Advice - Primary teaching or another option

cork*girl

Hey I am in 6th year at the moment and I have Primary Teaching in Mary I down as number 1 on my CAO form, However I really dont think I will get the 480+ points that is needed, I also think it will go up yet again. Im not being negitve..just realistic anyway, I have got Arts in UCC down as my number 2 on my CAO form.. but Im just wondering has anyone got any suggestions for my number two option that would be a good way to get into the PostGraduate? I know that these places are gone done again this year and might not even be in operation by the time I am finished college. thats why if I do Arts I can do secondary teaching instead of doing something like Early Childhood Studies where I would be stuck in a preschool :eek: Im not putting down primary teaching in Dublin because I really dispise the place..(no offence to the Dubliners!!) I can barely handle it for a few days not to mind 3years, so I know myself if I wouldnt be happy there I dont want to put it down. I was talking to a lecturer in Mary I on the open day and she said that all you need is a degree and it doesnt really matter what it is in.. Just thought I would ask for suggestions for a course anyway..

has anyone who has an Arts degree gone on to do postgraduate? What subjects did you do?

my only worry is that I will do Arts and not get into the postgrad.. what jobs can you get out of an arts degree other than teaching..:eek: ..always good to have a plan b!

TheColl

your teacher is right in saying that you can get onto the postgrad with any degree, especially if you do well in that degree. i work with people who have done the postgrad after degrees in arts, business/finance and science. if you end up doing arts then certain subjects (e.g. Irish) might stand to you more when it comes to applying for the postgrad and ultimately applying for jobs, but really as long as you get a good degree then you have every chance of getting i (if its still in operation)...

as regards other jobs for arts graduates.... dum de dum.... doesnt really give you any specific direction, thats the appeal of it for many people and its why you hear a lot of people saying "i hadnt a clue what i wanted to do so i just did arts"....

if primary teaching is what you want then put your head down and work your arse off for those points, it could be well worth it as its a fantatstic job imo. and if you want it bady enough then it could be worth your while getting over how you feel about dublin as it opens up your options a lot more. plus if u were in college there and had friends etc etc it could be a lot better than you think!

cork*girl

thanks for that! I really am going to try and get them points but I like to have a plan B anyway. I can always go into Secondary Teaching if I dont get into the PostGrad..Primary would be my 1st choice though!

TheColl

no prob, and best of luck!!

pooch90

Have you put down arts in Mary I or UL? If you do Irish as part of your degree it will look good when applying for postgrad but once you do well in your degree you're ok. I put down loads of social care stuff after teaching on my CAO....

Was exactly the same, Mary I number one because couldn't bear Dublin but i think you're cutting off your nose not to put down the dublin colleges. If you've nice people around you and you're enjoying your course you may grow to like it in The Big Smoke.

Good luck with it though, hope job situation improves before you arrive in the profession.

afkasurfjunkie

whether you hate dublin or not i think you definitely stick those options down after mary i on your list. and then arts/or whichever degree you are interested in after that. even if you didnt get your 1st choice and you really could, you still might get teaching in dublin. then you would be qualified in 3 years time.
a friend of mine really wanted primary teaching but she ended up not getting mary i and did social care instead. she liked it and has her degree now but still hasnt gotten into a post grad course after 3 years applying. i wasnt fond of limerick or dublin but ended up in limerick. loved colllege and made great friends even though i detest the mary i (looks like a secondary school) building. 3 years fly by. well worth it if primary teaching is what you want to do.

pooch90

You get used to the Mary I building pretty quickly, then you don't care. I know it's a bit of a kip but there's a real family feel to it I felt, easy to make friends. Loved Limerick, had no experience of it beforehand. Fun to go out in, majority of places within walking distance, nice shops. Really doesn't deserve the reputation it gets.

dambarude

pooch90 wrote: »

You get used to the Mary I building pretty quickly, then you don't care. I know it's a bit of a kip but there's a real family feel to it I felt, easy to make friends. Loved Limerick, had no experience of it beforehand. Fun to go out in, majority of places within walking distance, nice shops. Really doesn't deserve the reputation it gets.

Mary I will have a new complex open by next September- it's looking good at the minute, and will be a major improvement to the campus. A new gym, Tailteann, opened two years ago as well.

