Secondary School Teaching? Help please!

beccaroisinxo

Hi!

So lately, I have developed an interest in secondary teaching. In reality, teaching is a very respected profession regardless of the recent wage cuts. You may not be loaded as a secondary school teacher, but the wages are comfortable and according to my relatives whom are secondary teachers, it appears to be a very rewarding profession, not to mention the handy holidays.
Anyway, I would be interested in teaching English and religion. I'd also be interested in teaching business studies for leaving cert as accountancy and economics agitates me. Can this be done?
Also, I have an interest in teaching English as I said. The only part of the LC English course I wouldn't be too keen on is the Shakespearian texts. I enjoy all aspects from paper 1 and paper 2 things like poetry, the novels and plays. I really enjoy to read in my own time. Although, as everyone knows, LC English is a challenging course. I'm going into 6th year and I've just got my school report. I got a C3 in my summer test and I've been getting C3's (in HL of course) all year so I hardly top the class. My teacher said on the report that I am an excellent student but I don't really understand because I only got 58% in my exam. I'm sure room for improvement is needed but in reality, I have never really excelled in English as a student so will I really have any real potential to teach it?
Would love if you's could clear up some of these queries
Thanks a lot and sorry for the long paragraphs!

comewatmay

No jobs. Don't do it

beccaroisinxo

comewatmay wrote: »

No jobs. Don't do it

There are no jobs in any profession right now except for technology and engineering jobs in which case I would rather be on the dole for the rest of my life. Not for me.

lennyloulou

there are zero job prospects in teaching- the majority of 23yr-30yr old teachers in our staff are on 12-17hrs a week. they have no chance of full hours and try to live off these tiny wages, pay child minders, dress reasonably well for work, pay travel expenses and basically live on what's left. this is the same as the ordinary joe soap down the road but the media have constructed a façade of lies depicting teachers as the well off.
I know many struggle to pay the social tea/coffee kitty at the start of the year in our staff room. They are the working educated poor of today that are perceived as wealthy by the majority out there who don't have a clue of the reality of this profession in 2014.
the idea that teaching is a cushy well paid job is a myth- the media and most of the public have a dislike for the profession because of our 'cushy' holidays- bear in mind huge numbers are on a lower pay scale than older teachers, many not paid for the holiday periods!
Its a dreadful profession to be starting out in - stay well clear!

beccaroisinxo

lennyloulou wrote: »

there are zero job prospects in teaching- the majority of 23yr-30yr old teachers in our staff are on 12-17hrs a week. they have no chance of full hours and try to live off these tiny wages, pay child minders, dress reasonably well for work, pay travel expenses and basically live on what's left. this is the same as the ordinary joe soap down the road but the media have constructed a façade of lies depicting teachers as the well off.
I know many struggle to pay the social tea/coffee kitty at the start of the year in our staff room. They are the working educated poor of today that are perceived as wealthy by the majority out there who don't have a clue of the reality of this profession in 2014.
the idea that teaching is a cushy well paid job is a myth- the media and most of the public have a dislike for the profession because of our 'cushy' holidays- bear in mind huge numbers are on a lower pay scale than older teachers, many not paid for the holiday periods!
Its a dreadful profession to be starting out in - stay well clear!

That's shocking. Of course I don't buy into the sharade of a secondary teacher's 'cushy' life as I'm related to secondary teachers. You work hard to get your various qualifications and what do you get in return? What jobs are secure and comfortable anymore? This question baffles me

lennyloulou

just stating it as I see and based on my own experience. Don't know why you are on this forum if you have relatives in teaching - they should be able to give you first hand advice. What ever you decide is your choice! just giving you my opinion mate! best of luck!

beccaroisinxo

lennyloulou wrote: »

just stating it as I see and based on my own experience. Don't know why you are on this forum if you have relatives in teaching - they should be able to give you first hand advice. What ever you decide is your choice! just giving you my opinion mate! best of luck!

Well my relatives are very senior so they are obviously on better wages plus they work in private colleges. Themselves and their colleagues see it from a completely different perspectives I suppose. I want opinions like yours! Thanks and you're very laid back for a teacher, I like that :P

Noccy_Mondy

Look, whatever career you want to pursue then go for it - the jobs situation in any area should be irrelevant. You will (more than likely) be in this job for a lot of your life, so do something you want to do/enjoy. Taking teaching, it isn't in a good place at the moment, and I appreciate why people are saying to stay clear of it, but if you decide to go in this direction - you will get there eventually. It will be at least 4, maybe 6 years (Arts + Dip) before you emerge from college - a lot can happen in 6 years, looking back 6 years ago, things weren't too bad at all in teaching... that's not saying that everything will be A1 in teaching in the near future mind.

Not sure if that has much relevance to you opening post.....

