Those that can - Teach (Secondary School Teacher)

Member Name: HS28

Product:	Secondary School Teacher
Date:	05/05/09 (439 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Never a dull moment

Disadvantages: My Review is a tad on the long side

Secondary School Teacher


**Background**

I have been a secondary teacher for a couple of years now and thought I would share my experience of how I got into teaching as a career and what the job entails. I went into teaching aged 25/26 and honestly feel it was best to not go in earlier at 21 as it enabled me to gain some life experience and work in different professions first. With teaching you see everyday is a new experience and it is full of ups and downs. Some days are fantastic and you really feel you have made a difference whilst at other times with the constant change in government policies as every year there seems to be a new education minister. Not forgetting the threat of Ofsted breathing down your neck you can get jaded. Then there are the kids and the things they say that can make your day. I am sure I could write a book on the experiences so far in the classroom!

I went to University in 1998 in Manchester and completed a degree in History and strangely even back then all my friends used to say what can you do with history 'be a teacher''. I was adamant that was not the case and signed up to do the law conversion course at my university but this was going to cost me £3000 plus then £6000 then to do the LPC then another 2 years in training on a low salary. So I opted to get a job as a graduate in a national company in the hospitality trade thinking I will do a year then go back to University to my deferred place. Trouble was one year in and the money was good even better than 2 years doing your articles as a solicitor.

Then I moved back up even further north to home and first applied to do the PGCE- Post Graduate Certificate in Education. I couldn't decide on whether to do primary or secondary but opted for secondary in the end as I wanted to specialise in one subject rather than teach the full curriculum. But when the interview came along I felt I wasn't ready to go into teaching as something didn't feel right. I then ended up working in Human Resources before working for a famous high street retailer in quite a good management position. I then began to find I didn't enjoy working in a job where they did not care about employees but only profit. I began to think about teaching again as I realised I wanted to work in a job where people mattered as I liked human resources but not the hard selling and line the fat cats pockets. I realised what I got most out of my job was working with people and in my management roles I enjoyed coaching others to achieve more.


**PGCE**

I then decided in 2005 to apply again for the PGCE in Secondary and this time I went to the interview and secured my place. Doing the PGCE was blimmin hard work as you have so much to do over the time period of training. You get a bursary to help you get by which is a bonus and the PGCE I did ran from September until June. It is so much harder than a degree as not only do you have all the theory side of it to learn and the assignments but you have to complete two placements. In one year you gain QTS which is qualified teacher status and then you are let lose on you own! I honestly do not know how the new government idea of training people in 6 months would work as you really need the first placement to practice your teaching and learn from others and then the second part to consolidate. Also once you gain QTS you are still not a ''proper'' teacher as you have to complete an induction year to gain NQT status and I if you fail your NQT year that can be the end of a short lived career in teaching. Luckily I passed both my PGCE and NQT year with flying colours. I had two nice placements on PGCE and have been lucky in the two schools I have worked in so far where behaviour has not been such an issue.


**The NQT year**

NQT stands for Newly Qualified Teacher and you have to do this year within 5 years of obtaining QTS from your PGCE. Although a PGCE is not the only route in to teaching as you can do GTP or SCITT or a Degree with teaching as part of the award. Around about the January time of your PGCE the jobs start coming up on the tes and you start applying for your step into teaching. One thing to be wary of is if you apply for a job and accept only to later reject you will get black balled. Teaching is not like industry and you can not chop and change as it is considered unprofessional and your name will be blacklisted for a whole county. Some people I know have done this due to unforeseen circumstances and of course you have entered a verbal agreement with the school so they will not be too happy. Anyway the NQT year is a tough one and one huge roller coaster of a ride. You go in to the school in September all full of energy and the students in secondary schools in particular can be challenging for an NQT. You have to be observed several times over the course of the year to ensure you meet the standards set and then will be passes by the local authority. Then there is the tiny matter of the pupils who will test the new teacher and keep pushing the boundaries to see where they stand. They are just testing teachers like they would their mum and dad to see what they can or can't do! People often say don't smile until Christmas or be a hard nosed b@~ch. Year 7s (aged 11-12) will accept anyone in their first year as they have started at the school with you. The others years up the school know you are new and are harder to win round. I guess the first term is about building relationships and sustaining their trust.


