Teaching

Advantages: Variety, holidays, job satisfaction
Disadvantages: Loss of social life, tiredness

...long review! BACKGROUND: Teaching wasn't something that I wanted to do. When I was younger I wanted to be a solicitor because that's what my Dad did. When it came to applying for university I really couldn't face the thought of studying law for three years so decided to do my degree in History (my passion in life - no jokes thank you very much!). I always thought that I'd carry on with the law stuff after my degree. However, by the time I was ...
...A few people had suggested teaching to me in the past but it was never something that I'd taken too seriously. No one was any help - 'do what you want' - ARGH!!! I phoned my best friend in turmoil and she said that she could really see me as a teacher and thought I would be really good at it. I decided that I would go for it. My decision was based mainly on the fact that I loved History so much and thought it would be great to work around it every ... Read review

Advantages: Satisfaction, holidays, pay
Disadvantages: Some snotty parents, ribbing about holidays

...~Making the Decision~ Teaching is something that you really want to do. It is a vocation. Anyone who tells you that you will grow into it is wrong. There are very few teachers who grow to like it. It's either in your veins or it's not. We don't LOVE children and so want to be with them constantly; we are educators whose job it is to impart knowledge and keep discipline at the same time. Please don't choose to pursue a career in teaching because ...
...found everything really easy find teaching hard because they don't truely understand what it means to not understand; however you must be reasonably bright, particularly in today's teaching climate, to be able to handle the demands made. You need a C or above at GCSE in Maths, English and Sciences, and A' levels in suitable subjects, (I think most are suitable depending on what you want to teach, e.g. if you want to teach Maths there is no point ... Read review

Advantages: Ultimately satisfying in the long run
Disadvantages: Can be gruelling, tiring and pressured hard work

...of my constant references to teaching (and languages) but a couple of people out there have actually followed-up the teaching bit of my random personality as they have aspirations of becoming a teacher themselves (good luck to them – I would always encourage people to go for it!). In this case, what I propose is a quick run down of the basic training you need to go through in order to get qualified as a teacher in secondary education (sorry, ...
...these very ‘normal’ conditions of teaching varied, very ‘streetwise’ kids of differing academic and behaviour levels. If you accept these and are still interested in becoming a teacher – read on. If, by chance, the words ‘streetwise’ and ‘kids’ have frightened you, you have my permission to exit this opinion now. Accepting that the PGCE is the most popular route for people who want to enter teaching ... Read review

Advantages: see opinion
Disadvantages: see opinion

...as befits someone in the teaching profession, so I will state now that if I mention the name of any school it will be fictitious, as will the name of any pupil that I mention. Teaching is one of those strange jobs, you know? It used to have the status as being one of the 'professions', but over the years its status has been subject to continual erosion by governmental dictates and media comment. Anyone who enters the profession now has to be prepared ...
...spending a year as a teaching assistant in Germany, which was thoroughly enjoyable. The only real problem with it was that I had trouble speaking English properly when I returned to my home in Kent. Well, when I say properly what I mean is that I could speak the words, but I kept applying the strict rules of German grammar to the English language. After graduating I enrolled for a 2 year Postgraduate Certificate in Education course, which was unique ... Read review

Advantages: the children, making a difference, fulfilling a dream
Disadvantages: paperwork, restrictions

...the choice of words – teaching is not a job, anyone who considers it as just that is in the wrong one! This op does tend to ‘go on’ but I’m afraid I am on my soapbox! Apologies if you get bored half way though. My training involved 3 years at Teacher Training College as I took an ordinary Bachelor of Education, however, I believe you now have to take an Honours Degree, which takes four years. I trained for primary education. ...
...the two, that primary school teaching is much more demanding – others may disagree. I chose teaching because I wanted to make a difference and felt (and still feel) that I am bloody good at it. However, the government is ruining teaching for the ‘proper’ teachers. Over the 8 years, the paperwork built up to astronomical levels, I know schools are different and maybe if I’d have been somewhere else it may not have been like ... Read review