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Hibernia History and English subject interview

  • 03-02-2015 5:29pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 127 ✭✭


    Hey everyone - was wondering if anyone has done the Hibernia Interview in English and History? Been 8 years since I did my degree, so no very confident I can perform well in this interview!

    Nerves are shot! Any advice on it all would be great :D


Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 127 ✭✭username84


    Doesn't matter - did the interview yesterday, got accepted today!


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,380 ✭✭✭sitstill


    Congratulations!

    Do bear in mind however, that English and History is THE most common subject combination and therefore be mindful of the fact that, anecdotally at least, it is very tough in the jobs market with such a combination.


  • Registered Users Posts: 38 Giggles90


    Hi,

    I have my interview on monday! My subjects are geography and history. Could you give me an idea of what questions they ask you about your subjects????? really panicking here...its been a few years since I finished my degree..
    Did they ask you any unexpected questions?


  • Registered Users Posts: 115 ✭✭Teacher0101


    why do this course?
    Are you well connected, do you know principals etc
    Yes, you might love your subjects, but I've taught for nine years with three subjects and no CID.
    I'm 33. All the love in th world for a subject does not pay bills.
    It's a money manking racket for the Dept of Ed and Hibernia. Hibernia shoud not be allowed.
    'But we need teachers from all ages/background experiences'. Sure. But there is a glut.
    You won't get paid for the Summer.
    Why can't the government put a cap on teachers like Gardaí. I don't hear anyone moaning that]the Gardaí should be open to the age group of 40+??


  • Registered Users Posts: 127 ✭✭username84


    Eh? To further our education? To get a masters in teaching?

    Having a masters in teaching firstly doesn't mean that you necessarily have to be a secondary school teacher. It's the ideal of course, but there are a lot of us out there willing to work hard to get into a school, or in the second case willing to see where our qualifications may bring us

    I would never be able to afford ANY kind of masters without working full time - this is perfect for me

    I have also taught abroad for a few years and I know education is the route I want to go down

    There is a glut, yes, but that's no reason to stop yourself moving towards a career you want, or to further your education


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  • Registered Users Posts: 115 ✭✭Teacher0101


    Back to my original point : why is Hibernia allowed? It's a cash cow for a private university.
    Why don't the government just take on the amount of teachers that are necessary as in other schools in Europe?
    Why not open the Gardaí free for all, and have Gardaí living off eight hour contracts for years? Or filling in casual sub dockets.

    I have a masters. It's not ideal. Reading books from a guy who left inner-city schools ashen faced 40 years ago because they couldn't stick it and come up with trendy fads in education every ten years to peddle a book. THe fads we're pushing now will be out-dated in ten years time. The Masters is just glossing up the fact that it's two year. You won't get paid for having that Masters, that benefit went a few years ago.

    All I've learned has been on the job, talking to older teachers and team teaching. It's like an apprenticeship, I'm teaching eight years and I'm learning how to handle new situations that aren't in books every day. The odd workshop might be good - maybe 50%. I've learned nothing from four subject inspections.

    That's fair enough you've taught abroad and you know it's for you - may I ask where and what you're experience was like?

    That's cool, move towards a career you want - and I hope you like moving. As it'll be about ten years with those subjects, or really any - if you're not lucky - of going round the country, house-sharing, budgeting etc. I'm all for everyone's dream job - but this is teaching - teaching isn't worth waiting ten years for. People aren't trying to be astronauts here. Hey, everyone wants to be an actress in Hollywood, but after ten years living on tips in diners I think it might be time to call it a day. Same position here.

    Was it ever better here? Was it ever this hard for people to get jobs? I'm 32 and have no teachers in my family. From asking in my school, they said it was hard, money wasn't good, (Pre Strike 200/'01) and a lot had to double job in the summer, but not til they were 30.

    What about Scotland? You get guaranteed two years work once you train. What do you get here? Dole, demoralisation, depression.

    Free Third Level Ed brought in '94. Great, loads get to go to college, and I wouldn't have without it. Third Level has huge numbers, huge glut of graduates, more people with phDs, which is actually worse to get a foot in the door.

    It's beneficial for the government to have a surplus of teachers. Truncated contracts - 4 hours here - 7 hours there.

