Becoming a Primary School teacher

[Anonnnnnnm]

Hi,

Would you recommend becoming a Primary School teacher? Honest answers only.

Thanks!

This depends completely on your personal circumstances.

It is NOT family friendly at all. Even when I am home at a reasonable time, I am too exhausted to even talk at times.

I am a career changer having had several jobs before going into teaching and I can confirm that "teacher tired" is real and there is nothing like it.

I love what I do but often ask myself if the sacrifices are worth it. It is not a job but a lifestyle and I know very few that can leave it at the door.

Early in my career, I would regularly break down from exhaustion, difficult days with behaviour or from unrealistic demands from management. I still struggle with these things but have (so far) made it through. Many of my friends I met while training are long gone into other careers. The decision to leave teaching was awful for them and in many ways tore apart their identities as like I say, it becomes a lifestyle.

Happy to answer any questions OP.

Agree about it not being family friendly. I miss out on picking my children up, dropping them off and sport days etc. However, I do get all the holidays with them which is lovely.

The actual job can be gruelling- long hours, lots of planning and assessment. I wouldn't change jobs though. I love having my own class, I love the children (even the challenging ones) and I love that every day is different. It is a rewarding career BUT you have to want to do it. I would recommend being a TA for a year to see if the school life suits you.

I completely agree with what the two previous posters have said. I'm also a career changer, having worked in a high pressure, professional role (with much better pay!) for many years prior to retraining, so I am able to make a comparison with 'the real world.'

Teaching is all-consuming, exhausting and feels utterly thankless for a great deal of the time. You have to really want to do it. Most of those who trained with me 7 years ago have quit. I love my job but I completely understand why they've left the profession.

I'd agree with the suggestion to get plenty of school experience before applying, so you can see whether it's for you.

Good luck!

Changed careers to teaching mid-30s.

Pros:
Every day is different - I couldn't stick sitting in an office cubicle day in day out.
It's creative.
You feel like it matters whether you're there or not.
It's interesting (at least I think so).
Children are funny and engaging - I can cope with 9 year olds behaving like children much better than I can cope with adults behaving like children.
The holidays.

Cons:
It is an entire profession predicated on the assumption that you are happy to work in the evenings and at weekends, for free, for the remainder of your working life.
There is no flexibility on hours.
You are scrutinised by a frequently brutal Ofsted regime, the findings of which are in the public domain.
You may be lucky and find a lovely school but you need to look really carefully because there are some really toxic schools to avoid.

No I'm sorry I really wouldn't. I'm leaving teaching after 13 years of being a primary teacher in July. I have absolutely loved teaching the children but even from 13 years ago it's changed enormously, trying to get 5-6 year olds to a totally unrealistic 'expected standard' is soul destroying to me, the fun has gone, no time to explore and play, no more going off on tangents to learn about things they would actually enjoy learning about, it makes me feel sad.

Then there's the subject leadership. Total responsibility for one or more subjects with accountability solely on you for no extra time or pay, being judged by OFSTED in the same manner that they judge secondary single subject teachers.

So many things wrong in primary education at the moment and it's only going to get worse I'm afraid. Sorry to be negative!

No, I wouldn't. Love the kids and the actual teaching but the hours and the pressure are considerable. Neither of my teenaged daughters have any intention of going into teaching and I am very glad about that.

I’m only 2 years in, and another saying ‘don’t do it’. Pretty much for SusanBland’s reasons…

If you're a high achiever, no. I have a good degree and regret going into such a low paid job for the work it involves. It's not so noticeable at first but when you're 15 years past graduation and many (most?) friends are earning significantly more, it does grate. The progression opportunities aren't really there in primary unless you want to be a head, which is very different to being a class teacher. All the jobs in between, such as SENCO, are just a piss take for the salary.

Only if you do it part time.
Otherwise, no.

No

Really agree with this !!

it’s a really tough, relentless job. I find I have no appetite for returning to it having taken a break while my kids are small. I have dipped my toe back in and I just can’t summon up the energy!

I have a good degree and would probably have been better suited to a different job. It definitely has its highs and loveliness but is gruelling and very very hard work.

I honestly think it might be better in a private school. They seem to have a much lower turnover of staff which suggests they are not burning out!

If I had my chance again, I wouldn't touch teaching with a barge pole. It's an over-scrutinised, underpaid profession that is becoming more toxic for older, experienced teachers. There has been a slow erosion of what was good in teaching; pay portability, flexibility in what/how you teach, links with LAs etc. I do supply a week as a regular part-time slot so I'm lots of schools. So many of them use schemes to teach with death by PowerPoint for each lesson, marking is OTT, every room has to have a working wall for this and a display for that, behaviour can be bad and often unmanaged and teachers unsupported, so many schools with Executive Heads and CEOs that are hardly in the schools they oversee.

It's also thankless, sometimes. In general, everyone goes to school. Therefore, people think they know what teachers do, their children grow up with their parents' mistrust/dislike of school, disrespect amongst students is rife and they always "know their rights", the parents never back them up. Obviously this isn't all, but a growing number that I've seen this past decade+. People think we do 9-3 and get 13 weeks' holiday a year, so we're "part-time" or "workshy".

There are so many reasons I'm looking to leave. Education has worn me down and I've almost had enough. If I'd gone into project management or accountancy or something in my mid-20s instead of teacher training, I'd probably be in a better financial position, have more choice about jobs, flexibility to have a morning off if I wanted, perhaps hybrid working. Instead, I'm earning as much as I'll ever earn (I'm top of the class teacher payscale) unless I become a deputy or headteacher, which I don't want to do.

Sorry so long. But I'm currently feeling very passionate about how bad it is for many of us (not all, of course)!

@Anonnnnnnm are you still there OP? Or was this a journalistic fishing exercise? This thread has gone the way of so many... The OP asks about going into teaching, we give honest answers, the OP doesn't respond to any of them....

Nope and I’m only two years in. It’s relentless. The actual teaching part is lovely but the pressure, responsibility and workload are ridiculous. I came into it with ten years of school experience and quickly realised I had no clue how hard it was or how much work it actually involved. It’s really hard to work around kids too, I’m lucky that my husband is so hands on both in the home and with our children because I couldn’t manage otherwise. The money isn’t enough to justify it at all.