Teacher register - who are you and what do you teach?

[noblegiraffe]

Having seen loads of teachers around on various threads I thought it would be nice to find out who's who and what you do.

I'm a secondary maths teacher in a comp, been teaching for 12 years, part time for about 8. No TLRs which gives me plenty of time to post ranty threads about the state of education.

I hate Gove and like to picture him in his wellies inspecting pig farms, which is what I like to think his current job is all about.

[leonardthelemming]

Certainly not the case there are no jobs for Physics teachers anymore.
We have a full team of subject specialists...
We all however teach science for first three years,

Hmmm. I'm not sure that teaching science up to Year 9, every year really counts as a job for a physics teacher. And it seems odd - if the department is really up to strength with specialists, why not teach separate sciences from the beginning?

(Not a criticism, just curious. How many hours a week do the KS3 pupils get for science, if you don't mind my asking?)

[Rosieposy4]

Oh leonard I agree with why not teach them separate sciences from the start, but that is not my call to make.
The year 7-9s get 7 science lessons a fortnight, they have 2 science teachers, never 2 from the same specialty.
But there are definitely jobs for physics teachers, when we advertise for staff we advertise for the specialty needed, not for a science teacher, if I left they would advertise for a biologist.

[FourEyesGood]

I've been a secondary English teacher for 14 years. For the past few years I've had A-level classes (Literature and Film - separately!) which has been great. But I still yearn for a job that doesn't consume me so entirely. I went part-time for one year after DC1 was born, but we were utterly broke, so I've been back to full-time for 9 years now.

Roll on half term!

[leonardthelemming]

Yes, I can see where you are coming from, although if I were looking for a job as a physics teacher and then found I was expected to teach KS3 science I doubt I would take it.
I imagine it isn't split from the beginning because 7 doesn't divide by 2. How long are the lessons? At my last school iirc (but I retired in 2012 so can't be sure) the Y7s had 2.5 hours of science, then Years 8 and 9 had an hour of each science, Y10 had 2.5 hours and Y11 2 hours per science. These are all per week. I've never taught to a fortnightly timetable, although that's what we had when I was at school myself.

[leonardthelemming]

7 doesn't divide by 3!

[Rosieposy4]

Maybe that is why we have such small fields for the physics jobs, though i do think it quite normal to be expected to teach all three sciences at least to the younger ones.
The independent schoold down the road from my school advertised for someone to teach biology and chemistry to A level, i think that might have been a hard job to fill.
All our lessons are 50 or 55 minutes. Y10 get 4 periods a fortnight of each science, Y11 five, A level 10.

[SquidgeyMidgey]

I'm a 'proper' physics teacher but don't mind teaching science up to yr 9. We run a 2.5yr ks3 so move on just after Christmas in yr 9. I quite like chemistry, probably because of the maths and patterns, and love physics but I still have a childlike fascination with how things work so that helps. My own physics education was pretty dull chalk and talk with a few naff demonstrations to watch so I go out of my way to make physics fun, and to make it accessible to the kids who struggle with the maths and concepts. I'm not particularly interested in sixth form, for me the thrill is in getting them hooked and reeled in- microwaving lines of marshmallows, lighting Bunsen burners using a van der graaf... all good fun, how can you prefer biology to physics?!

[Rosieposy4]

Ok so van de graaf's are cool, i will happily give you that.
And anyone who is tired of chucking a a lump of potassium in a water trough def needs to collect their P45, but how can you prefer quarks to DNA, magnets to the glory that is down the microscope?🐷🐔🐧🦆🐦🐤🐣🦆🦅🦉allthe glorious variation of life

[SquidgeyMidgey]

Ha ha, science wars! I love playing with magnets but yes, dna is very cool.

[FithColumnist]

Secondary MFL, specialising in French. Do a bit of Spanish, Latin, German and Italian on the side. Now in my fifth year of teaching: used to be a chef for thirteen years beforehand. Turns out it's all just shouting, just a different context.

[echt]

Secondary English teacher coming to the end of my 39th year in harness. I think I've kept my sanity by not teaching in the UK for the last 11, by always teaching across the age range, and having advanced level groups for all but five of those years.

[marcopront]

HOD of Maths in an International school. I also teach Theory of Knowledge. Very little paperwork and generally good behaviour. Apologies here - very small classes, two classes of 15, one of 8, one of 6 and one of 2.

[MsAwesomeDragon]

Oooh Marco you are just trying to make us all jealous with your small classes. I've never had a class smaller than 10.

[marcopront]

I did say sorry MsAwesomeDragon. There is still the same planning for small classes and the 2 are for Further Maths.

[MsAwesomeDragon]

I know Marco. I'm aware that the planning is the same, but the marking is nowhere near the same. I'm literally just jealous and wish I had such small classes. It's like my fantasy job :)

[marcopront]

It is an amazing job. The kids are great and so are most of the staff. I am very happy here. My daughter is in the school as well and she loves it.

[BeingATwatItsABingThing]

Planning takes me one afternoon a week (PPA). Marking takes me most lunchtimes and evenings, plus some weekends. I would kill for a class smaller than my current 30. I had 27 for 3 beautiful weeks.

[leonardthelemming]

I go out of my way to make physics fun
lighting Bunsen burners using a van der graaf... all good fun

One of my former colleagues was obsessed with lighting bunsens this way. I left him to it. I became a physics teacher because I got an electric shock as a child and decided to learn as much about electricity as possible so I would never get another one. Didn't work...
So I contented myself with making girls' hair stand on end...

Completely agree with making physics fun. I used to use imaginary/hypothetical lemmings to explain physics concepts - even at A level. In fact, my final L6/Y12 class gave me a cuddly toy lemming (called Leonard) as a retirement present.

Lots of fun practicals too. One of the boys from the partner school wanted to measure viscosity by the falling ball method. On his equipment request he asked for a steel ball and a measuring cylinder. I looked at the technician, she looked at me...

When he collected his equipment tray next lesson, he found a 10 ml measuring cylinder and a 5 kg shot (borrowed from the PE department).

All the girls laughed.

[bluechameleon]

5 years in primary mainstream and now on my 8th in SEN. Currently head of 14-19 and KS5 class teacher at a special school.

[noblegiraffe]

marco what is Theory of Knowledge?

[borntobequiet]

Well call me stupid but I have only just realised that putting the shot is really just throwing the cannonball...
Thanks PP. Sorry for the derail.

[BringOnTheScience]

@noblegiraffe I'm guessing that @marcopront is at an IB school. www.ibo.org/programmes/diploma-programme/curriculum/theory-of-knowledge/ My DC1 is doing the IB and TOK always prompts some interesting discussions at home.

[noblegiraffe]

Wow, that looks fascinating. Very different to maths though - much woolier! The sample essay questions e.g. 'There is no such thing as a neutral question' look really challenging.

[marcopront]

Noble, BringonScience is correct.

It is a fascinating course and brings up some great conversations.

[FitbitAddict]

I qualified in 2001 after 15 years of assorted customer service roles and an OU degree that I completed while working full time. I've now taught in six different schools, mostly KS1, been subject leader for ICT, RE, Science and Literacy, joined SLT in 2007 but in a school where the Head was a bitch, so moved on and became SENCo, which I loved. After 6 years as either Y1, Y2 or SEN teacher as well as SENCo, plus 3 of those as Senior Teacher, I moved on with tears all round and am now five weeks and one Ofsted visit into my new role as Deputy Head and SENCo in a school in special measures in a deprived area of south west London. So far I love it but it is very strange not teaching at all!