Some questions on primary teaching

yabbadabbadoo

Hi folks,

I'll be brief: I'm 39 years old and considering a change of career. I have a degree (arts) already and a masters in an unrelated area.

I don't have honours Irish although 20 years or more ago I did have a good grasp on it! - though no real passion for it. So I would need Leaving Cert honours right? Is there a school/night class/remote learning programme that does Leaving Cert Irish for folks like myself?

Is it true that you now need honours LC maths to enter primary teaching? This could be a problem.

My other half has US citizenship and we would be looking at a move over there in the next few year. How does an Irish teaching qualification stand up? What level of conversion would you need? (Washington State)

My next question is more subjective. I will soon have 2 very young children, so I'm thinking teacher training in about 2-3 years time when I'll be in early 40s. I hope I have the stamina! Would you consider this a good mid-life career change? Or very challenging, given age and family commitments. I understand there is no right answer to that, just interested in hearing your opinions.

Thanks.

afkasurfjunkie

yabbadabbadoo wrote: »

Hi folks,

I'll be brief: I'm 39 years old and considering a change of career. I have a degree (arts) already and a masters in an unrelated area.

I don't have honours Irish although 20 years or more ago I did have a good grasp on it! - though no real passion for it. So I would need Leaving Cert honours right? Is there a school/night class/remote learning programme that does Leaving Cert Irish for folks like myself?

Is it true that you now need honours LC maths to enter primary teaching? This could be a problem.

My other half has US citizenship and we would be looking at a move over there in the next few year. How does an Irish teaching qualification stand up? What level of conversion would you need? (Washington State)

My next question is more subjective. I will soon have 2 very young children, so I'm thinking teacher training in about 2-3 years time when I'll be in early 40s. I hope I have the stamina! Would you consider this a good mid-life career change? Or very challenging, given age and family commitments. I understand there is no right answer to that, just interested in hearing your opinions.

Thanks.

To be perfectly honest with you I wouldn't touch primary school teaching unless you DO have a passion for irish. it is a core subject that is taught every day and not having a love for the language would do your prospective students a huge disservice.

Until recently the irish qualification in teaching would not be of much use to you in the US as it was only a three year degree course. I'm not sure how it worked for people who are post grad trained? even though it is now a four year degree it would depend largely on the state you intend to move to as each state has its own qualifications and requirements. you very rarely hear of irish trained teachers heading to teach in the US. Generally they fare better in England, Middle East and Australia/New Zealand.

If you are a full time teacher with a permanent post then teaching is a good, if incredibly demanding career choice with a young family. However this is not a reality for most newly qualified teachers. Most rely on day to day subbing initially. Depending on where you are in the country it can be all about who you know and the salary has gone waaay down for new entrants in the last few years.
I would think long and hard bout it if I were you and get some voluntary experience in a classroom before you commit to the idea. classrooms have really changed over the years.

yabbadabbadoo

Well that's pretty disappointing.

Regarding Gaeilge, although I don't have a passion for it, I am passionate about teaching (quite a bit of TEFL experience over the years inc. with kids) & I would of course still perform as a professional, so I wouldn't necessarily see that as a barrier to entry.

But if the hdip is valueless in the US then that's the end of that dream. Does anyone know is there a similar conversion course in the US? Or would you have to start again with undergraduate degree? Any ideas of where to begin the research even?

Incidentally, is the Irish hdip recognised and valued in international schools around the world?

Thanks for the response & for any more that may come in.

evolving_doors

yabbadabbadoo wrote: »

Well that's pretty disappointing.

Regarding Gaeilge, although I don't have a passion for it, I am passionate about teaching (quite a bit of TEFL experience over the years inc. with kids) & I would of course still perform as a professional, so I wouldn't necessarily see that as a barrier to entry.

But if the hdip is valueless in the US then that's the end of that dream. Does anyone know is there a similar conversion course in the US? Or would you have to start again with undergraduate degree? Any ideas of where to begin the research even?

Incidentally, is the Irish hdip recognised and valued in international schools around the world?

Thanks for the response & for any more that may come in.

I dont know but I wouldn't give up the ghost so quick on the US.. I'm sure there was a thread on it a while back if you do a search.

yabbadabbadoo

Thanks Armelodie, will have a look

byhookorbycrook

TEFL doesn't really mirror day to day teaching. You are dealing with pupils , in the main, want to be there .There are very few , if any, disinterested pupils or pupils with extra educational needs. Classes tend to be smaller and well resourced.

Mr.Nice Guy

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

TEFL doesn't really mirror day to day teaching. You are dealing with pupils , in the main, want to be there .There are very few , if any, disinterested pupils or pupils with extra educational needs. Classes tend to be smaller and well resourced.

Oh there are plenty of disinterested pupils in TEFL classes, especially if they are young.

Most TEFL work in this country is summer school oriented and a sizeable number of students who attend them do not want to be there. They are there because mammy and daddy want them to be and they would much rather be spending their summer doing something else.

Don't know if the OP has experience of that, though. If his teaching only involved adults then he would struggle because, as you say, those students want to be there and have most likely paid for it out of their own pocket.

bearhugs

I don't know too much about it but as someone already mentioned, it depends on the state you are thinking of moving to. Email or ring the education board and ask them how to go about getting an Irish B Ed recognised. There is some way to get an Irish degree recognised by a US college if it matches certain criteria, but no idea if the Irish teaching qualification mirrors what you would need there. Hope that may help in some small way!

yabbadabbadoo

Thanks again people for the responses,

Mr. Nice Guy, that sums up some of my tefl teaching experience in Ireland at least. The kids may be middle class but they don't necessarily want to spend their summer in another class room and there can be motivation and discipline issues. Have also thought smaller groups of younger kids abroad, and of course the dedicated adults of which byhookorbycrook speaks. Of course, it's not the same as experience as in a primary school here but it's been enough to get me interested. I've also had a reasonably successful career in another area completely - ok, no kids involved, but it all adds up, doesn't it?

Thanks for your post bearhugs, I'll do just that.

Of course in many ways, the real issue is do I have the stamina to take this on at this point in life. At the moment even the research seems like a hill to climb, though I may feel different in a year or two when beyond baby stage with kids. I wish I'd had the confidence to go for teaching 15 years ago when it first appealed. Hmm...

byhookorbycrook

See if you can do some volunteering in a school asap and see what you think, if it is something you really want then, go for it.