Any teachers around?

zigmeister

Hi,

I don't know if this is the right board but I just wanted some opinions.

I am currently in my second year of a 3 year Primary Education course. I am enjoying it (although it is stressful and I get really nervous before every lesson!).

Although I really want to be a teacher, lately I keep worrying that I will have no life because of all the paperwork and planning. I'm one of those people who would love to live 'back in the day' and be a housewife and my OH be the main earner but that's just not possible.

I would just like to know from other teachers what life is really like. Do you have time to spend with your families or does teaching properly take over your life?

TIA

Oldernotwiser

I've never taught primary - only in FE but I'll chip in as you've had no other replies.

Most teachers find the first few years heavy going but once you have a bank of lessons and resources available to you, things tend to get easier. You'll be lucky in not having marking but you do need to develop good time management skills and accept that much of the holidays will be used for preparation for the coming year.

You sound to me as if you're getting cold feet about your future career, which is understandable. However, any worthwhile career will be time consuming and with a degree of stress; presumably if you'd wanted a 9-5 job you'd now be working in Tescos!

Good luck.

zigmeister

Thank you for your reply Do you think there would be a better place in the forum for this post?

I do want to teach, I guess I'm just worried that when I have kids I'll hardly get to spend time with them because I'm planning lessons! So far, my only experience of teaching has involved spending hours planning one lesson.

But I'm sure you're right about it getting easier the more you do and collect resources etc.

I already work in Tesco and would not be able to stand it 9-5! :rolleyes:

Thanks again

sammyjammy

You could always post it on the family board.

elisebutt65

zigmeister wrote: »

Thank you for your reply Do you think there would be a better place in the forum for this post? Well you did post just when people are finishing work or getting home with kids and sorting out tea - so that's prob why not many posts:o

I do want to teach, I guess I'm just worried that when I have kids I'll hardly get to spend time with them because I'm planning lessons! So far, my only experience of teaching has involved spending hours planning one lesson.
Sounds about right for your 2nd year:rotfl:

But I'm sure you're right about it getting easier the more you do and collect resources etc.
I'm just starting my 2nd year of teaching 'properly' and it would have been easier but I've moved into teaching our degree students:eek::eek: I'm in Fe like ONW used to be. My Level 3 stuff seems like a piece of cake now and I had a dream teaching my A Level students. I've also just had 2 tutor groups landed on me so I have scadloads of paperwork to get through this weekend

I already work in Tesco and would not be able to stand it 9-5! :rolleyes:

Thanks again

You will have a life again -eventually:D It's just a steep learning curve when you put it all into practice but once you hit the top of the hill - where is there to go:rotfl::rotfl:

IHateDida

I've just come out of secondary teaching - to be honest I didn't work over the weekend - nor hardly any evenings. I used to get around this by going in at 7am and doing most of my prep/marking then (and over lunch) - you also avoided traffic - so it made the most of my time! It worked for me - I know alot of my other colleagues would work evenings but I was a morning person. You do have more work than a "normal job" but you can work around this to suit your lifestyle as school usually finishes before most other jobs! (and you get the holidays)

I'm now out of teaching - it got a little "samey" after several years - but I don't regret it - I still mark exam papers (to earn a bit on the side and keep my "finger" in) and am still in an education-related job. Plus, its an insurance policy - having qualified as a teacher - you can always go back in, if needs be! Don't give up - finish your course, do your NQT year (you need to get that out of the way to be fully qualified) and then decide what you want to do - having a teaching qualification can open doors! (and can allow you to negotiate higher salary in other jobs)

chika

Try the TES forums, loads of teachers on there!

I'm in the fourth year of a four year primary teaching degree and the feedback that I have from the qualified teachers that I know is that it does get easier. I agree with the comment that you get a bank of resources and know what you are doing the longer you teach. On my placement last year I found it so much easier because I was more aware of the NC and the Numeracy and literacy frameworks and I already had planning that could easily be adapted.

You also need to remember that when you're qualified you won't have to do all the individual script like plans and do written evaluations for every session - this is all soooo time consuming.

I have so much respect for people who do QTS in the three year degree - I think the workload in my four year course is hard but to squeeze it into three years must be hell for the students.