Cork*girl, if you do end up doing Arts, you should definitely do Gaeilge. It'll help you in actually getting into the postgrad (it requires an Irish oral), and when you actually get in (you have to do a course in Gaeilge Ghairmiúil, professional Irish).

pooch90

dambarude wrote: »

Mary I will have a new complex open by next September- it's looking good at the minute, and will be a major improvement to the campus. A new gym, Tailteann, opened two years ago as well.

Cork*girl, if you do end up doing Arts, you should definitely do Gaeilge. It'll help you in actually getting into the postgrad (it requires an Irish oral), and when you actually get in (you have to do a course in Gaeilge Ghairmiúil, professional Irish).

If you do Irish as your academic subject you don't have to do Gaeilge Ghairmiuil, which by all accounts is a pain in the ass. Never got to have a look at the new gym, they were just breaking ground on it as I was leaving. Good to hear the place is improving though. Any sign of a bar in there yet??

dambarude

pooch90 wrote: »

If you do Irish as your academic subject you don't have to do Gaeilge Ghairmiuil, which by all accounts is a pain in the ass.

That's if you're doing the B.Ed. I don't know if you get exempt from Gaeilge Ghairmiúil from having doing Irish in a degree previous to the postgrad. I dont' find Gaeilge Ghair to be that much of a pain, I like Irish though.

pooch90 wrote: »

Any sign of a bar in there yet??

I think that if you attended the college, you should know the answer to that;). It's no loss in my opinion. The gym has three sports halls, two smaller ones and a large one, as well as weight rooms (not that I've ever been in them:p ). The new building will have computer labs, a new students union and lounge, a theatre, and all sorts. It's long overdue.

pooch90

Don't you still have to do academic subjects with postgrad though?
Not 100% sure about the Gaeilge Ghar cos i just did the Gaeilge with the B.Ed. Just remember my friends whinging about it.
God the place is long overdue a makeover, it was a kip but i still liked it. Suppose a bar would be a waste of time when you have such full days and have to attend. What year are you in?

dambarude

pooch90 wrote: »

Don't you still have to do academic subjects with postgrad though?

No, the grads have a hard enough time as it is! Their timetable is jammers AFAIK.

pooch90 wrote: »

Not 100% sure about the Gaeilge Ghar cos i just did the Gaeilge with the B.Ed. Just remember my friends whinging about it.

I suppose most people who like Irish choose it as an academic subject, so most of the people who despise it are left doing Gaeilge Ghair. I think I'll have a drama to do in it eventually- I probably won't like it anymore after that!

pooch90 wrote: »

God the place is long overdue a makeover, it was a kip but i still liked it. Suppose a bar would be a waste of time when you have such full days and have to attend. What year are you in?

I'm in second year. I think the foundation building which is there since 1898 is quite nice- it's old enough to be respected. The additions that were made in more recent years (50s/60s/70s?) are terrible though. They're like sheds for the most part, with corrugated, mossy, leaky roofs. I think I heard they're going to be knocked at some stage, most of the facilities in them will have newer counterparts in the new building (the computer labs and SU for instance).

pooch90

Think it was the drama most of my friends hated, mainly cos they were stuck in groups with spanners. get yourself into good groups for everything would be my only advice.

The old biulding is nice but old gym was by far the most disgusting place, and also where we had to do all our exams, surrounded by the stench of 'work outs'. makes my skin crawl remembering it!

dambarude

pooch90 wrote: »

Think it was the drama most of my friends hated, mainly cos they were stuck in groups with spanners. get yourself into good groups for everything would be my only advice.

Duly noted. I already have some experience of group work for presentations and the like. The group you're in has a major impact on everything- it's not particularly fair imo.

pooch90 wrote: »

The old biulding is nice but old gym was by far the most disgusting place, and also where we had to do all our exams, surrounded by the stench of 'work outs'. makes my skin crawl remembering it!

The old gym was knocked by the time I got to Mary I, so I wasn't subjected to that fortunately! The new gym, Tailteann it's called, is lovely. It's still a daunting place at exam time though! Here's a pic in case you haven't seen it:

It won an RIAI architectural award in 2008 iirc.

pooch90

Wow, it looks fantastic! we were expected to do fundraising to help build the place and never even clapped eyes on the place!

Group work is a really unfair way of grading someone i feel. YOu can work your ass off but if you're with people who don't care you'll be dragged down. I know they try to assess individual contribution but you can't do that effectively.