Is teaching that bad?

[typicalityhm]

I’m in my first year at university so have a little bit of time to decide but once I’ve finished my degree (French and History) I would really love to go into teaching, ideally secondary.

I think I want to do this for a few reasons, I really love helping people and when I do something meaningful, seeing that it’s helped someone makes it all worthwhile. I also loved Secondary school, I got on really well with my teachers and had a lot of friends, I loved the environment and it felt like we were all in it together.

My aunty is on MN and she recommended I ask here for advice so I’m actually using her account but with the username changed

Does anyone have any advice as I’ve spoken to my old HoY and she thinks whilst I would be good at it and fit in most schools, she also thinks teaching isn’t looking to get any better with either a Boris or Corbyn government and it’s a burning building I shouldn’t get into.

I love it! I teach history and am in charge of Sixth Form. The hours are long and it can be full-on but in the right school it’s great. I went straight into teaching from uni (expecting to do it for a few years) and haven’t looked back since. I’m very much in the minority at my school though, most people don’t come straight through from university anymore. Even a decade ago, when I trained, it was about a 50/50 split on my course.
I also find some of the most jaded and disillusioned members of staff are often career changers from the private sector. Not all of them by any stretch but there are definitely a few I have met that seemed to really regret the move. In particular those that worked in high-paying, high-pressure jobs before. I think the few that I’m thinking of really wanted to change young lives and inspire kids and the reality of the grind of teaching was a disappointment to them. I’ve often heard “I used to get paid more to do less”.

Firstly, it’s bloody annoying when people make stupid generalisations that it can’t be all that bad because of the time we get off. FTFO, dear.

It’s dependant on the school. I teach a core subject and love working in a secondary environment. But I loathe the additional work piled on top, the idiotic SLT in my school and the insanity of the things I’m forced to deal with now. You need to get into classrooms, not filled with top set children, and see the realities of the job. Ignore those who say that teachers whine because they’ve never done anything else. I have and it’s still the toughest job.

I’m in my 4th year secondary maths. I can’t imagine doing anything else. I did a maths degree with the idea that I’d like to try teaching. For me it felt like there was nothing to loose to do my teacher training, there was £25000 bursary and potentially a career that I loved. I enjoy seeing the students improve and building relationships with them. My school is outstanding, with very little behaviour issues which makes the job easy. I’m left to get on with the job day to day and don’t often feel pressure. It really helps that I’m in a good school and trusted by my HOD that I’m doing the right thing.

IMO you have nothing to loose but potentially a lot to gain by training :)

Please please don't view teaching as a short term job. That is an issue at the moment. Too many not committed teachers turning up to dabble and then pissing off. It is a proper vocation!

I moan all the time but it can be a great job, in the right school.

I must say every history teacher I know loves their job. MFL teachers often do, too, but they struggle with having their subject slagged off by parents, pupils and other teachers rather more and numbers taking A Level are depressingly low.

I loved school, too, OP, and love my subject. That kind of love of learning is a good reason to go into teaching, rather than thinking you can heal the world of all its woes.

The bursary for MFL is bigger than history for a reason. Students find it more challenging & on average get a grade lower than in history/English. So SLT will always assume you're under performing.
History get bigger numbers for GCSE and A level so they generally run classes. MFL bit hit & miss at the moment. So job not as secure.
However I reckon try get trained for both?
I have had some ups and downs but am PT and enjoy the job when I am with classes. Data and paperwork less fun.

Ermmm.. the bursaries aren't related to how hard the students or their teachers think a subject is!! Under performance will be measured against indicator grades. Which are often lower in MFL.

I love teaching but I work in a private school. I wouldn't work in a state school.

Come and teach in my school, oh, wait.... no vacancies because staff are well treated and supported, and no one ever leaves. This is the kind of school you need to find.

I did ten years in inner London comps. English. Taught in two schools in that time, one awful and one great. Kids v v challenging. I was 'outstanding' at my job and was on upper pay scale with TLRs. My mental health was crumbling and I wasn't able to deal with it, didn't have the time. Left when I had my first DC.

