From PR To Teaching....Any Point??

slinkykitten

Litany of Questions. Ive read through recent threads and still no further forward.

I work in Public Relations. I hate it. Every day is a toxic waste of creative energy and I've taken to sparing my lunchtimes writing insipid short stories to instill a sense of achievement in my long days. I completed a Postgrad Dip. in PR and have been working as such, since.

So, on to application for PGDE. UCD seems the most reasonable, however I don't know what my 'pointscore' would be, in exact terms. Im seeking teaching placement at the moment (in Dublin...any tips?) and have...

• BA Hons. English from Queens University. Its a travesty of details here, but I feel you, as a group, could best devise some answers if I explain my position.

• A Teaching Diploma in Speech and Drama (Pending, due to unforeseen circumstances. Have to resume final level study)

What am I worth in points, am I going to get rejected if I have no experience by time of application, and will I be unable to teach in Northern Ireland afterward?

PS Always was the English geek. Teachers pet and abhorred all my other subjects. Terrible pupil, a class full of 'myself' is abhorrent but least I know what Im getting into. Will hopefully garner some decent references from past teachers....do they count? If i don't become a teacher, my soul will die in my shoes, and I'll have to emigrate. And live in a tree. Writing poetry in the branches and growing six foot long toenails out of respect for the soul-pieces stuck in them

ytareh

'toxic waste of creative energy'?Sounds like far too many of my days at 'work'.Sounds to me like you need to become a writer not a teacher ... Dead Poets Society it aint...Why do you think there are so many EX teachers...?You need to go into this with your eyes wide open.Unless you earn a pittance I would say stay put.Career prospects v grim right now ...rare to be made permanent before a long, long time ,form filling and bureaucracy rife and getting far worse...
Have you any idea what the modern teenager does to the English language let alone English language teachers !!!It aint pretty ....

slinkykitten

Thanks, I need that kind of brutal honesty. :pWhat do you work in? Im given to presumption that youre a teacher/lecturer. But also, given to self-doubt, Im not sure. dead poets society.....bliss

Im not expecting roses though. Im expecting paper balls at my head and all sorts of distracting preoccupations with my Northern accent, rather than whatever Frost ballad I'm trying to inject love into.

I know you're right. But PR is far removed from all those books and all those schools. Its not great pay, there 'are no jobs', and I hate it more than you can imagine. If I were an unemployed teacher I'd be happier. i honestly believe so! And goes without saying, the hardest struggles...the greatest gains....

Positive teaching stories? Any whatsoever? Could start another thread on the topic...

ytareh

Im a secondary school teacher....Its hard ,v hard sometimes...OK so you have 4 months plus hols a year ...That JUST about balances out the cr8p 'most' of the time

Rosita

slinkykitten wrote: »

Thanks, I need that kind of brutal honesty. :pWhat do you work in? Im given to presumption that youre a teacher/lecturer. But also, given to self-doubt, Im not sure. dead poets society.....bliss

Im not expecting roses though. Im expecting paper balls at my head and all sorts of distracting preoccupations with my Northern accent, rather than whatever Frost ballad I'm trying to inject love into.

I know you're right. But PR is far removed from all those books and all those schools. Its not great pay, there 'are no jobs', and I hate it more than you can imagine. If I were an unemployed teacher I'd be happier. i honestly believe so! And goes without saying, the hardest struggles...the greatest gains....

Positive teaching stories? Any whatsoever? Could start another thread on the topic...

If you are that unhappy in your current job you should get out. Life's too short, it really is. The best thing about teaching from a career change point of view is that it s probably the only job you can train for in a year from your position.

The question as to why there are so many ex-teachers is easily counter-balanced by the knowledge that there are not many jobs. For 'hell on earth' it's funny how demand outstrips supply.

spurious

I wouldn't take the fact that demand outstrips supply as an indication of what it is like to work as a teacher. Much of the 'supply' may be due to people who think it would be a job that suits them/their lifestyle/is easy/gets loads of holidays/you only need to do a year's course for etc. Much of the 'demand' may be because once permanently employed as a teacher, it isn't the easiest job in the world to leave. Yes, of course a person could just resign but how many jobs looking for graduates want someone with a teaching qualification?

Sometimes I wonder about this mad recent rush into teaching, especially at a time when jobs are so scarce. I'm not trying to be smart, but when all these people were choosing where to go to college, did they not have the Dip./Training colleges then? Is it really the case that so many people got forced into or erroneously chose a career path they now regret? If that's the case, will teaching be a mistake too?

ytareh

Its hardly news that we are in a recession with unemployment skyrocketing and it may be a long one (7-10 years anybody!?)When I graduated in the early 90s there were two realistic options for most of us ...Do a Computer Science post grad course or H Dip Ed...There was little else (certainly that I could think of at the time)other than emigration.
It seems we are headed the same way again ...Its a bit partial myth I sometimes think that the higher your qualifications the more chance of a job you have .I think maybe it just buys you a better class of unemployment!!!Nowadays it seems that the H Dip Ed is far from a guaranteed route into steady (let alone ) permanent employment ....
At one point ...and that was maybe a decade ago..it seemed at least 80% of my H Dip Ed class had quit teaching ...
As for the 'inspirational' thoughts about not working at a difficult job you dont enjoy ,well upping and leaving a permanent/pensionable (Oh yes our ALMIGHTY pension that the private sector boyos are trying to beat us over the head with ...they werent complaining when they were on double or more of our salaries)
job sure sounds way too'risky' to me .Maybe Im just not a risk taker...Maybe thats why Im a teacher and not a venture capitalist !I get what I deserve I suppose ....Come on you guys working at something you dont enjoy isnt that unusual ...Its one of the luckiest things in the world to be paid to do something you enjoy...Im not saying the job isnt without its rewards ...maybe even the odd "Oh Captain,My Captain !" moment (Just imagine the principal/deputy/parents ...standing on desks ?Major healthand safety infraction!!!)
Yes lots of people 'get forced' into teaching -if they want to eat and NOT flip burgers...its been a 'default ' career for generations and as some posters here suggest may be becoming one again -ironic considering its unorthodox 'demands'

Rosita

ytareh wrote: »

Come on you guys working at something you dont enjoy isnt that unusual

Nobody said working at something you don't enjoy was unusual. But the point is that many put up with it simply because they lack the courage to make the move.

And I don't think teaching has ever stopped becoming a default career to be honest. That is another reason why it is over-subscribed.

slinkykitten

Its beyond the pale to denote, with such enthusiasm dear posters, that graduates today are rolling from job to job, irrespective of their skill-set or the potential 'hazards' of unemployment looming. Is it not the purpose of education to LEARN and stretch, not simply forge an easy path to employment. Theres more to it than that, surely. Choices are few, but with enough time on your hands, surely exercize the right to change??



Its unfair to suggest that the recent 'rise in interest', as some are suggesting, is because graduates see Teaching as an escape route- for lazy sullied individuals who cant cope with the real world of work. Or rather, are finding themselves unstuck after rolling listless through the educational system into a blank, empty canvas of career paths.

What instills anyone pursue Teaching 'honourably' Did every single person now employed, know what they wanted to do from the age of eighteen?

I didnt. I can say honestly now that theres not enough challenging young people to consider their pathways, before applying for college etc.