do i want to be a primary teacher for the wrong reasons??

all of the lights

Heres my storey, im 22years old and have a ordinary degree in Civil Engineering,i was goin out wit a primary school teacher the last two years(finished now) and listening to her has me interested in doing primary teaching, alot of it is the 2months off paid during the summer (which i would love as i could travell) and the numerous weeks off during the year!! but its not just that recently ive been coaching with an u 10/8s hurling team at my local club which i really enjoyed, i was also schools liason officer in the club which meant going to primary shcools to try get new children involved in hurling/comogie, i was taking classes for PE and training after school and it was good fun and i tink it helped some kids which i felt good about ya no and i have also done a summer camp during the summer(obviously ha) which i really loved to! anyone ive told about my interest in teaching has said id make a good teacher(not that it matters really) but i tink i would myself!!

any advice gladly taken!!!

Toto Wolfcastle

If you really want to be a teacher then you should go for it. It sounds like you enjoyed the experiences that you have had so far, although I'd imagine that the day to day slog of primary teaching is a bit different.

The one thing I would say it that you should not bank on getting paid for the summer. It could be years before you get a job that pays for the summer. There are already thousands of teachers who are fighting for such jobs.

Best of luck with whatever you decide.

dambarude

One thing I would say is that there's a world of a difference between training a team and teaching long division.

Make sure to get some observation of the nitty-gritty of the classroom.

rainbowtrout

Hmmmmm.... tongue in cheek or not, the first two things attracting you to teaching are the long summer holidays and the weeks off during the year. The next thing is teaching sport to children. Don't get me wrong but overall you'll be doing very little sport from one end of the week to the other aside from a PE lesson and after school sports if you want to get involved in it.

Now ask yourself (ignoring job prospects etc), can you see yourself teaching English, Irish and Maths everyday? Will you be interested in teaching History, Geography, Religion, Music, Art and Science? How do you feel about teaching junior infants? What about preparing students for Communion and Confirmation? While the material itself isn't rocket science will you be prepared to spend time making posters, worksheets, resources for your classroom. Dealing with children with learning difficulties, or who do not have English as a first language?

I'm a secondary teacher, not primary so there's probably loads I've forgotten but you're in the school for more time than you're on holidays, but you are considering the main perk of the job as the time you're not actually doing the job.

all of the lights

thanks for all the comments....yeah i understand what your sayin maybe it is the holidays that are selling it to me but there is alot to be said for it and i no it will be hard to find a permenant job these days but id have a hell of a better chance of getting a job as a primary teacher than a Civil engineer!!! and ther is also that myth that male teachers wit a bit of sport behind them find jobs a bit easier??(ive heard different opinions of this from different ppl so weather its tue or not im not sure) but like ya said could i see my self teaching long division,english maths, religion, to children?? to be honest i could and i think id like it!!
would you not agree that thers alot to be said for the summers off if by some chance i got a permenant job in a few years!!!!?

dambarude

all of the lights wrote: »

would you not agree that thers alot to be said for the summers off if by some chance i got a permenant job in a few years!!!!?

That's only two months of the year though.

If you don't like teaching, or if you find it extremely difficult, the other 10 months will be very testing. Difficult on you, and on the children you are teaching. It affects a lot of people if you're not up to it - which is why you hear so much moaning about poor teachers in this country.

Teaching is a very intense job, which requires your full attention. You can't do it on automatic pilot (well at least not competently). Most teachers would say that they are exhausted by the time they get to June.

On the qualifications front, you won't be able to a postgrad with an ordinary degree - it needs to be level 8. You also need a C3 in honours Irish (do you have that?). That and interviews which are extremely difficult to get past. You could do as a mature student as well, but that would take 4 years, and you still need the C3.

rainbowtrout

all of the lights wrote: »

would you not agree that thers alot to be said for the summers off if by some chance i got a permenant job in a few years!!!!?

No, not really. I do enjoy having the summer off, but if the day comes where I don't want to teach anymore and I decide to change careers, the summer holidays won't even be a factor.

You generally have to be on top of your game every day, there's no going into a classroom dying from the night before, students will pick up that you are not on form and will use it to their advantage.

