[KerryL]

Hi All

Looking for some help and guidance here. Since having my little one 7 months ago the thought of going back to my current profession in Human Resources is no longer attractive to me and I am seriously giving some thought to going back to uni to complete my diploma in education to be a primary school teacher. I was wondering if there are any teachers out there who could provide me with guidance on what it is like working in your profession, what do you find most rewarding and frustrating, what are the propects like for someone entering the profession who would be 35 year + would it be frowned upon?

Thanking you in advance

Kerry

[boatiebabe]

Depending on which state you are in you could contact the Education Department.

There are quite a few programs (and scholarships etc) for people in other industries who want to retrain to become teachers. They could give you some information. Certainly they do not frown upon it!

[hiddensecrets]

Hi All

Looking for some help and guidance here. Since having my little one 7 months ago the thought of going back to my current profession in Human Resources is no longer attractive to me and I am seriously giving some thought to going back to uni to complete my diploma in education to be a primary school teacher. I was wondering if there are any teachers out there who could provide me with guidance on what it is like working in your profession, what do you find most rewarding and frustrating, what are the propects like for someone entering the profession who would be 35 year + would it be frowned upon?

Thanking you in advance

Kerry

Kerry if you do an EB search a lot of teacher threads are already around. However, my ex was a teacher so I can answer some of your questions (I also did one year of teaching degree before giving up):

You would not be frowned upon being 35+....many people in my ex's grad dip class were late thirties to early forties. This is not uncommon!!

The ex said the hardest part about teaching was planning for 28 odd children that all had different needs (curriculum differentiation). You had to always modify your plans because little Johnny and Suzie needed something different to Harry. You have to make sure that all special needs (gifted and disabilities) are catered for.

With the old curriculum framework it was testing to ensure that what you wanted to teach matched with the overarching outcomes, and then ensured that they match learning area outcomes and then progress map indicators. In saying that I am not sure what the new curriculum would be like, but this is time consuming. I know many EB posters say that you could reuse lesson plans once they are set in stone, but with curriculum differentiation this is not always the case.....plus not all lessons "reach" your kids.

Reporting is very time consuming and has to be individualised and done to a set standard for DETWA. While ex was reporting I think we saw him from about 4pm until 5pm when he got home and had a quick bite to eat and then he went back to reporting until about 11pm. This went on for about 2-3 weeks.

The parents.....being called because Johnny didnt get the best marks, or because you told Minnie off or something she most certainly could not have done, or why are you not teaching Harry how to multiply even though he is only in kindergarten and its the first day.....some of the calls ex had was a doozy!!! (kind of amusing really). So you really have to be able to deal with a diversity of people.

The other thing I was told (Even by the universities) that if you do not want to go ANYWHERE, it is hard to get a contract. Some of the new graduates that ex and I knew also found it hard getting into relief work because many schools had their preferred people.

In saying that if you feel called towards it then you would be fine this is just going off my ex's experience....

[hiddensecrets]

DP

This post has been edited by hiddensecrets: 06/12/2012, 07:13 PM

[howdo]

I was 36 when I started teaching.

[mmuc83]

I was 36 when I started teaching.

And how have you found it? Primary Teaching? Do you still enjoy it?

Sorry to hijack OP, but i am interested in this also..

[Kalota]

Hi OP, I am a primary school teacher and it was not my first degree (I went back to study it after completing a journalism degree previously!)

I absolutely love teaching, it is very rewarding and keeps you on your toes! Having said that though, I do not have kids yet and I don't think I could do this job with a family - it's way too intense. Generally, I get to school at about 7:45am and usually don't get to leave until a about 5 or 6pm. There is lots of take-home work as well - I spend a good portion of the weekend and weekday evenings doing schoolwork. The past few years I've been in the Prep year level which is also exhausting, especially at the beginning of the year when the students can be quite needy/demanding throughout the day.

Of course, this is my own personal experience from my particular school that I work at (which IS a difficult school due to the SES of the area). But, even though I absolutely LOVE my job, when I have a family I think I'm either going to have the leave the profession, find a part-time teaching position, or find a school that is less demanding! My current hours and workload is NOT family friendly at all.

I do love it though, it is so rewarding building relationships with children and seeing them grow and learn. They always brighten your day as well! The holidays are also good - if I'm not catching up on work or attending professional development!

ETA: When I went back to complete a teaching qualification I was still in my twenties, BUT there were loads of people aged 35 to 50 in the course! I don't think it would be frowned upon at all.

This post has been edited by Kalota: 07/12/2012, 05:19 PM