Secondary School Teacher with one subject

Heydeldel · 08-04-2013 6:34pm

Thanks Rainbowtrout and Spurious. I'm new to this and very naive it seems.

whiteandlight · 08-04-2013 6:51pm

I really wish the department would mandate on this. The level of smaller posts is growing year on year and ultimately the students suffer. Teachers, through shear necessity are footloose desperately trying to get more hours and students are going through endless cycles of teachers. I have picked up several groups of third year students in the last few years where I was the third, fourth and in one case the 5th teacher that class had. This is insanity and they did suffer as a result of the chopping and changing.

joebloggs32 · 08-04-2013 7:21pm

Musicmental85 wrote: »

I really wish the department would mandate on this. The level of smaller posts is growing year on year and ultimately the students suffer. Teachers, through shear necessity are footloose desperately trying to get more hours and students are going through endless cycles of teachers. I have picked up several groups of third year students in the last few years where I was the third, fourth and in one case the 5th teacher that class had. This is insanity and they did suffer as a result of the chopping and changing.

No chance of the dept. doing anything as they know schools are struggling to cope without posts being replaced. It is the teachers on these poor contracts who are in many cases taking over the duties of retired post holders in an effort to impress management and thus get rehired for another year. If you fail to do it then you are let go. I have seen it happen to a very good teacher. Also some students in my class wondered aloud in my class one day why was it that the "young" teachers doing all the extra stuff like green schools, student council etc.

whiteandlight · 08-04-2013 7:37pm

I know it's wishful thinking but the profession is being destroyed by this. I was chatting to a friend of mine who works in tesco and she was stunned at the conditions of employment in teaching. She has more rights than we do and her hours cannot be cut

solerina · 08-04-2013 8:29pm

Musicmental85 wrote: »

I know it's wishful thinking but the profession is being destroyed by this. I was chatting to a friend of mine who works in tesco and she was stunned at the conditions of employment in teaching. She has more rights than we do and her hours cannot be cut

That unfortunately is the reality...but you must remember everyone knows that we have great jobs, earn huge salaries and do very little (or so I keep hearing anyway :mad:).

mj84 · 08-04-2013 8:45pm

If there is so much of this breaking up of jobs going on and there is still mass unemployment in teaching what does that tell you?

shellywelly25 · 09-04-2013 12:54am

I see what you mean. Iv been in 6 schools over the past 2yrs in both Dublin and Cork and it is usually the younger teacher that do all the extra stuff. I would hate to think that they will continue to cut hours or give reduced contracts. its very annoying as a young teacher after studying for so long and entering the profession because I care for the education and development of the future generation !!! They need to cop on !!!!

mj84 · 10-04-2013 1:48pm

That's tough shellywelly, I wonder are the powers that be trying to dissuade people from going into teaching with all these measures?, maybe this is there way of dealing with the oversupply, from what I read here you would need a florence nightingale type of vocation to go into teaching these days.

shellywelly25 · 22-05-2013 4:08pm

If anyone is looking to add maths this is what the TC accept:

To obtain a qualification that fully meets degree requirements to teach Mathematics you could complete the following module at the Open University:
MST121, MS221, M208 and one module from the level 8 (OU Level 3) list of courses below:

Applications of probability
M343
Linear statistical Modelling
M346
Mathematical Statistics
M347
Mathematical methods and fluid mechanics
MST326
Groups and geometry
M336
Complex Analysis
M337
Number Theory and Mathematical Logic
M381
Optimization
M373
Graphs networks and design
MT365

Alternatively you could complete 10 ECTS of first year degree level Mathematics followed by a Higher Diploma in Mathematics at one of the NUI’s.

Seanchai · 22-05-2013 5:44pm

Musicmental85 wrote: »

I really wish the department would mandate on this. The level of smaller posts is growing year on year and ultimately the students suffer. Teachers, through shear necessity are footloose desperately trying to get more hours and students are going through endless cycles of teachers. I have picked up several groups of third year students in the last few years where I was the third, fourth and in one case the 5th teacher that class had. This is insanity and they did suffer as a result of the chopping and changing.

I am the fourth teacher for my JC students in 3 years. A joke. It's time for a parents' union to be set up to start informing parents of how the Department is short-changing them, particularly in deprived areas where class discipline problems are more of an issue and entire classes are suffering more than ever now that SNA numbers are lower. Poor parents. Poor children. And, yes, poor teachers.

