media in schools, it is helpful. I remember from when I was at school that it is chosen for being an 'easy' subject. Ironically I failed that subject at school (!) but at least some of that was down to the teacher who never made us do any work! (She taught english too, and I had to write 20 1500 word assignments in 2 weeks at the end of my gcse's because I'd not been forced to do anything for 2 years!)

However, I went on to do a degree in media and loved every minute of it. I am very passionate about media and actually feel that in this day and age it should be a compulsory subject; every child should be educated in how the media works and how the manipulation so easily takes a hold.

God, Percy, are you my English Teacher mate????

She says the exact same thing. Kids who literaly cannot tell you what an adverb is who want to do Lit/Lang!

I inwardly sigh when kids do Human biolgy, Media, Psychology and sociology.....all things they have never done before because they couldn't stand any of the things they did at GCSE. 99/100 times is doesn't go well.

I think the reputation you put out there to the kids can make or break a teaching career.

I remember when I was at primary school we had a teacher who could not handle the class at all and ended up quitting before the year was out. The kids have to know what it acceptable and what is not; they need boundries and in my experience when they have them they respond well to them (99% of the time).

martian/percy - I also think kids go on to chose subjects they havent done before because they seem exciting and are bored with curriculum subjects.

Do kids get advice when chosing their subjects, say from a career advisor?

I remember when I was at school we filled in this questionnaire that told us the job that we would be most suited to and if I followed that to the word I would be a train driver or a garbage collector now!!!!

I hear what you guys are saying but I do think there is something in letting the kids chose what they want to do because the more they are interested in a subject the more likely they are to pay attention and learn.

That said, it is highly likely that the subject turns out not to be as exciting as they anticipated, especially when they have to learn theory!

Giddyfeet, I would definitely recommend going into some schools to observe as often as you can for a few months. I work in a low-achieving school (32% GCSE), but it's actually one of the better schools in the town , and has a good reputation for behaviour. I've been there nearly 2 years now, and am still overcoming my sense of shock at modern teenagers and modern schools.

If you can do visit a variety of schools too; as a new teacher in a non-shortage subject you are unlikely to land a job in a "nice" school to start with. (In many areas there are lots of unemployed English teachers out there atm I'm afraid.)

giddyfeet, lots of the kids in our school think that 'Media Studies' will involve them watching soap operas on TV every lesson!

I agree with you about the importance of media literacy giddyfeet. Here in N Ireland the Key Stage 3 curriculum has just been changed and English is (I think) the only subject to have had content added - all the new content is media...was perfect ammunition to nag my head into getting me an interactive whiteboard!