    All I'm saying is that a CAP is needed. For all we know about Irish politics, Hibernia could be giving a nice backhander to the powers at be.

    The Unions do NOTHING and never bring up this issue. Why not? Why aren't they protecting our rights? And younger teachers' rights? The salary they start on is scandalous.

    I worked hard for a degree, a masters, HDIP, various SEN courses and an English degree at night time. I still don't have a CID. At 33, it'd be nice to know where I'll be. It's draining.


  • Registered Users Posts: 127 ✭✭username84


    I earn 345 after tax for a 42 hour week with a 5 hour a week commute. I'm trying to better myself.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Education Moderators Posts: 27,088 CMod ✭✭✭✭spurious


    username84 wrote: »
    I earn 345 after tax for a 42 hour week with a 5 hour a week commute. I'm trying to better myself.

    PLEASE investigate the job opportunities in teaching before committing large sums of money to courses. There are many teachers would be delighted with 345 a week.


  • Registered Users Posts: 115 ✭✭Teacher0101


    Hibernia should be banned, it's a total scam. Are the media aware of this and the glut of teachers?
    Because after eight years teaching and still being unsure of my position each May I'm going elsewhere with a better climate in all respects to teach.

    It's not the dark ages, we have Unions but they do nothing. You have a right to know where you can / will be working.
    It has been detrimental to my mental health. There have been days where I just calmly tell a student thats doing something wrong that it's unacceptable. Your health suffers, mental, physical, ulcers and your wallet takes a hammering. I'm sure it has an effect on ulers and life expectancy, going job to job, uncertainty and €300 in your back pocket each week. But if you're the happy go lucky type who doesn't mind that kinda nonsense, fire away.

    But do the Unions care about that or the TUI? Sure we have a support number. Thanks.

    I don't mean to rain on your parade OP. I ruined my twenties by teaching. Some kids are great, some are awful, some teachers great, some awful. You will bring home an IMMENSE amount of correcting.

    I was told this on this forum NINE years ago. It does not improve. Don't do it.


  • Registered Users Posts: 115 ✭✭Teacher0101


    SPURIOUS: I know you have been teaching a while. Was it always this bad? I know for the last ten years it has.


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  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Education Moderators Posts: 27,088 CMod ✭✭✭✭spurious


    SPURIOUS: I know you have been teaching a while. Was it always this bad? I know for the last ten years it has.

    I graduated in 1984 and did two years part-time and 3 months of a temporary wholetime position before being appointed. Most of my 1984 class got full-time jobs straight away. Two years later, graduates from the same course were not all getting employed and some were stuck for years teaching part-time.

    I was one of the last 'full time job' people in our ETB until the mid '90s when jobs started to appear again - of course almost all those positions had someone in the job doing it part-time.

    The expansion of the FE area in our ETB gave an increase in jobs, while in recent years the contraction of the same area is forcing redeployment of teachers into schools - doing people who are not on full hours out of work.

    The only way in the old days into second level teaching was through (at that time) Mater Dei, PE teaching from a place in England, the HE colleges and the traditional H. Dip. route. Nowadays there are all sorts of extra teacher ed. courses as well as Hibernia, but no reduction in the number of PGDE places. A recipe for disaster.

    I'm not teaching anymore. I had some health issues and some rather large issues with the direction in which teaching and schools had gone recently, but basically I just didn't want to do it anymore. It had stopped being fun, and as Abba said 'There's no point doing it if it's not fun'.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,380 ✭✭✭sitstill


    I'm teaching 8 years this year and am 31. Teaching was always the dream job for me growing but for the past 8 years it has not been a dream. I started pre-2011 so I'm on the slightly better salary scale and have my MA and HDip allowances. But it has been such a struggle. Going school to school. Worrying every summer about getting work. Applying for jobs and never hearing back. Endless interviews and never hearing back. Working on 6 hour a week contracts and feeling lucky. Going on the dole intermittently and doing various other bits of work like grinds, correcting mocks, teaching TEFL, correcting state exams and superintendent in the summer just to get by. It looks like I'll be back in my current school next year and assuming the new Circular actually comes out, I'll get a CID for 22 hours. I think it's well deserved but it has been so hard and this aspect of teaching has without doubt taken a toll on my mental health. I would not encourage anyone I know to go into teaching in Ireland unless they are willing to embark on a very difficult and demoralizing journey.


