Teacher Subject Shortages

Mandf

What subjects have teacher shortages apart from maths, Irish, French, the sciences and home economics. Is there a shortage of Spanish or German teachers? Is there a shortage of religion or English teachers? Will there be a shortage of computer science teachers in the future? Now that PE is an exam subject will there be a shortage of this in the future?

Canard

AFAIK there is more of a shortage in Spanish than French, and possibly more in Spanish than any other subject since it's not core but demand for the subject has shot up. German is losing popularity I think.

TheValeyard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118463513#Comment_118463513

Just on the German shortage, this also has a secondary problem. Because of the shortage of teachers, the quality of whats available can something be dire. In our place, we have excellent German teachers, but when there is a role to be filled (maternity, sick leave, etc) the quality of the sub has been woeful or worse! This damages the subject, as since parents rightly talk, they are less likely to pick German for fear of that teacher.

Mandf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118463513#Comment_118463513

Would you say there will be much demand for chinese in the future or will Spanish and French become the two main European languages in Irish schools?

Canard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118515521#Comment_118515521

I can't see much demand coming for Chinese tbh - it'll probably be the same as Japanese/Russian were, i.e. students from many schools come to one place on a weekend to do it. All are 2-year courses, but if students have already chosen a Latin language for JC, they'll either continue with it or, if they're not great at it, they won't choose Chinese over it. It would probably go on a school by school basis.

French has always been the main language; Spanish overtook German and is still growing in popularity.

wingnut

home ec teachers are like hen's teeth.

Green Finers

I don’t know why? Teacher is very easy job for good money.

I’m on large 6 figure some. I do document translation and sometime verbal interpret for Bulgarian and Romanian. Still have to work on English hahaha. I earn it.

teacher have it easy

TheValeyard

https://tenor.com/oWKd.gif

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118578149#Comment_118578149

Treppen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118578149#Comment_118578149

I'd say your English teacher definitely didn't have it easy.

Green Finers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118586218#Comment_118586218

Why personal attacks?

I am Romanian.

Treppen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118586302#Comment_118586302

Why personal attacks. I'm a teacher?

Green Finers

I didn’t personal attacks you.

Amias

There is no teacher shortage. There is a male gender shortage in teaching.

Treppen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118589975#Comment_118589975

Here's your micro-aggression.

Teacher is very easy job for good money.

I'm triggered.

You hurt my feelings.

Treppen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118590001#Comment_118590001

Nobody really cares about the gender disparity in teaching.

Random sample

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118598174#Comment_118598174

If they did, you would see teacher wages rise.

Deeper Blue

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118578149#Comment_118578149

The jealousy is strong in this one

Green Finers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118609040#Comment_118609040

Why I’m jealous? I earn double what teacher earn at top of scale … on a soft year.

The big difference between most people earning 70k per year and teacher. Teacher have it easy. That’s objective fact. Not subjective

Random sample

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118609393#Comment_118609393

So teaching is easy, but people don’t want to do it because they are lazy and don’t want to do an easy job because they could do a more difficult job and earn twice as much? Gotcha.

Green Finers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118610111#Comment_118610111

Read my previous messages. I clearly said “i don’t know why there is shortage because job is so easy and well paying “.

Random sample

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118610120#Comment_118610120

So you consider half your wages well paid and people should be happy with that? Your point is clear as mud.

Deeper Blue

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118609393#Comment_118609393

I'd hazard a guess that nothing in this post is true.

Green Finers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118610432#Comment_118610432

I earn 120 last year. Legal document translation Bulgarian/ Romanian. Other years more.

My wife is chiropodists (earn even more than I do) add she have better English. Don’t know why I have to lye.

Deeper Blue

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118610725#Comment_118610725

Tip for you kid, next time you're going on a wind up try to at least come up with a semi plausible story. You're welcome 👍

Green Finers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118610753#Comment_118610753

So you reinforcing the point that teacher earn above the average by rubbishing my point about my salary.

I’m on day off.

Why are you on board if you supposedly to be teaching? Prove my point. Most of day is to doss.

Teacher never have more than 20 class hours in week.

Deeper Blue

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118610825#Comment_118610825

Wow a lot of bitterness in that post.

I don't have time to reply unfortunately, I'm too busy planning where I'm going to travel in July and August ☺️

Treppen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118610825#Comment_118610825

Never more than 20 class hours a week eh!

Where do you get your knowledge from, ?

Why is this guy allowed to post on here, spouting these "facts"?

Green Finers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118611939#Comment_118611939

gaiscioch

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118610825#Comment_118610825

Interesting. In fact, we cannot have more than 22 hours, not 20 hours, in actual teaching time/in front of class. Moreover, it will evidently surprise you to learn that Irish secondary school teachers have one of the longest teaching contact time in the OECD. At second-level (lower and upper), for instance, only five countries in the OECD have teachers who spend longer teaching each week than Irish teachers do. Only one of these, the Netherlands, is in the EU.

