Introverted prospective teacher - could it work?

[greenchica]

I have been debating teaching for 3 years now, and think I will be applying for a secondary history pgce in the Autumn.

One issue that I have is that I am fairly introverted. That's not to say I am shy - I am good with people and I often have an extroverted persona. However, I do really need to sit quietly every now and then in the day.

Any introverted teachers out there with advice? Thanks!

Schools are noise, busy, smelly places and often there is no space to sit and be quiet between 8.00 to 4.00.

How much experience with teenagers do you have? Scouts? Guides? Free-range youth groups? There'll be lots of time for you to be quiet as you tackle all the marking, planning and assessments while everyone with a sensible job is at the pub.

I'm an introverted teacher :) I find it very hard some days and other days my desire for creativity, peace and organisation make me feel like I'm in the perfect job. When I get home I am a zombie, I can't function to even speak for a couple of hours.

Classroom management is an absolute must, and it's also the thing you are shown the least how to do on a PGCE. I recommend you read Tom Bennett's books or tweets or blog posts and make sure you can handle that side of things, if you can keep the classroom calm and organised, it's all fine.

Schools are noise, busy, smelly places and often there is no space to sit and be quiet between 8.00 to 4.00.

There is always some, small quiet corner. We have spaces dotted around that people who like peace and quiet go to.

We don't in our school and next year I and many other stuff won't have their own classroom.

MooPoint Thank you for your recommendation, I shall have a look! I definitely recognise the zombie period after a full on day.

I'm an introvert and would say it depends entirely on your home life as to how well you can cope. I cope fine at school; it's my job, I love it and I'm cheerful, chatty and good at performing. When I get home I spend most evenings silently marking in a room alone, or planning lessons/resources; and I really can't cope with my family. I'm pretty shit as a mother at times, I think. They have come to accept 'Mum's got work to do' and DH is fab. But the honest truth is that yes, I have got work to do, and I am doing it, but actually what I desperately need is to be completely alone after the day I've had. Sometimes I can feel my eyeballs itching at the thought that there are other people breathing in my house....

Agree massively with Moo that Tom Bennett is the man! He's fab, and speaks massive common sense. But classroom management is something that takes a lot of years to crack imo. And you can have hellish days/times getting there. I don't know where user teaches, but I have taught for almost 30 years now and I have never worked in any school where there was a small quiet corner to be found. Space is at a premium always and kids/colleagues track you down wherever you try and hide. You get no chance to re-charge batteries at all in the daytime.

Tom Bennett's books are very good; I also follow him on Twitter and he speaks a great deal of common sense. I also like "The Hectic Teacher" on Twitter (more day to day practical stuff rather than teaching philosophy / styles).

My school is always far too noisy for me and I can never find anywhere quiet except for the student library, but there are way more students than seats so I do not like to take up one while students are waiting, and it's closed before and after school which are my main times for wanting a quiet place to mark or get on with other work. I'm not an introvert. I plug headphones into my phone and listen to music - I love but would prefer to have a genuine quiet place.

I'm a teacher a school with quiet places, corridors are off limits to students during break/lunch so classrooms are quiet. There's a staff only corridor too with a quiet room, and small meeting rooms in most departments.

It's all about the school you work out I think, my previous schools were cramped and stressy, this school is lovely.

I'm a full on introvert and my job teaching pupils with HFA/ Asperger's is perfect for me. We ALL need quiet time!

I think it's easier in upper Primary than other phases. There are quiet periods built into the day (independent reading, when they are out at assembly etc) and you also get to know your class very well so there is less of the effort of 'putting on a show' for people you don't know that well- it's more like being with family. You can get them quite independent so they are not constantly putting demands on you. You are in total control of the routine too, which I find helps.

Often my classroom is my quiet place!

MooPointCowsOpinion That sounds lovely! Your school management obviously takes an interest in staff wellbeing; I expect it is a nice place to work (at least in that respect).

I'm an introvert. I don't go to the staffroom at breaktime, I potter around my classroom. I crash when I get home from school and sit with a cup of tea in silence in the kitchen while the kids watch TV in the next room. Parents' evenings are awful. I need weekends to have at least one quiet day.
But I've been doing the job over ten years.

Thank you so much everyone for your replies. Seems like it's a case of building in strategies to create some quiet.

I'm an introverted teacher - there's quite a few of us! I've found it harder since I've had my children, because I don't get the quiet time at home that I need, but during the day, I've always been fine.

However, they're now getting quite old and older DD spends hours in her bedroom every evening, so I feel like I'm getting through the other side and starting to get my quiet time at home back again.

I currently work 4 days a week and I do really value my day off, just so I can have some time on my own in the house, even though I effectively work from home on that day.

My quiet time is the drive to and from school listening to R4 (about half an hour each way, mostly through pretty countryside) and cooking dinner in an empty kitchen - when dh is working from home, he is obviously keen to come in and chat, but he knows better than that now!

The only one of our children regularly at home is 13 so I don't have to come back to full on parenting.

Same here. I do what noblegiraffe does - breaktime in classroom generally, and some of lunchtime. I try to keep noise levels down in the classroom (but am realistic!). I definitely need a quiet day a weekend at least, and the first week of the summer holidays is pretty much 'decompression week'. I get a lot out of teaching but to do it well I need downtime - some schools are better for this than others, depending on how their systems work I think

Pick your classroom carefully. I worked in an open plan noisy school which in hindsight was never the best place for an introvert.
My new school is much smaller and also has good views of the countryside which I've realised makes a massive difference on my well being.

Following with interest...... I start my PGCE in September and am an introvert.

@geographytrainee Fancy a Pgce thread? I'm also starting Geography in September. Currently in ostrich mode....

I think it really depends on where you teach. In a good private school you will not have any problems. In one of the worst state schools on the other hand your introversion will only make it even harder.

@UdonKnowMe - yes please..... I'm going to be doing Geography too! Where abouts are you?

@geographytrainee I'm in Thames Valley area (trying to be deliberately vague!) I'll work out how to start a separate thread to not derail this one...

I'm introverted, and finding a quiet space at work is hard for me, as Australian schools have teachers moving around, no room of your own that you get so often in the UK.

If you don't have your own room, access the timetable for empty rooms during your free periods.