Jobs From HELL (My Experiences and Advice)

Name: petehall

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Product:	My Experiences and Advice
Date:	26/03/02 (97 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Hard to identify any

Disadvantages: Stress, danger, little respect

I have to support BNibbles in his honest opinion. As an escapee from the profession, I know that every word he utters is true. After many years in industry, I went into secondary education as a teacher of mathematics, remembering the disciplined learning environment of my days at school. What a shock, shootings, stabbings, vandalism to staff cars and property, theft, lies and numerous assaults on staff, and that was just my first year. "It'll take you a couple of years to settle in" I was told when I first arrived, so I slogged it out and worked hard at controlling the thugs that I was blessed with each day, looking forward to the day when it got easier. After two years I was told "Well it really takes about five years - you've got to see all the pupils through the school that were here when you started". I had also learned that the only way to get promotion was to move schools, which meant a life of constant angst as you settled in to school after school.

Corporal punnishment was banned, detention could be withdrawn at the will of the parent and that meant lines were the only punishment short of expulsion. Naturally, nobody did the lines because there was no stick to enforce it with. I wasn't even allowed to make them stand in the corner. "It's humilliating", I was told - that was the whole point - humilliation was the only thing these yobs couldn't tollerate.

As for the holidays, you needed them to recover, and then to prepare. Did you know that if you have a day off they deduct 1/365 th of your salary - teachers are considered to be on duty 365 days of the year.

After three-and-a-half years, having lost most of my hair, I was prepared to go on the dole rather than continue. You can only leave on three dates - if I remember right it was three months notice expiring on 31 March or 31 August, or 6 months notice expiring on 31 December. Can you immagine going for a job in July and telling
them you couldn't start until January? - no wonder there are so many teachers still in the job. I put my notice in before the end of May, prepared to be unemployed if necessary. I'd applied for many jobs in the previous months and was lucky enough to land one of them before leaving.

It's amazing how they change - I teach the same kids at university now, they're just a couple of years older and the difference is phenominal. My advice to anyone considering teaching in a secondary school is quite simple - DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT.

Summary: