Teaching - what are your views ?

[podkin]

I am thinking about retraining as a primary teacher as a short to medium term goal. What are your experiences of teaching ? Will it be worth it (and I am not really talking financially as I know the pay is pretty shit) ? Or is it all just paperwork these days ?

It is very hard work.
I'm thinking of getting an office job!

Aha - I thought that's what people would say...

Are you full or part time ?

This may not be a popular view among teachers, but having worked both as a teacher and as a manager in the business environment, I found it much harder work in the business world. As a teacher, my hours were more prescribed, my holidays were set out in advance, my work was able to be planned in advance, etc.

This may not be the experience of others, but the fact that I can now have the school holidays with my children is such a bonus.

My friend who used to work in retail management has found teaching a doddle in comparision

Pay is pretty good considering you don't work a full day and get all those holidays

Now part time but was full time and a senior manager. Found i had no time for myself at all. work, pick up kids, feed them, put them to bed, more work, me to bed...... hence now given up all responsibilities and do 2 days. much more manageable... but the thought of being full time again makes me feel sick. actually having the holidays is a bonus but not the fixed holiday - always more expensive.

I love teaching and would encourage anyone to go into it. However, I found that it zapped exactly the energy that I needed for my children. But I'm now working in an office job in education going into schools only about 3 or 4 days a week and finding life much better. I work 9 to 5 with no evening work. About once a week I get to take a lunch break too. In teaching I was doing 7 - 5 at school and then after the children were in bed another couple of hours, and never a break at work during the day. But I loved it - it is a wonderful job.

Agree about the holidays, but once your own kids are at school you have to go away in the holidays anyway (mostly!!).

I also have found the work much easier and less demanding. The pay is pretty good compared to other business sectors, and the ability to work part time is fab. There are few other jobs you could do part time on that level of pay.

For my first few years of teaching I loved it. I was in a good school and I could concentrate on teaching and having the children learn. It was wonderful if long days. At the time I worked full time and my teaching contact hours were 9am till 4pm. Then meetings twice a week until 5:30pm, and a minimum of 1-2 hours work when I got home, normally longer especially at coursework time. This was secondary though. And I used lots of my holiday time on planning, prep and assessments. I would take 6-8 weeks holidays max, normally less.

My seocond school caused me to leave teaching for good. It was a hard school, a failing school. I did long days. We were subject to continual assessments. Support from management was not as good as it could have been. And discipline was dire - the children ran the lessons, not teachers. Even very experiences, tough teachers struggled. It wasn't worth the agro in the end. I lost all enthusiasm and felt depressed and unhappy. I finally left and decided to put health and family first.

I am now in an education post in a prison and life is much happier. I still use my teaching qualification but in a different way. It is far easier than being in a school and I would not return. I have my life back. I no longer work at home and still get the holidays, but when I want them and I don't work int hem.

So I would say teaching can be wonderful and very rewarding, if you are in the right school at the right time.

Very interesting to read all these messages. While Podkin is thinking of primary, I'm currently studying chemistry with the OU with a view to training as a secondary level teacher. So do you think I'm mad? Or, as it sounds from some of these replies, that maybe it's a good idea?

Look forward to hearing from you.

I agree that as a part time job it does pay pretty well.

I disagree, however, that as a fullt ime job the pay is good. Compared to other jobs with similar levels of qualification and training required after the first couple of years they outstrip teaching completely. I found this out with all my peers at the time when we all qualified if different sectors after university.

Wow. Thanks all for some very interesting views. It's given me a bit of a boost actually. I have been fannying around for weeks trying to make up my mind whether or not to go back to my (admittedly very well paid) job in London, following 2 consecutive periods of maternity leave. To the point where I had a letter ready last night for DP to post, saying I wanted to work 2 days a week. I told him not to post it though as something is holding me back. Namely, that all I earn will go on childcare and travel. That I will be over an hours journey away from my children if they are ill. That I will be going back to a chaotic and ill managed department, low on morale but high on increasing workloads. Like lockets I want to spend pre-school years with my children, and going into teaching when they reach school age, seems like a good idea. I would envisage getting a part time post. I am 38 now and will be in my early 40s by the time I can do the PGCE. Do you think this will be a barrier or do schools prefer the more 'mature' teacher with good 'life' experience ? Sorry for ramble, but I am all excited now...

I think, at times, teaching is the best job in the world. You really do get a thrill when something "clicks" with a pupil and they realise that they are actually learning - and they enjoy it!
Of course, a lot of the time is is very stressful and knackering and you have to put up with a lot of cr*p
I had a colleague who did her PGCE with the Open Universoty and went straight into part time teaching to fit around her children. She had been in the navy previously so had lots of experience and advnetures to talk about.
I would go for it

I worked in marketing & PR (senior roles in the last few years) and then retrained as a teacher in my early 30's, because I wanted to do something more "worthwhile".

Whilst the marketing roles involved long hours and crazy deadlines, plus managing a team of people, teaching was utterly exhausting by comparison. I have never been so tired as I was when teaching - I really missed being able to go to the loo when I wanted, make a cup of coffee when I wanted and generally be in charge of my own time. Tbh, I ended up hating teaching and bitterly resented the ridiculously long hours for completely shite money. Every night and every weekend I usually had work to do. I saw no benefit in the holiday entitlement, because I spent a fair bit of them working or being ill, having soldiered on through various illnesses caught from the children during the term.