And Brendan Howlin sought €133,600 for one of his advisers. Another "I'm alright Jack" arsehole. A clear two fingers to the rest of the public sector. And he talks about "reforming" the public sector? How can the trades unions support the Labour Party with such patent smoked salmon socialists leading the show?

Seanchai · 22-05-2013 5:54pm

Heydeldel wrote: »

Realistically I can't see myself learning a language to the standard needed to teach it.

Neither could I, but you learn so, so much while teaching it every single day. This makes you much more confident. You then find yourself escaping to RnaG (or your French/Italian etc podcasts) naturally rather than the same boring stuff on the car radio and understanding everything more quickly each time. Then you find yourself coming home and, when you have the energy to pick up a book, picking up one in the language you're teaching. And so on every day. Just because you are somewhere today, doesn't mean you cannot be somewhere else in five years time. It's about determination.

Heydeldel · 27-05-2013 6:04pm

I will pick up another subject. I was good at French and with some work over the summers I could get it up to scratch. My problem at the moment is not having the funds to do another course. The Hdip broke me.

Seanchai · 27-05-2013 6:21pm

Heydeldel wrote: »

I will pick up another subject. I was good at French and with some work over the summers I could get it up to scratch. My problem at the moment is not having the funds to do another course. The Hdip broke me.

I disliked the dip considerably; it wasn't academically challenging but I just found I couldn't focus on one thing properly, going between two intellectual worlds so to speak (the creative interpersonal world of teaching and the intellectually creative, insular one of academia). That was what put me off studying at night fulltime and teaching fulltime at the same time (i.e. doing the Higher Diploma in Arts over two years at night after my PDE). Nonetheless, it definitely got easier to balance both once I decided that I had to do it for my longterm job security.

As for funds, I got 20% back in tax (well, slightly less to be honest: 20% of €2000, as they don't take the first €1000 of the €3000 annual fee for 30 ECTS credits into account). There is also a scheme in Marino which all TC-registered teachers can apply for a refund of fees, this scheme. I applied for it in April 2013 for the 2011-2012 year and hope to find out how much I receive back by the end of July. I, too, was also tight for cash so UCD allowed me to defer payment to them for some 6 months, as long as I brought my debt down to €500 by the time the exam results came out.

As for French, I'd be certain there are meetup groups for people to practice their French, like this. Alliance Francaise could be a good place to start, also.

ayeates · 20-12-2014 1:55am

I am a graduate of law and Irish and agreeing pursuing a career in law I realised ttaching is always what I wanted to do.

As far as I can see law does not qualify as being sufficient to teach cspe. I'm wondering can I take modules during the pme to boost this ?
I've also hear they teach law at second level in the UK and some Catholics schools teach Irish.

If all this fails I may have to resort to spending a 3rd yr completing a hdip in Arts .

Any insights or help would be greatly appreciated

Butterfly182 · 20-12-2014 2:00pm

ayeates wrote: »

I am a graduate of law and Irish and agreeing pursuing a career in law I realised ttaching is always what I wanted to do.

As far as I can see law does not qualify as being sufficient to teach cspe. I'm wondering can I take modules during the pme to boost this ?
I've also hear they teach law at second level in the UK and some Catholics schools teach Irish.

If all this fails I may have to resort to spending a 3rd yr completing a hdip in Arts .

Any insights or help would be greatly appreciated

I'm sorry but C.S.P.E as it stands is usually given to someone as a filler subject on their timetable if they need the hours i.e. given to an existing teacher in the school. Irish is your best bet, but if you want a second subject C.S.P.E is not the route to be taking to get there. There are talks of politics becoming a secondary school subject but that is not going to be for a very long time if ever. You also need to have done the subject methodologies for the subject from now on. Have you spent time in the Gaeltacht area as part of your degree and the other requirements if registering after 2017? I've applied for the PME this year and they say you need to fulfill the teaching council's requirements for the subject(s) you wish to be recognised in before you do the PME. With regard to England, I don't know about that.

katydid · 23-12-2014 5:37pm

TheDriver wrote: »

Biology is common and religion wouldn't be best unless big school, Irish would be a great bet. Can't help you on courses but make sure its teaching council approved
remember the second subject could end up being your main employment so pick carefully.

I can't imagine that a part time one year course would be acceptable. The person should check with the Teaching Council first.

katydid · 23-12-2014 5:39pm

Heydeldel wrote: »

Why would management do that though? What's their rationale?