  • Registered Users Posts: 545 ✭✭✭Pinkycharm


    Hibernia should be banned, it's a total scam. .

    That's your opinion.

    I disagree with you completely on it.


  • Registered Users Posts: 115 ✭✭Teacher0101


    Pinkycharm wrote: »
    That's your opinion.

    I disagree with you completely on it.

    Why do you disagree?

    It's a money making racket. Convince me otherwise. Or maybe spout something from the brochure about how it allows people of different ages/backgrounds/people working get into teaching. Where's the bit in the booklet about the lack of jobs? Do you read this forum and people hunting around prepared to WAIT in staff rooms, fully qualified just to see if they can get a free class. People who have years of experience in the UK and not a sniff ogf a job here.

    That is not a profession. It's disgraceful that this glut has been created by the like of allowing Hibernia to operate. Is there even a cap on the number of Hibernia graduates? Spend €10k plus buy books, do lesson plans then after the TWO years are done drive around the country looking for scraps of contracts of 4 hours a go. The profession is whoring itself out and the unions are to blame.


  • Registered Users Posts: 545 ✭✭✭Pinkycharm


    Why do you disagree?

    It's a money making racket. Convince me otherwise. Or maybe spout something from the brochure about how it allows people of different ages/backgrounds/people working get into teaching. Where's the bit in the booklet about the lack of jobs? Do you read this forum and people hunting around prepared to WAIT in staff rooms, fully qualified just to see if they can get a free class. People who have years of experience in the UK and not a sniff ogf a job here.

    That is not a profession. It's disgraceful that this glut has been created by the like of allowing Hibernia to operate. Is there even a cap on the number of Hibernia graduates? Spend €10k plus buy books, do lesson plans then after the TWO years are done drive around the country looking for scraps of contracts of 4 hours a go. The profession is whoring itself out and the unions are to blame.

    well they could do the same in putting a cap on primary teachers too so at the likes of Mary I and that, seeing as there are no jobs in that sector either. No its not a money making racket- I'm a graduate of theirs and I'm actually proud to be- my dip was a lot harder than what was done in other colleges and I feel I came out better in the end for it. It actually helped me get into teaching because I couldn't move to a college or give up the job I was in to do the course so yeah I guess I am one of them "people of different ages/backgrounds/people working get into teaching". It's not Hibernia's fault that their are no jobs- it's the education system's fault because it's not managed properly and there are not enough resources- just like our health system!

    Hibernia aren't creating the glut alone- why not just ban all the colleges for 5 years or so. Yes there is a cap- only so many are allowed in each cohort and per subject. There's 460 primary teachers coming out of Mary I alone next year- there will only be about 60 out of hibernia, and about 60 secondary school teachers.

    They stress on the open days about the current situation with teaching and you have 30 days to decide if the course is for you or not. We were never under the illusion that Ireland was full of jobs for us when we graduated- loads of my class are gone abroad with their dip, many to America- that was their plan. Hibernia provide all the reading material free online by the way- you don't pay for books.


  • Registered Users Posts: 909 ✭✭✭gaeilgebeo


    Pinkycharm wrote: »
    my dip was a lot harder than what was done in other colleges.

    That is a ridiculously untrue and unprofessional statement to make.
    You cannot possibly know that your dip was "a lot harder" than what was done in other colleges.


  • Registered Users Posts: 545 ✭✭✭Pinkycharm


    gaeilgebeo wrote: »
    That is a ridiculously untrue and unprofessional statement to make.
    You cannot possibly know that your dip was "a lot harder" than what was done in other colleges.

    I worked a full time job while doing it online. I didn't attend a college everyday. We met our tutors once a month if we were lucky. I think that equates to a "harder time", it's a very different experience to those who did the year in a full time college. The work load is also double, I've seen it myself and see it now with the student teachers. Frankly if you haven't experienced hibernia methods you've no right to judge either, it's a whole different process and that's my opinion so no its not unprofessional in any way to say it.