Taking your subject desires for a moment, from what I know of you can do a Religion and Bus Studies degree, which gives you your B.Ed degree, St. Patricks college in Thurles provides it, if I recall correctly. Four year concurrent teaching degree. Not sure how/if the English could fit in around that though.

aunt aggie

My sister just finished a B.Ed. with English and Religion. She loves her work in schools so far. She is hoping to get some subbing work next year and is also focusing on applying for bar work which she can fit around any subbing hours she gets. You need to be very realistic coming into the profession.

That said if you're willing to move abroad after college there is a wider range of jobs available to you.

Afroshack

beccaroisinxo wrote: »

Hi!

So lately, I have developed an interest in secondary teaching. In reality, teaching is a very respected profession regardless of the recent wage cuts. You may not be loaded as a secondary school teacher, but the wages are comfortable and according to my relatives whom are secondary teachers, it appears to be a very rewarding profession, not to mention the handy holidays.
Anyway, I would be interested in teaching English and religion. I'd also be interested in teaching business studies for leaving cert as accountancy and economics agitates me. Can this be done?
Also, I have an interest in teaching English as I said. The only part of the LC English course I wouldn't be too keen on is the Shakespearian texts. I enjoy all aspects from paper 1 and paper 2 things like poetry, the novels and plays. I really enjoy to read in my own time. Although, as everyone knows, LC English is a challenging course. I'm going into 6th year and I've just got my school report. I got a C3 in my summer test and I've been getting C3's (in HL of course) all year so I hardly top the class. My teacher said on the report that I am an excellent student but I don't really understand because I only got 58% in my exam. I'm sure room for improvement is needed but in reality, I have never really excelled in English as a student so will I really have any real potential to teach it?
Would love if you's could clear up some of these queries
Thanks a lot and sorry for the long paragraphs!

I'm really sorry if this sounds blunt, but I think your ideas of teaching are a bit misguided. If anything, teachers are widely disrespected by a lot of people from students and their parents and politicians who keep imposing more and more cuts. Behaviour in schools in general has gotten a LOT worse since I was at school myself and with things like social media and technology, you are expected to entertain the kids a lot more, rather than educate them. You are also very likely to be blamed for a child's lack of progress by some parents. As great a job as teaching is, you will quickly get used to having to defend your position against every public-sector basher who feels that having attended school themselves, they obviously understand the dynamics of teaching.
Secondly, the wages are muck. Unless you get a permanent 22-hour contract, you will constantly be in a state of competing for hours with other teachers and these hours can change every year, or be gotten rid of altogether if they don't need you. It's likely you will end up emigrating to try and get full hours.
Shakespeare is a BIG part of English at both LC and at 3rd level. You'll have to get used to him, he's here to stay!
You don't need to excel at English, you just need to be able to explain things well to others and it helps if you have a genuine enthusiasm for the subject.

gaiscioch

If you can get a job teaching full hours down the country then teaching could be a good job if you don't mind never being wealthy. The problem is, for starters, there are very few such jobs. There is, however, an abundance of teachers from rural Ireland craving to get back home from more populated areas around Dublin but finding it terribly -actually painfully - difficult.

If you're lucky enough to get full hours, but that job is in Dublin there will be little standard of living sense to being a teacher because house prices are obscenely expensive here. Go to myhome.ie and do the calculations on this one, because far too few teachers do it. It's not a nice life yearning for your next pay day; life goes so much faster then and you fail to see many really positive things. The financial side of things really has only started to hit me with the rise in property prices in Dublin, and to be frank it's making me despair a bit about what the future holds for me as a full-time teacher in a secure contract in Dublin. I know I would be better off financially out of Dublin, but family commitments have me here.

Subject wise, I'd imagine you'd be much better with Irish and Maths, for instance, than choosing English and Religion. English, along with History, was by far the most oversubscribed choice when I did the HDIP/PDE. Religion isn't an exam subject in many schools, and unfortunately that has consequences for how students view it and thus with how difficult it would be to teach it. Also, if you're going to be a teacher try and marry somebody who has the same holidays as you as life is richer together that way.

Oh, and you don't want to end up having to teach in England. Ever.

Red Waterlily

Hi OP .. the thing about getting paid for the holidays is that it sounds way more fabulous than it actually is. We're only being paid for the work we do in class.... It's just divided up so that an even amount of money is coming in all year round as opposed to getting all of it up front during term time. Sadly I would have to agree that there are less stressful ways to make a modest living unless something changes for the better.

multimate

hi does anyone know if you get paid more if you teach more than 1 subject?

History Queen

multimate wrote: »

hi does anyone know if you get paid more if you teach more than 1 subject?

No you don't get paid more for teaching more than one subject. You get paid an hourly rate, so it's the amount of time you are teaching not what you are teaching that matters.

You are more likely to be more employable by having a second subject.

2011abc

History Queen wrote: »

You are more likely to be more employable by having a second subject.

I'd say you'd be UNemployable with only one in current climate ( except MAYBE Art ,Music etc )