Employees they can get rid of when it suits.

katydid · 23-12-2014 5:43pm

whiteandlight wrote: »

I know it's wishful thinking but the profession is being destroyed by this. I was chatting to a friend of mine who works in tesco and she was stunned at the conditions of employment in teaching. She has more rights than we do and her hours cannot be cut

That is the tragic situation. The decades of hard work put into education by teachers has been wiped out in one fell swoop. The countless unpaid hours were thrown back in our face and instead we were given detention every week, just to make the public happy. And all the goodwill is gone down the toilet. Teachers are stretched and stressed, and motivation is at an all time low. It's awful, what's happened to the system. And all initiated by a Labour minister, to make it worse.

katydid · 23-12-2014 5:47pm

mj84 wrote: »

Jesus Chris, that's amazing for such a qualified person, i was under the impression that the situation had only deteriorated in the last few years....

It's been like that for years. When I qualified in the early eighties, it was the same. Most of my generation who have permanent jobs didn't get them until the nineties, when it picked up for a bit. But it's been bad again since the early two thousands. Teaching is not a secure job anymore, and if you have a permanent job, you hang on to it for dear life, as you sure as hell won't get another one. Which means teachers working in the same place for twenty years and more who sometimes go stale and would benefit from new challenges, but can't.

BonCourage · 12-08-2015 10:53am

ok, so I know this is an old thread but sure look. I am going to apply for the next PME course in all of the universities and private colleges too! my grades are good, Im happy with them, and Im hopeful I'll get somewhere, even though I understand that it is extremely competitive! Anyway, in the situation that I don't get anywhere, Id like to do a hDip in Arts in UCD (where Im doing my undergrad) to entitle me to teach another subject to make increase my job prospects. My degree will be in music and Irish. I know that Irish is quite a good one to have, I also know that music is not! What subject should I add on???

Side-not: maths really isn't an option, bless my soul I haven't a breeze!

Thanks in advance guys

Postgrad10 · 12-08-2015 11:21am

BonCourage wrote: »

ok, so I know this is an old thread but sure look. I am going to apply for the next PME course in all of the universities and private colleges too! my grades are good, Im happy with them, and Im hopeful I'll get somewhere, even though I understand that it is extremely competitive! Anyway, in the situation that I don't get anywhere, Id like to do a hDip in Arts in UCD (where Im doing my undergrad) to entitle me to teach another subject to make increase my job prospects. My degree will be in music and Irish. I know that Irish is quite a good one to have, I also know that music is not! What subject should I add on???

Side-not: maths really isn't an option, bless my soul I haven't a breeze!

Thanks in advance guys

What subjects did you like /do well in school? You might as well enjoy what you teach. What about another language? Even history ( I know it's over populated) but at least it's an extra subject which goes well with Irish.

BonCourage · 12-08-2015 11:26am

hmmm, i studied french in first year, loved it in school, got an A in the LC, but when I got to uni, i really was turned off it. Maybe it was how it was taught in UCD, dunno!

I was think maybe Geography or English? Didnt do geography for the LC though! Would that make it much more difficult?

Thanks for reply btw

Postgrad10 · 12-08-2015 11:35am

BonCourage wrote: »

hmmm, i studied french in first year, loved it in school, got an A in the LC, but when I got to uni, i really was turned off it. Maybe it was how it was taught in UCD, dunno!

I was think maybe Geography or English? Didnt do geography for the LC though! Would that make it much more difficult?

Thanks for reply btw

Geography is really interesting. I suppose English is a good option because of the numbers of students that have to do it. You could have a look for their module descriptors so you could get an idea of what's covered.

I know what you mean about French , I was good at it at Leaving and then it all changed in first year arts, not what I was expecting at all. I put it down to a brilliant leaving cert teacher but my French uni lecturers weren't so great.

ayeates · 20-09-2015 8:57pm

I graduated with a degree in Law and Gaeilge and am considering secondary school teaching, although I would only have Gaeilge ( I did English in first year but I don't think this is applicable). I have heard that there is a major shortage of Gaeilge teachers but could I really get 22hours teaching only Gaeilge?

I would really appreciate any advice, especially from any Gaeilge teachers. Thank you

katydid · 20-09-2015 9:00pm

ayeates wrote: »

I graduated with a degree in Law and Gaeilge and am considering secondary school teaching, although I would only have Gaeilge ( I did English in first year but I don't think this is applicable). I have heard that there is a major shortage of Gaeilge teachers but could I really get 22hours teaching only Gaeilge?