Data here: https://data.oecd.org/teachers/teaching-hours.htm

Green Finers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118612523#Comment_118612523

Irish teachers also have one of the highest salaries in the OECD, but let’s hush that one up.

Deeper Blue

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118612843#Comment_118612843

Thoroughly deserved it is too ☺️

gaiscioch

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118612843#Comment_118612843

First, you made an uninformed claim about teacher hours, so that was the issue which needed to be corrected. It has nothing to do with "hushing things up", and everything to do with staying on topic.

Second, given that Irish teachers teach for significantly longer than most of their teaching colleagues in the OECD, and in larger classes (25 students versus the OECD average of 21), it would seem natural that they get recompensed appropriately for that work. Specifically, they get 2% higher salaries than the OECD average at upper secondary level and 7% higher salaries at lower secondary. This comparison does not take into account the higher living costs in Ireland.

Source: https://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance/EAG2019_CN_IRL.pdf

Treppen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118612843#Comment_118612843

From bad English grammar ....to perfect grammar and a few phrasal verbs to boot eh!

Can people report this oinseach for derailing thread with nonsense.

Crocodile Booze

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118612843#Comment_118612843

I must commend you on your dramatic improvement in mastering the English language in such a short space of time. Outstanding.

Green Finers

Tell me a job where a person gets yearly raises in salaries regardless of performance (or lack thereof).

A job where people are essentially “unfireable”, save committing a murder or rape.

A job where you can go down for years for a serious crime and still have a job waiting for you.

A job where you retire on half of your salary which not only increases with inflation, but with currently employed teachers’ salaries too - with a lump sum of €200,000 to boot.

How about a job where you can “buy back pension years” for only a few hundred a year whilst you galavant on a year or two off.

If any of what I’ve said is untrue, I implore you to point out anything erroneous I might’ve said with the correct and factual information.

Green Finers

A job with unlimited, fully paid and unvouched sick leave for which a doctor’s note need not be furnished.

A Job where many of the employees don’t start until after 9 and finish before 3.

A job where good teachers (who are worth their weight in gold) get paid the same as an inefficacious one.

byhookorbycrook

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118612843#Comment_118612843

Here's a thing, most salaries in Ireland are above the OECD average, if you want to be simplistic about it.

https://data.oecd.org/earnwage/wage-levels.htm#indicator-chart

Deeper Blue

Methinks someone either didn't get the points for teaching and/or got rejected for the Hibernia. The jealousy/bitterness is truly delightful I must say.

Green Finers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118617655#Comment_118617655

So everything I’ve said is correct?

Green Finers

I feigned my “poor English”, kudos for picking that up, but I am employed in documentation translation (not Romanian and Bulgarian mind) and my salary is substantially higher than the top level of teaching. So no envy on my part.

Green Finers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118617655#Comment_118617655

Do you know the difference between jealousy and envy btw?

I hope you’re not teaching English.

What you’ve alleged of me is envy.

Random sample

Green finers, I still don’t get your point, do you think translating is more difficult than teaching? Do you think they are comparable careers? Does an expertise on one lend itself to an expertise in the other? What’s your point here?

HazeDoll

Muting. Either ignorant or trolling.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118617416#Comment_118617416

Green Finers

I see deeper blue has disappeared with her tail between her legs.

Deeper Blue

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118618067#Comment_118618067

Nope I just have a life.

Keep up the jealous ranting though, it's thoroughly entertaining, I'll read it when I get the chance 👌

Green Finers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118619019#Comment_118619019

As I’ve said, what you’ve described is envy, not jealousy. A good teacher should know the difference - and no, I’m not envious.

As I’ve also said I earn a modest 6 figure sum per year. The only perk I don’t enjoy is the extended holidays.

I just think it’s disgusting the amount teachers get out of the system compared to what they put it.

History Queen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118619089#Comment_118619089

Hahahahaha...gas ...

Deeper Blue

Back on topic - I've got a friend who's teaching German and she says that according to her principal there's a shortage of German teachers in the South, not sure how true that is.

Treppen

I heard they aren't releasing info on JC practicals (like music and home ec) because they still don't have enough teachers for LC.

I suspect they thought they could recycle the LC examiners to do the JC after.

Principals not wanting to release teachers still a problem outside of Easter hols.

am_zarathustra

I can't see principals releasing anyone at the moment. The teachers themselves wouldn't want to leave their own colleagues or classes in the lurch. It's been an exhausting year and I'd imagine the prospect of working over easter is not an attractive one. The pressure at JC is acute too, with no changes to the exam papers there is a rush to cover content. It's a mess really.

Home Ec teachers are not even real I think........can't get one at all in the urban areas. And that's a long practical!

TheValeyard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118617776#Comment_118617776