What took you all so long? We've been back two or three weeks, now counting down to October half term...
We still had some summer left.
Ah yes, my daughters teacher looked so busy prepping for the coming weeks last 'teacher training day' as we bumped into her at the local shopping centre last term.
1 teacher. I've just been past my daughter's school and their all in the classrooms looking rather busy.
Now that's a proper summer break! Where do you work...and are there any CDT jobs?I've already been back for 2 weeks!
Spain, I'm not a proper teacher (my SO is, but I do ESL) but we follow the school calendar which is about 12 weeks over summer, 2 at xmas and 2 at easter. No half terms, but quite a lot of public hols which are often stretched into 'bridges', eg 6th and 8th December are public hols so they chuck the 7th in there, meaning you finish work on Tuesday until Monday.
Snag is, I'm self employed so earn zero over the summer. OTOH, proper teachers get paid 14 months a year!
Ah yes, my daughters teacher looked so busy prepping for the coming weeks last 'teacher training day' as we bumped into her at the local shopping centre last term. Absolute look of horror on her face during the pleasant small talk when she realised what day it was meant to be. Never seen her move so quickly after that...
Schools are able to opt to cover the time/material of a development day in twilight sessions. We get two closure days in November that we pay for by doing 5 evening sessions.
matt_outandabout - Member
What took you all so long? We've been back two or three weeks, now counting down to October half term...
Posted 35 minutes ago # Report-PostDrac - Moderator
We still had some summer left.
Posted 28 minutes ago # Report-Post
Boom!
I love all these people moaning about how teaching is such an easy life. There's a teacher shortage, what's stopping you?
Principally the 3 Year Uni course to qualify you to teach simple mathematics to 8 year-olds.
I think recruiting people from the "real world" would be a great boost to kids, but it seems to me most teachers are school - uni - teaching.
Saying that 2 of my former colleagues from RBS took their pay-off money and completed a 1 year course to become teacher and are doing really well, but as a non-graduate it would be at least 3 years for me.
Drac - Moderator
We still had some summer left.
Aye, but we got to the sun loungers first on a holiday that cost half yours...
Principally the 3 Year Uni course to qualify you to teach simple mathematics to 8 year-olds.
It qualifies you to teach all national curriculum subjects to the whole of key stages 1 and 2. I don't think that there are many jobs going to teach one subject to one year group.
Principally the 3 Year Uni course to qualify you to teach simple mathematics to 8 year-olds.
Clearly then, as with most jobs, there is a lot of learning and practice before you are let loose in a classroom. Maybe this teaching malarky is tougher than you think...
Sometimes, all this kneejerk anti-teacher sentiment makes me think about giving it all up.
For about two seconds until I remember the 13 weeks holiday (which, as hinted at earlier in the thread, is actually unpaid).
That, and the fact it's quite fun and pretty fulfilling - more so I imagine than telling office drones to switch it off and switch it back on again all day...
(which, as hinted at earlier in the thread, is actually unpaid)
No it isn't. I'm sorry but you get paid holidays, either that or the Government is breaking employment law.
Hold my hands up. I was stating that just for effect.
Legally yeah we are paid during holidays, but from my work a while back as a teaching union rep I was shown that the value of a teaching salary is calculated on 39 weeks and then paid monthly over the year.
Perhaps, the holiday allowance shouldn't have to match the pupils'?
I'm pretty sure that if teachers started working to rule (e.g. no marking or prep out of hours) then the entire system would collapse.
ransos - Member
Perhaps, the holiday allowance shouldn't have to match the pupils'?
I'm pretty sure that if teachers started working to rule (e.g. no marking or prep out of hours) then the entire system would collapse.
Interestingly, we have had work to rule since I've been teaching.
IME never really works for us as a profession since it's almost impossible to actually achieve - yes, the system would collapse after about two weeks, but due to the nature of teachers that doesn't happen.
Whatever else you may think about the profession, for the vast majority they would do whatever was needed to provide for their classes...
No it isn't. I'm sorry but you get paid holidays, either that or the Government is breaking employment law.
A teacher on a 12 month contract is paid the same as they would be if they were on supply and got supply work on every day that schools were open. Legally, we're paid for the holiday but it's calculated based on days in work.
When we went on strike my employer deducted 1/260 of my salary, which implies 200 days in work plus 6 weeks paid holiday. (Though this has since been challenged successfully through the courts.)
I'm pretty sure that if teachers started working to rule (e.g. no marking or prep out of hours) then the entire system would collapse.
I wish more of us would refuse to do the pointless crap we're asked to do. There's a teacher shortage; what are they going to do, fire us?
Doesn't matter how you put it you're holidays are paid.
Legally, we're paid for the holiday
Doesn't matter how you put it you're holidays are paid.
?
[quote=miketually ]When we went on strike my employer deducted 1/260 of my salary, which implies 200 days in work plus 6 weeks paid holiday.
Surely it's based on you working Monday to Friday (weekends aren't holidays) and there being 260 days in a year excluding weekends. So you're paid for 52 5 day weeks.
BTW I'm hoping you're not a maths teacher 😉
Sad, sad people.
Surely it's based on you working Monday to Friday (weekends aren't holidays) and there being 260 days in a year excluding weekends. So you're paid for 52 5 day weeks.
Now you're just confusing them.
Ranos my reply wasn't to Mike.
Principally the 3 Year Uni course to qualify you to teach simple mathematics to 8 year-olds.
You're surely not suggesting that simply knowing the subject is enough to be able to teach kids? Surely?
matt_outandabout - Member
Principally the 3 Year Uni course to qualify you to teach simple mathematics to 8 year-olds.Clearly then, as with most jobs, there is a lot of learning and practice before you are let loose in a classroom. Maybe this teaching malarky is tougher than you think...
Why so defensive? I didn't say it was easy.
My 'beef' is that, I would quite like to be a teacher, some of my former colleagues are teachers and they say it's not easy, but then our former job wouldn't appear anywhere on a list of piss easy swindles either.
I've mentored youngish people straight out of Uni and was very good at it too.
My former colleagues were able to become Teachers with a 1 year course because they already held degrees in completely unrelated subjects they'd gained 10 years or more earlier. I couldn't because I wasn't able to go to Uni way back when.
It seems to me that whilst I've got 20+ years of real workplace experience I could share it counts for nothing, whereas if I held a 2:2 in Media Studies that I neither remembered or had use for, I could qualify for the PGCE course.
So this teaching "Malarkey" really takes a year to learn (sorry, it's more like 9/10 months if you take out the holidays 😉 ) but only if you already have a degree, however good / bad (well having a 3rd excludes you) which seems a shame to me - even 22 years ago when I finished school going to Uni was fairly rare, less than 15% of us who started in Year 7 (or form 1 as it was then) went onto Further education.
Whilst I know Teachers are given a lot of strict rules to follow, I think Teachers with some workplace experience outside of education would be a great benefit to children, after-all the ultimate goal for education is to prepare children for the workplace.
You're surely not suggesting that simply knowing the subject is enough to be able to teach kids? Surely?
I really wish I hadn't typed that bit, it was a bit of a light-hearted exaggeration to make a point. Anyway, see above for more detail.
BTW I'm hoping you're not a maths teacher
Physics 🙂 and not concentrating when answering forum posts.
P-Jay
You could work as an unqualified teacher in a Private school or a Free School or Academy . You don't need to have QTS to do that, although many of their staff do. You might well get paid less than a QT
Give it a go you might enjoy it
sorry, it's more like 9/10 months if you take out the holidays
The PGCE students work during holidays except summer one in uni
There are lots of non-PGCE routes into teaching these days.
You'll still need a degree though, but that's the same for any graduate profession, surely?
Couple of years ago working for a chap about this time, he said, not looking forward to school, Squeaky shoes, rubbing heels, itchy trousers,wearing a tie, stressed out children and teachers, crying kids,road rage at school gate,early rises, homework,school dinners or sandwiches and an apple,etc etc.
I asked his wife what age there kids where, she said theyd left home and gone to uni, told her what her husband had said, she laughed, said hes the HEADMASTER, new term gets him like that for a few days
All the moaning parents be like...
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/parents-celebrate-end-of-nightmare-2013090379096
after-all the ultimate goal for education is to prepare children for the workplace
Not imho!
Well we've been back three weeks now. I did work in industry before becoming a teacher. Secondary school teachers in Scotland need a degree before pgce.
And I spent a while this evening making an apple crumble for my low ability S4 set who are all simd 1&2 and don't believe apples can be turned into pudding because they never see it at home. You're all.right it's a skive.
I do think you have a point pjay about life experience and all that can bring to working with young people. IMO one of our education weaknesses here is having too many teachers of similar background, too many women (especially in younger age) and not enough experience outside of teaching.
There are other ways into teaching without degree, or flexible options to get that degree now... Go for it.
Whilst I know Teachers are given a lot of strict rules to follow, I think Teachers with some workplace experience outside of education would be a great benefit to children, after-all the ultimate goal for education is to prepare children for the workplace.
Actually I was given credit for previous experience - as I only had a 3rd from Uni (long story, but mostly my own fault!). The industry and life experience I had was taken into account by my PGCE Tutor and I was given a place on the course.
8 years down the line, I'm now a head of faculty. So not doing too badly.
As far as having to have a degree goes, that's not as set in stone as it once was. Private schools can employ whoever they like, and academies can (AFAIK) employ non-qualified teachers.
academies can (AFAIK) employ non-qualified teachers
They can, but on unqualified teacher pay.
matt_outandabout - Member
I do think you have a point pjay about life experience and all that can bring to working with young people. IMO one of our education weaknesses here is having too many teachers of similar background, too many women (especially in younger age) and not enough experience outside of teaching.
There are other ways into teaching without degree, or flexible options to get that degree now... Go for it.
I've considered it a lot, I'm going through that whole "what am I doing with my life" mid-life phase.
The sticking point, is the degree thing - I didn't really get the chance to go to Uni, I could have I guess, but a lot of financial barriers put me off.
Teaching would mean a lumpy pay cut for me, but I could handle that, even the 12 months of PGCE, but 3 years study would be too much of a burden for my family, the 3 years my Wife was studying for her Nursing degree nearly broke us.
As above, if I had a 20 year old degree in anything, even if I had forgotten every lesson and had never used a single skill gained from it - I could qualify for the course, but I don't. 20 years of real world experience in business, finance, IT doesn't help. Seems unfair to me, maybe I'm just bitter.
Yes, but the beauty of academies is that pay is potentially negotiable. Well, it is if you're a fan of semi-privatised education!
Some of the best teachers I know have 2:2 or 3 degrees, but lots of life/industry experience.
I hated school, and didn't engage very well - in some ways that really helps me see things from the kid's point of view!