I'll never go back. I have an autistic DC and am their f/t carer. The small amount of help I get from the state is still better than being paid lots more for the extreme stress I was under. I still feel relieved on Sunday nights because I don't have that cold feeling of dread I used to get every single week.

piggy unfortunately they don't have lower target grades for MFL. Wish they did. Even FFT are admitting that students are graded more harshly.

ffteducationdatalab.org.uk/2019/09/will-anything-ever-be-done-about-grading-in-modern-foreign-languages-gcses/

www.all-london.org.uk/archive/severe_grading.htm

piggy that last post had 2 different links. Read up on it. There are other articles about the issue. Oxford Uni have a campaign to try resolve the disparity between subjects. It's utterly demoralising!

The bursary size is related to how desperate they are for teachers in that subject, not how difficult it is to teach!

Yes, the students can be graded more harshly (well aware of those issues as the mother of two Spanish studying DSs) but I assure you the actual FFT indicator grades are based on student outcomes in subjects : therefore, in MFL those grades are lower. Even more so at A Level where my entire film class is supposed to get a B or above at A Level!! Because easy.

FWIW both my DSs got higher grades in Spanish than anything else! We love MFL in my house.

noble I know - but students attitudes to MFL mean people don't always stay in the job. I think bursaries should be same for all subjects. Our trainees get paid more than I do & I've been teaching since 2001!
The FFT article states that there are issues with harsh grading in MFL. I'm not making it up....

As an MFL teacher, I would advise you to train in history. MFL is just so ridiculously difficult now and it is fo hard to get the kids through the exams. I love teaching, I love French but I don’t love teaching A level or GCSE French.

converse, no one said you were. That's not the same as indicator grades, which are based on past students' outcomes so those work in your favour.

Until there is some active discouragement of students who are fluent speakers from doing a GCSE or A Level in their own native language so that they can bag a top grade (for themselves and the school) this will persist as an issue. Lots of unis won't let people on to their MFL courses if they are already native speakers, or have a different pathway.

Maybe I am deluded but my year 11 DS (who is not super able but is hard working) does not find Spanish any more difficult from his other subjects. In fact, he would probably say it is his second easiest (and finds history harder, but also loves it). DS1 just did A Level Spanish in 2019. He is very lazy and got his highest grade in Spanish...(he did do the old style Spanish GCSE and that was indeed very easy. He got full marks) It can be done. And DS2 does enjoy it. I do find it sad that so many MFL teachers seem so negative about their subject as that must pass on to the students. ALL of the subjects were made harder in reforms . There is a crisis in MFL of teacher recruitment but also of student uptake : telling students that it is 'too hard' isn't helping (and nor is putting keen future teachers off helpful). And I have heard teachers say that to students.

A lot depends on your school and head. Problem is there's no reliable way to really get the measure of that before you start working there. If you're expecting a first or 2:1 take a look at the Teach First training option- it helps you sidestep into other careers after you've finished your NQT year in the event you decide that teaching isn't for you.

Most teachers go straight into the profession after university, so they think getting 13 weeks annual leave is the norm, and they take it for granted, because it is all they know. They have no experience of ‘normal’ jobs in which people get just 20-25 days a year, plus bank holidays. You can try to explain what this is like, but they just don’t get it.

Some people fail to understand how teachers are paid. 'You can try to explain but they just don't get it....'

It's basically a messed up system in which those that hate teaching rise up the ranks to avoid teaching and badly manage those that are creative and do like teaching.

teaching is a wonderful experience to take to any job if you choose to leave.

This REALLY is not true.

piggy I am really positive about my subject! We do loads of extra curricular and I never try to put anyone off by saying it's too hard!
Spanish is the easier of the MFL options. Native speakers are indeed a problem for us.
It was acknowledged today about harsh grading and it's going to be dealt with thankfully.

www.gov.uk/government/news/inter-subject-comparability-in-gcse-modern-foreign-languages?fbclid=IwAR0SJuqkAHnyLL35RnIXxBFu28gTRYCd05edlTuQcwTAqbO2oWgkiySr_-w

Yes, I read it. It is high time.

I started a thread on it if you want to join : on staff room.

OP if you are able and happy to do literally nothing else other than teaching related duties for six days a week 7am-10pm then go for it.

If you think you might need or want to have children, care for older relatives, have a hobby, be able to attend a friend's birthday at the weekend without worrying about falling behind work, exercise etc etc then do something else.

OP, I don't find it like that at all! Exhausting yes, frequently demoralising , yes. But I have plenty of down time although I am so tired I sleep in it

I work 7.30 - 3.30.