Perhaps people did stay in teaching even though they weren't suited to it/didn't like it years ago, when a career was something you did for a lifetime and once you were in, you were in for the long haul. I don't think people do that anymore. If you don't like it, move on. I'm in my thirties as are at least half the staff of my school and we have discussed this point many times. When the day comes that we don't want to teach anymore, we will bail out. We will not stick around to come into a job that we don't enjoy because it's permanent and pensionable and it gives us 3 months off every summer (I'm permanent). Because the other nine months of the year would be sheer hell if you didn't like it. No job is worth that.

Anyway to answer your original question, i spend a lot of time in and out of the school during the month of June correcting tests, meeting my students who have exams. I correct Leaving Cert papers every July. To be honest I enjoy having the freedom of three months off, but if I did absolutely nothing for those three months I'd go cracked. Only your other teacher friends have those holidays. Everyone else is working and are not around to hang out all summer.

all of the lights

good point! i just love the toughts of working hard all year(doing something that i like) then travelling for a month or so..i have friends in Australia New zealand and US who have been gone for a few years now so would be cool to see them...im heading to NZ in october for a year to hopefully get work as an engineer and find out if i even like the fcuking thing!!! so this will all hopefully start when im back.. i wanted to be a teacher when i left school but i never had the points and sort of gave up on it!! i jus feel now that if i dont give it a lash now ill always regret it..!!!!! one thing that i love when coaching is seeing a player get better seeing them picking up new skills and improving...i no u say being a teacher is a million miles away but i think id get the same rewarding feeling as seeing a child do multiplication right when they couldnt at the start of the year if you no what i mean!! it would make me feel good to no that i am helping them!!

Dr. Dodger

I've a family of teachers and let me tell you, the 2 months off cannot be the main reason for you wanting to join the profession. There is a lot of work that has to go into becoming a teacher and then doing the job itself.

Like others have said, the job situation for teachers at the moment is extremely tough. There are hundreds of unemployed teachers out there now as school starts back and most will not get a full time temporary job this year. I did say Temporary as none of them will get a permanent job at all due to new measures taken by the government.

I'd seriously think about this again if I were you.

But tbh, I doubt if you'll want to come back from NZ. I wouldn't, It's incredible!

byhookorbycrook

Before I started teaching, I thought infant teaching would be a doddle, finished at 2 every day and then those lovely holidays.

Fast forward to my first job (a few weeks subbing-like now there were no jobs to be had.) 42 junior infants!!I was wiped out after one day. What was worse is that I probably had taught them nothing, just kept them somewhat-entertained!
You may laugh at the idea of such a big class, but more cuts are on the way,there are already lots of classes of 35 plus already there will be even less jobs. Think long and hard and get some experience helping out with a class,not just with sport,that most of them like doing.

E.T.

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

get some experience helping out with a class,not just with sport,that most of them like doing.

Great advice there - training kids for a sport is absolutely nothing like teaching them in a classroom. It will give you valuable experience with kids, but otherwise I wouldn't use it as a gauge of how much you think you'd like teaching.

all of the lights

hi ive taken all your advice and am going to try get some teaching practice/shadowing before i head away...i have a few princapals that i was friendly wit from doing the coaching...would it be ok to jus ring them and explain my situation and ask could i sit in on a few classes for a week or two?? or how should i go about doing it???
thanks

chippers

If I'm honest the holiday's that teachers receive was one of the important (but not the only!!!) considerations for me when I was deciding to become a teacher. When I was working as a town planner previously I found the long hours and days tough. When the bubble burst and I was reduced to a 4 day week I all of a sudden had four days working and three days off and to be honest I really enjoyed it. There was a much better work:life balance. If the economy had of picked up and they offered me a 5 day week again I would of had to seriously consider it. Sure I had less money but I had enough to keep me ticking over and I was enjoying my spare time more. With my GNH (gross national happiness) improved I found that I was a lot more productive in work as well.

The work:life balance of a teacher definitely appealed to me and I have been thorougly enjoying both the teaching and my spare time since changing profession. My brother who is a lawyer leaves before me in the morning and mightnt get home until ten oclock in the evening! What sort of a life is that?!His life is work and to be honest that is not what I want to do with my time, I would like to work at something that I enjoy but also enjoy my own time as well.

Anyway good luck with whatever you decide to do. But my advice is that your primary reason must be because you want to teach. Dont feel guilty for wanting to have the holidays as well, a good work:life balance is so important.

RonMexico

I just hope that your standard of writing is not indicative of your overall approach to the English language.

Toto Wolfcastle

RonMexico, as per the charter please do not comment on the spelling and grammar of other posters.