any further education teachers here - what are 16-18yrs old like to teach??

[emandjules]

I have applied for a job as a support teacher on health and social care course. I am wondering if 16-18yr old are hard work or a nightmare. I could not imagine teaching secondary as a few of my friends are teachers and hate it. I am not strict at all. Are older students easier to teach and well behaved or am I just kidding myself.

I would like to think that 16yr olds have chosen to stay on at school and chosen their subjects, so should be willing to learn...

Or am I just deluded?

I teach sixth form but at a private school so my experience of 16-18 year olds in somewhat more selective than some...IME, they tend to be relatively interested in your subject (they've chosen it over and above others) and can discuss issues with maturity and thoughtfulness. Mine are interesting, engaging and friendly. On the other hand, they can be lazy about working independently, research, wider reading, etc. You shouldn't need to be strict, just assertive about deadlines, standards, etc.

I teach A Levels in an FE college. In my experience despite the fact that they have chosen their courses and don't have to be there, they get bored easily. They have very short attention spans, and love to chat about anything off-topic! It is very hard to get and keep them engaged. Some of them are a pleasure to teach, but many others have a real attitude about anything and everything, and I have had to learn not to take anything personally. I used to ask for course feedback at the end of modules but got so disillusioned trying to please the students that I just decided to do things my way. You have to be quite hard - but the good tends to outweigh the bad, and I'm sure you'll meet some lovely students along the way. Good luck!