**Teaching**

I find teaching in a secondary school to be a very rewarding career as once you have built up the relationships with your classes you will see dividends. The pupils respond well to praise and it's funny how you forget what praise can be as in industry we are never often thanked or told well done but this is what gets us all motivated to know we are doing well and know we are appreciated. I have found the simplest of rewards can motivate my pupils whether they are in year 7 or 11 and stickers go down a treat in all these years as I guess they love the novelty. Like I said earlier no day is ever the day and the pupils can make the strangest comments that will make you laugh. If you have had a class that were a bit off then the next class can soon make up for it. It is also brilliant to see pupils challenge themselves and really extend their thinking. We have had some good off timetable days at our school which have centred on developing thinking and enquiry skills where they get to show their creativity.

I suppose there are a lot of drawbacks to teaching and I think the state education in our country is very misplaced at the moment. The government has completely mixed up its agenda and is constantly pressing on schools to be results driven rather than focussing on the softer skills which are needed for being able to get a job or live out your life. Unfortunately it is all about the A-C grades and points and that is the part that upsets me as it has taken away a lot of spontaneity from teaching and allowing students to really enjoy their education. I think the Ofsted system has its flaws and puts teachers under immense pressure and should a school go into special measures the pressure on them is far higher and demanding at a time when they need most help.

Some may say you get all those holidays well yes that is true but when the kids go home at 3pm us teachers are either at home marking or at school. I personally work until 6pm at school every night and often there are lots of meetings after school or extra curricular activities that teachers hold. I myself often take work home too and then there are the parents evenings and report writing and I am even a teacher governor. So the salary may sound good due to the holidays but it is no easy ride! I would honestly say I really enjoy my job and find it very rewarding but at the same time straining and tiring. I am only in my third year of teaching and this is my first year in a promoted post so I have never had the chance to just settle and stay at one level as each year the bar has been raised. I do love the challenges and would be bored otherwise and would honestly recommend teaching as a career. I think secondary and primary teaching are both demanding careers in different ways but would say they are probably top in terms of job satisfaction and knowing you are helping to shape the next generations futures.


**Any Takers?**

If you are interested in teaching the TDA website is a great place to start and if you are at university they actually do taster schemes called SAS in certain subjects where you can get paid to spend a few weeks in school learning about the job of teacher. When I did my PGCE they offered golden hellos for certain subjects (not mine!) but now it has changed and I think some subjects offer higher bursaries than others. Teaching applications however are on the up as people think we are recession proof. However I think you need to really question why you want to be a teacher before going into it and possibly asking to go into your local school to observe your chosen subject. Also with pupil numbers falling some schools are having to issue redundancies or cut hours so the profession is still struggling too.

Salaries in teaching are varied as you go into teaching on a main pay scale and there are 6 points to work your way up. This is good as each year you know your salary will rise and once you reach 6 years you then apply to go through threshold to upper pay scale where you need evidence to prove you deserve to get there. I am only 3 years in so have not got to that point yet. You also get more money if you hold a TLR which is a management responsibility like head of department or head of year. You can go higher of course into leadership or even Head Teacher. If you look on the TDA it has all the current pay scales on there.


**Thank you and Good Night**

Some may disagree on teaching and maybe think it isn't for them but some one has to do it! Well I hope that has given some insight into the job of a secondary teacher. I know I could have talked about so much more and got into detail on more of the controversial issues but I will leave those for another review maybe for speaker's corner!

**extra please don't believe everything you read in the mail or see in waterloo road about teaching! Although I loved Channel 4s teachers!

Summary: A Rewarding Career that can help shape the future!