Maybe things have changed in the last couple of years, but if you went into teaching from a previous career, there was absolutely no recognition of the skills and experience you brought with you. My understanding was that the teaching profession was crying out for people like me, who brought a lot of experience with them, and this would be recognised in at least some way in terms of salary.

But no, I was paid the same as a newly qualified (straight out of uni) teacher (about £14,500 if IIRC). Of course I wasn't expecting the £40K+ salary I was previously on, but equally I didn't expect to be pissed on. Then a year in, after having piles of extra work dumped on me (because they could see how capable I was) I was told by the Head I couldn't have a "responsibility point" yet (worth about £1k) because I "wasn't experienced enough" - wtf!!! . What she wouldn't say (but I made my views known) was that she wasn't prepared to pay me fairly because it would unsettle other staff (er these were staff who might have been teaching for a year longer than me, but being 2 years out of Uni had nowhere near the level of working experience that I had).

I can feel my blood pressure rising at the mere thought of it and I've been out of teaching for 4 years.

I won't be going back under any circumstances. I probably shouldn't have bothered starting when I discovered the realities of the crap salary system.

I was an excellent teacher. Two lead OFSTED inspectors said I was a "gifted" teacher and more like me were needed in the profession.

It's a shame because I really did enjoy working with the children, but I have never been treated so shoddily in a professional environment and I wouldn't say the schools I worked in were particularly bad compared to others.

"teaching was utterly exhausting by comparison. I have never been so tired as I was when teaching - I really missed being able to go to the loo when I wanted, make a cup of coffee when I wanted and generally be in charge of my own time. Tbh, I ended up hating teaching and bitterly resented the ridiculously long hours for completely shite money. Every night and every weekend I usually had work to do. I saw no benefit in the holiday entitlement, because I spent a fair bit of them working or being ill, having soldiered on through various illnesses caught from the children during the term. "

Puff so much of that is true!

I have been teaching for 16 years now and I am getting so disheartened - all the new initiatives ..... I've been around so long now that it is all coming back from when I started!

We are moving soon ans so looking forward to giving up my job - then hope to retrain/look into something else

this is what my hubby is doing!!!!!!!!!

he has been a retial manager for 6 years and since dd came along he never sees her or gets any family time at weekends (never gets two days off together unless hols!). He leaves his current managenment role this week and starts supply teaching after easter! Hopefully will get a permanaent job for septemebr. (He's already got a PGCE) Do it do it do it, if you don't you'll always wonder what if,

I hate being negative about anything - it really isn't in my nature, but I found the whole thing soul destroying - such a shame because actually working with the children was great - young children have such enthusiasm for everything, you want to do your very best for them, but I wasn't prepared to be driven into the ground by the system within which I was expected to work.

I teach secondary school kids & I love my job. Every day is different - every hour is different...teaching could never be called boring!! You come into contact with so many different people a day.

As another poster said you have to give 100%. There's no room for an off day when you've got 30 15 year olds to deal with! I think of it being a bit like acting really. The show must go on. You need bags of energy, enthusiasm, patience...

It is a long day. I get to school at 8 & work til 4.30 ish. Even lunch isn't a break - kids always needing something, parents phoning etc. When I get home I generally do at least 2 more hours. I also need to do work at weekends. That's an adverage idea. If you have parents evening, reports etc the workload increases massively.

teaching is brillaint but you should not underestimate the workload & the draining effect. have you been into your local school to observe some lessons & 'shadow' a teacher?

Good luck with your decision!

i do have every respect for teachers and it really gets my goat when people take their kids out of school for trivial things like holidays in term time - like teachers don't have enough to deal with! education is so important and vital, i really do admire those who teach!

Agree custy - I luuuuurve teachers, have so much respect for them. Ds1 only in reception so not come across any bad ones yet though!

In fact when I see ds1's teacher taking 30 4/5 yr olds in in the morning, having 3 of 5 and under myself seems a doddle in comparison!!

oh absolutely! In fact I baked a gorgeous cake for my children's teacher at the end of term last year, I used only organic ingredients and it was a gorgeously scrummy cake! She was so pleased!

I gave ds1's teacher a bottle of Moet and some chocs. Thought she'd need a drink more than a smelly candle

Smelly candles! What a good idea! My children and I could make our own scented candles during the Easter holidays! Marvellous idea!

I'm one who has left primary teaching for a part-time office job and I have to say that teaching is definetely NOT a doddle compared to office work.

In spite of some of the comments here about having so much more time for your children as a teacher I just haven't found it to be true. As a teacher you have to be in school probably 8.30 am at the latest. There is no way you will be able to leave the school before 5pm on most days(and most teachers are there a lot later) because most admin, meetings etc is carried out after school. This means before and after school care for your children (and no many of my friends have found that working in your children's school does not negate the need for childcare.

Then half terms and holidays - you will need to come in to school for at last one or more days each holiday to prepare your classroom and displays etc.

On top of that there is the evening and weekend work -parents evenings, school concerts, jumble sales etc which you have to(or are expected to) attend (and organise childcare for). Plus you will be bringing home marking, lesson planning and paperwork to do after your own children are in bed each nightand at the weekend.

Yes, it is a fantastic rewarding job and I miss the buzz a lot but I missed my own children more.

My part-time office job lets me pick up my children from school, fit my hours around their class assemblies and Christmas plays and pays the same as teaching.

If you teach you will never be able to hold your child's hand in the playground on their first day of school -that's what did it for me.