Best of luck - and if you need any help or anything just send me a pm.

zigmeister

Thanks Elise,

I'm hoping it gets quicker to plan lessons! Otherwise I'll be doing it in my sleep! It's just all a bit of a shock to the system and I think I'm a bit nervous going back into it all after the summer off!

Thanks IHateDida,

That sounds like a good routine! I need to find one that works for me. I just spent a minute figuring out how it could work for me in the future ("...so I go into school early... OH can take the kids to school... I prep at lunch, maybe a bit after school...get back in time to do dinner!...") Even just realising I could do that has made me feel a bit better about it all!

It's good to know that having a teaching qualification means you can do other stuff. I had a few people tell me I should do a degree then PGCE so I wouldn't be stuck with only being able to be a teacher.

zigmeister

chika wrote: »

Try the TES forums, loads of teachers on there!

I didn't even think of TES! God my brain cells have rapidly been dying over the summer obviously!


You also need to remember that when you're qualified you won't have to do all the individual script like plans and do written evaluations for every session - this is all soooo time consuming.

I cannot wait until I don't have to do any more evaluations! As useful as they are, they do add so much to your workload!

I have so much respect for people who do QTS in the three year degree - I think the workload in my four year course is hard but to squeeze it into three years must be hell for the students.

That's how I feel about people who do PGCEs. I don't know how they do it.

Best of luck - and if you need any help or anything just send me a pm.

Thank you I'm finding it hard to get my head round the fact that in two years I'll be a teacher. I don't think I'll be ready! All the teachers I've met seem like such knowledgable, hard working, patient, amazing people and I feel like a nervous student who doesn't know enough and will feel like this forever! Argh! *It will get better!* Repeat to self...!

jennypdolphin

During the Degree they tend to like each individual lesson planned in detail. This is NOT the case in school. Whilst you will have a little extra paper work for your first year of teaching once you are in a school with a good system and medium term plan in place then it does get easier! (I'm now in my 3rd year as a qualified teacher and have a 3 year old child. It can be done )

edited to add that I am working in the nursrery this year, my DS has just started at the same nursery (easier for me than him going to one closer to our house!) he comes in with me at 7.45am each morning and we leave around 4.30pm. He has a friend in year 2 who is often in late with his mum (a TA) and comes over to play with him, he also enjoys getting spoilt by other staff members as well!

IHateDida

zigmeister wrote: »

Thanks Elise,


Thanks IHateDida,

That sounds like a good routine! I need to find one that works for me. I just spent a minute figuring out how it could work for me in the future ("...so I go into school early... OH can take the kids to school... I prep at lunch, maybe a bit after school...get back in time to do dinner!...") Even just realising I could do that has made me feel a bit better about it all!

It's good to know that having a teaching qualification means you can do other stuff. I had a few people tell me I should do a degree then PGCE so I wouldn't be stuck with only being able to be a teacher.

I have QTS which I got through doing a GTP. Now having just come out of teaching, I have found that the most valuable teaching qualifications are PGCE, QTS, Cert Ed (in that order).

The thing with teaching is that if you allow it to take over your life, it will. You have to be realistic - its a job at the end of the day. My hardest year was during my GTP year - just the sheer amount of evidence you have to put together (99% of which, I never looked at again after the event!). There are loads of resources available now (look at the TES resources site) that you can adapt. Make pals with teachers in other schools - share resources - don't reinvent the wheel! I used to swap resources with about 5 other teachers from all over the UK.

But finding a pattern which suits you, in my experience, works best. I loved going in at 7am - no distractions, peace and quiet for 1.5 hours before school - you will be surprised how much more you can get done when its quiet! Also in my experience - try to find other avenues whilst being a teacher - I got involved in marking exam papers whilst in my NQT year - it impressed employers and also makes your job much easier to understand (at Primary I guess I am talking about key stage 1 and 2 tests?). I also moderated coursework for a while. Get involved with things outside your school - forums, conferences - anything that you might be able to use later on if you decide to come out of teaching.

I'm lucky - I'm no longer a teacher but am still on a teacher pension (again, something else that is extremely valuable) - as I still do some "teaching" related activities in my current role. Honestly there are many benefits to gaining a teaching qualification but you need to broaden your scope as much as you can and also remember, at the end of the day, its a job.

Good luck and I'm sure you'll be fine!:j