I would really appreciate any advice, especially from any Gaeilge teachers. Thank you

If you have English in first year, you can teach it to Junior Cert level, as far as I know. If you really want to teach, could you go back in the evening or something and do the other two years? That's what I did a long time ago.

rainbowtrout · 20-09-2015 9:01pm

ayeates wrote: »

I graduated with a degree in Law and Gaeilge and am considering secondary school teaching, although I would only have Gaeilge ( I did English in first year but I don't think this is applicable). I have heard that there is a major shortage of Gaeilge teachers but could I really get 22hours teaching only Gaeilge?

I would really appreciate any advice, especially from any Gaeilge teachers. Thank you

Probably not unless it was a very large school. In most schools irish would be blocked in each year group to facilitate streaming students into higher or ordinary level. Even having 5 year groups 5 times a week with 40 minutes for each class would give a max of 16:40 of irish. That's not to say you couldn't be given something like CSPE or SPHE to fill a timetable but ultimately a teacher with irish and another subject is going to be more attractive in terms of hiring

ayeates · 20-09-2015 9:04pm

Thanks for the replies. That is what I had thought although I was unsure because the Gaeilge teachers in my school only taught Gaeilge. Hopefully I would be able to teach English up to JC.
A lot of decisions to be made

rainbowtrout · 20-09-2015 9:08pm

ayeates wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. That is what I had thought although I was unsure because the Gaeilge teachers in my school only taught Gaeilge. Hopefully I would be able to teach English up to JC.
A lot of decisions to be made

There's no such thing as being qualified to teach to Junior Cert. You're either qualified or you're not. If you are serious about teaching, your best bet is possibly to make up the credits you need for English.

The Irish teachers in your school may not have had full hours. Or if classes weren't blocked could take more than 2 classes in one year group.

katydid · 20-09-2015 9:23pm

rainbowtrout wrote: »

There's no such thing as being qualified to teach to Junior Cert. You're either qualified or you're not. If you are serious about teaching, your best bet is possibly to make up the credits you need for English.

The Irish teachers in your school may not have had full hours. Or if classes weren't blocked could take more than 2 classes in one year group.

Are you sure that is the case? I was always under the impression that you could only teach your first year subjects to JC.

ayeates · 20-09-2015 9:24pm

I know there isn't such a thing as "qualified to teach up to JC level" that's why I specifically did not use that phrase. I said it may not be applicable. I know you can't register to teach your 1st year subject but I have spoken to school principals and they advised that if needed I could be given English classes up to JC level.

Yes that may well have been the case, I know some of the teachers took two classes in the same year group so that could be a possibility ( at the principal's discretion obviously)

rainbowtrout · 20-09-2015 9:53pm

ayeates wrote: »

I know there isn't such a thing as "qualified to teach up to JC level" that's why I specifically did not use that phrase. I said it may not be applicable. I know you can't register to teach your 1st year subject but I have spoken to school principals and they advised that if needed I could be given English classes up to JC level.

Perhaps. But that would be assuming you were hired with one teaching subject and the school had a shortage of English teachers. To be honest, it wouldn't be a very solid basis for pursuing work.

ayeates wrote: »

Yes that may well have been the case, I know some of the teachers took two classes in the same year group so that could be a possibility ( at the principal's discretion obviously)

More to do with timetabling rather than discretion really. In my school for example, students are streamed for Irish and Maths in second year, so theoretically you could have more than one first year group, but from second to sixth year only one per year as classes are blocked for Irish/Maths. TY obviously would mean potentially another year group but not every school offers it.

ayeates · 20-09-2015 9:56pm

That's true. Very risky career route altogether. I'll have to weigh up whether it's worth the risk.

Thanks

Mardy Bum · 20-09-2015 11:15pm

katydid wrote: »

Are you sure that is the case? I was always under the impression that you could only teach your first year subjects to JC.

No it was just a myth that seemed to have been perpetuated. You are either qualified to teach a subject or not at all.

katydid · 20-09-2015 11:26pm

Mardy Bum wrote: »

No it was just a myth that seemed to have been perpetuated. You are either qualified to teach a subject or not at all.

It does seem strange that you can teach subjects you only studied for a year at the same level as subjects they studied for three or four.

mirrorwall14 · 21-09-2015 7:35pm

Mardy Bum wrote: »

No it was just a myth that seemed to have been perpetuated. You are either qualified to teach a subject or not at all.

Possibly stemmed from the JC only subjects, eg qualified to teach science or business studies to JC only because they only exist at JC level

Secondary School Teacher with one subject

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