Arts degree for secondary school teaching

Jack7617

Hi all,
I was wondering if you could help me out and answer a few questions I have.
I am currently a 5th year student and I am already researching college courses in order to find out what suits me best. I have my heart set on secondary school teaching and I feel the best way to go about this would be to an arts degree/ BA Joint honours (German). The 2 subjects I would be most likely taking to degree level would be german and geography as those are the subjects I would like to teach.
However I have seen on a number of threads that doing an arts degree only leads to unemployment etc. Is this true? I would also do a H.Dip after my 3 years of studying in order to become a teacher. If any teachers who completed an arts degree and then a Hdip could answer that would be great.
Any help appreciated,
Thanks

sitstill

You would do a 3/4 year BA degree and then a 2 year PME (new version of the HDip). You would need 2 subjects to have a chance of getting a job but German & Geography wouldn't be the best of combinations.

gaiscioch

Jack7617 wrote: »

Hi all,
I was wondering if you could help me out and answer a few questions I have.
I am currently a 5th year student and I am already researching college courses in order to find out what suits me best. I have my heart set on secondary school teaching and I feel the best way to go about this would be to an arts degree/ BA Joint honours (German). The 2 subjects I would be most likely taking to degree level would be german and geography as those are the subjects I would like to teach.
However I have seen on a number of threads that doing an arts degree only leads to unemployment etc. Is this true? I would also do a H.Dip after my 3 years of studying in order to become a teacher. If any teachers who completed an arts degree and then a Hdip could answer that would be great.
Any help appreciated,
Thanks

I thought UL was running some degree where you came out with three (four?) subjects that you'd be recognised to teach by the Teaching Council (TC)? Arts degrees in UCD are 180 ECTS/degree credits. You need 60 to teach a subject. With the "new" UCD system, it's possible that you could leave qualified to teach three subjects (according to the TC). It's worth checking. NUIM seems to have a very well regarded combination course for science and maths teachers which has a teacher training/arts degree split throughout the four years, followed by a year's masters which leads to TC recognition.

If you really want to teach your preferred subjects - which aren't the best jobwise - your best chance to do so would probably be if you improved your Irish at the same time as there will be fewer teachers with an ability to teach those subjects trí Ghaeilge Have a look at Educationposts.ie to see the subjects which schools are looking for, and note the increasing number of jobs available for teachers who can teach them through Irish. Keep an eye on that website and you'll develop a better understanding of the most in demand subjects.

linguist

Just to throw in my two cents. Even though getting established as a teacher is not for the faint hearted, I would obviously encourage the OP to follow their vocation if that's what he (I'm presuming) wants.

It might be helpful to explain the advice that's already been given here since we're obviously on the inside and we may be making assumptions about how much the OP knows. Unfortunately, German has been very badly hit by the cutbacks in schools since 2009. Although it is still the second most studied foreign language, overall demand for it has been declining and it is mainly Spanish that has seen steadily increasing provision and demand in schools. Geography is a difficult subject for hours since in the current junior cycle arrangement most schools offer three periods a week in junior cycle rising to five periods a week in senior cycle. It would not be a core subject in TY and thus would be offered as one or more specialised modules probably two periods in the week. The best combinations of subjects involve having at least one subject that is absolutely core and would be timetabled for four or even five periods a week in junior cycle.

I absolutely second gaiscioch's advice to look at Irish if you can or indeed Maths which is pretty much the holy grail.

Roquentin

The teaching market is saturated with people looking for jobs in ireland. You would get a job in the Uk no problem though.

vamos!

linguist wrote: »

Just to throw in my two cents. Even though getting established as a teacher is not for the faint hearted, I would obviously encourage the OP to follow their vocation if that's what he (I'm presuming) wants.

It might be helpful to explain the advice that's already been given here since we're obviously on the inside and we may be making assumptions about how much the OP knows. Unfortunately, German has been very badly hit by the cutbacks in schools since 2009. Although it is still the second most studied foreign language, overall demand for it has been declining and it is mainly Spanish that has seen steadily increasing provision and demand in schools. Geography is a difficult subject for hours since in the current junior cycle arrangement most schools offer three periods a week in junior cycle rising to five periods a week in senior cycle. It would not be a core subject in TY and thus would be offered as one or more specialised modules probably two periods in the week. The best combinations of subjects involve having at least one subject that is absolutely core and would be timetabled for four or even five periods a week in junior cycle.

I absolutely second gaiscioch's advice to look at Irish if you can or indeed Maths which is pretty much the holy grail.

I agree with linguist in relation to German. It is very very difficult to secure a German position and Spanish is taking over. Newer schools (for the most part) aren't even offering German. I can't advise on the new degrees but jobs are starting to be advertised on educationposts. maybe you could have a look there and see what subject combos appear to work? I haven't heard of German and Geography together.

Caiseoipe19

My opinion: You say you have your heart set on secondary teaching. My advice would be to keep your options open and be willing to change your mind about what you want to do after school. In my opinion fifth year is very early to decide on what you want to do. By all means have a goal and work towards becoming a teacher, but be open to considering other avenues that you may stumble across over the next few years. I'm saying this as somebody that decided in Leaving Cert that I wanted to be a secondary school teacher. I was very focused in college, picking subjects that would be good teaching subjects, getting good grades etc. all working towards the goal of becoming a teacher. I didn't consider going down any other route, I had my mind set on teaching. Coming to the end of final year, I realised that I no longer wanted to go back into a secondary school. I went ahead with doing the PDE because I knew it was becoming a 2 year course and I felt it was too late to go back on my plans at that stage. I would never have studied Arts had I not being going into teaching. Granted, now that I am teaching I'm reasonably happy, but I know I won't be teaching in the long term. (Apologies, I rambled!)

In terms of subjects, I think the most important factor by far is having a love of the subject. You're going to have to spend 3-4 years studying this subject in depth and then hopefully teach it everyday for years when you qualify. Picking subjects that you are not passionate about, but have good job prospects would be a huge mistake, in my opinion. You must also realise that it would be at least six years before you qualify...a lot can change in terms of demand for teachers of certain subjects in that time.

rhapsodyinblu

sitstill wrote: »

You would do a 3/4 year BA degree and then a 2 year PME (new version of the HDip). You would need 2 subjects to have a chance of getting a job but German & Geography wouldn't be the best of combinations.

You'd probably have to do 4 years at undergraduate if you are doing a language. I know that with French for example you have to have lived abroad for at least 3 months to qualify to teach it according to the teaching council (that as the last time I checked though so I could be wrong) so unless you've lived in Germany already you'll probably have to do an erasmus.

sitstill

rhapsodyinblu wrote: »

You'd probably have to do 4 years at undergraduate if you are doing a language. I know that with French for example you have to have lived abroad for at least 3 months to qualify to teach it according to the teaching council (that as the last time I checked though so I could be wrong) so unless you've lived in Germany already you'll probably have to do an erasmus.

I know. Thats why I said a 3/4 year BA