    I'm actually sick of hearing people bash hibernia here and in other forums the whole time. I think that's really unprofessional. We are all teachers at the end of the day and we all started it for our own reasons. There are posters here who want to do the course and shouldn't have to look at this.

    I hope the hibernia students for this year all got their interviews and are happy to be pursuing teaching.


  • Registered Users Posts: 115 ✭✭Teacher0101


    Yep it's not Hibernia's fault, as they'll gladly take €10k off someone who think the job is a good move at this stage. It's the governments fault. Why is there not more of a cap?
    Why can't there be a private Garda training college at that rate? Because Hibernia Primary cert was brought in at a time of an incoming population boom of primary school entering country children from immigrants and a population boost at home. That's over now. Hibernia should be would up. But there are probably backhanders etc to keep the course going.
    I feel sorry for those who graduate now in either - anyway, lots of jobs in England or Dubai.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 11,812 ✭✭✭✭evolving_doors


    What graduate program promises a job anyway?
    Also, why would a course need to take backhanders when they get students 'happy' to hand over 10k.
    Theres no scam, i'd just question why anyone would go into teaching nowadays. If you have support behind you/live at home/prepaired for bits and pieces for 10years (after 5 odd yrs in college) then you know what you are getting in to.

    I think its a declining legacy issue of listening to the mammy... great holidays/great pension/govt. job/social status.

    Comparing part time course to full time is difficult too. Sure hibernia have come in for slack but I think thats changing.Different Full time pme college courses and BEd programs all have their differences too.

    Anyhow were all off topic.


  • Registered Users Posts: 115 ✭✭Teacher0101


    Armelodie wrote: »
    I think its a declining legacy issue of listening to the mammy... great holidays/great pension/govt. job/social status.

    .

    yep, totally agree with this.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 909 ✭✭✭gaeilgebeo


    Pinkycharm wrote: »
    I worked a full time job while doing it online. I didn't attend a college everyday. We met our tutors once a month if we were lucky. I think that equates to a "harder time", it's a very different experience to those who did the year in a full time college. The work load is also double, I've seen it myself and see it now with the student teachers. Frankly if you haven't experienced hibernia methods you've no right to judge either, it's a whole different process and that's my opinion so no its not unprofessional in any way to say it.

    I'm actually sick of hearing people bash hibernia here and in other forums the whole time. I think that's really unprofessional. We are all teachers at the end of the day and we all started it for our own reasons. There are posters here who want to do the course and shouldn't have to look at this.

    I hope the hibernia students for this year all got their interviews and are happy to be pursuing teaching.

    I did not bash Hibernia in any way.
    I said that your statement about your course being harder than others was untrue and unprofessional.
    I did not train with Hibernia but I work very closely with those who do.
    I am well aware of the process from the interview stages, right through the course content.
    I don't judge Hibernia.
    You on the other hand seem very defensive about it.

    I would not be so quick to say your course was harder because you were working full time and met your tutor once a month. There would be the opposite outlook which would say that the ability to hold down a full-time job AND do such an intense course is an "easier option". Some would argue that they would be unable to hold down full time work, such is the workload! So I'd be careful in making such sweeping statements.

    As I've said, I have no issue with Hibernia and work closely with Hibernia students in a teaching/tutor capacity, but implying "my course is better/harder than yours" is petty and unprofessional. I stand by that comment.


  • Registered Users Posts: 545 ✭✭✭Pinkycharm


    gaeilgebeo wrote: »
    I did not bash Hibernia in any way.
    I said that your statement about your course being harder than others was untrue and unprofessional.
    I did not train with Hibernia but I work very closely with those who do.
    I am well aware of the process from the interview stages, right through the course content.
    I don't judge Hibernia.
    You on the other hand seem very defensive about it.

    I would not be so quick to say your course was harder because you were working full time and met your tutor once a month. There would be the opposite outlook which would say that the ability to hold down a full-time job AND do such an intense course is an "easier option". Some would argue that they would be unable to hold down full time work, such is the workload! So I'd be careful in making such sweeping statements.

    As I've said, I have no issue with Hibernia and work closely with Hibernia students in a teaching/tutor capacity, but implying "my course is better/harder than yours" is petty and unprofessional. I stand by that comment.

    I didn't say you were the one bashing it gaeilgebeo but thanks for the reply anyways.


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