Any teachers on here? I am in my 2nd school placement for my PGCE and don't think I can carry on with it?

Question

It's not that I'm not a good teacher - all of my mentors have been really impressed with the way I've progressed - it's just that I feel the job is sapping all of my joy. I'm training to teach secondary English. I thought that I'd be teaching kids to love books but it seems that my job is more crowd control and literacy. I'm just so tired all the time and the thought of going back makes me feel ill. I don't hate teaching - I enjoyed my first placement, and although I was aware that there was loads of crap to go with it, I did like the actual lessons. Now though, it just seems to bleak and I don't want to go back at all.

Is this normal? Should I carry on? Did anyone else feel like this> Please give me some advice.
Cheers!

Thanks so much to the people who have answered so far - your answers have been kind and honest and fantastic. In fact, they've choked me up - which may just show you exactly how unbalanced I am with this bloody job at the moment!!!

Answer 1

Hey there,

I was a teacher for a number of years before I decided it wasn't for me. However, I do remember my PGCE and how I felt during it. I'd say don't give in.

When you are in training then it is mostly about crowd control because that is what we have to learn as teachers. We have to learn it before we can get onto the next stage, rather like learning to signal and look at the mirror before we can learn to drive.

I was a maths teacher and when I actually qualified I found it frustrating and rewarding depending on what classes I had to teach. For many it was about basic numeracy, but there were others who got the basic principles and could enjoy what I had to teach them. And there were rewarding moments.

Sadly I found that teaching wasn't what suited me because I found the politics a pain. I also found that I was being judged on how the children did and not how I taught. Getting an E grade class to get C's & D's is an acheivment but to the outside world they only got C's & D's. FInally I found teaching stiffling and that I couldn't grow as a person or learn, which is something I love doing. HOWEVER, I also worked as boarding master and I found I did enjoy the pastoral stuff. Helping kids to learn about life. And it has informed me about a great deal of life outside of schools.

My advice is stick to it. Get through the course and work as a teacher in the real world for at least two years. If at the end of that time you do not find it suits you, then move on. But don't give up now. The money will be good, the collegues helpful and the eventual school you get to may be great. Besides which a teaching qualification is a definite bonus on the CV.

I wish you the best, if you want to ask anything else, then do ask away.

Taraman

Answer 2

That is entirely normal. I felt like that, and so did everyone else on my course.

The bad news is that it doesn't really get better. The first year teaching as a professional is much harder, because you're still being judged all the time, but you have double the workload, and you're no longer a student, so don't have that as a leeway.

What happens after the first year teaching as a professional is where it changes. Some people just click and it suddenly all makes sense and gets easier.

Personally, I realised I hated teaching, and it was - as you say - sapping all the life out of me. It was changing my whole personality, and making me grumpy and nitpicky about everything all the time. I got out and changed careers, after 6 years in two different secondary schools.

One thing that made school more bearable for me was running a languages club (I was a French and Spanish teacher) for some year 7 students. There were about 8 of them who were really keen and cheerful and nice, and they were so enthusiasic, we did all the stuff I had imagined that I'd be able to do in lessons. We did a couple of lunchtimes a week, and they really did make it bearable. Maybe you could run a lunchtime book club or something, or a book quiz, something to spend time with the ones who ARE keen and pleasant, and who'll remind you what you love about your role.

Only you can decide what is right for you, but I would recommend finishing the qualification, if you possibly can. That way, it's always there if you need it, even if you decide never to teach. It would also be a good qualification if you decided you wanted to teach in, say, further education or adult eduction, where you don't get the crowd control issues.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

Answer 3

I agree with the last person, we are in different countries, but that does not seem to matter when it comes to teaching. I am assumeing that your PGCE is like student teaching. Let me know if I am wrong. :)

I can tell you this, I had two placements. One placement was in middle school and I loved it. The other was in high school and I cried everyday before I went in. I suppose that this should have been my signal, but I continued. I have been teaching for two and a half years and I am now looking for a change. My first year was awful. I have no idea how I got through it. My second year was not that bad. Now that I am into my third year, the politics are getting ridiculous and the kids are beginning to suck the life out of me. I come home so tired everyday that the only thing I can do is watch an hour of television and go to bed. I am a strict believer in this concept: Work to live--don't live to work. And teaching is not created for the lazy or unmotivated.

I have decided to move on to high school students to see how this works out. If I am still feeling unhappy, I will leave the profession.

The best advice that I can give you my Art teacher gave me my senior year in high school: Make sure teaching is not the only thing that you can do.

The turn-over rate for teachers is pretty high because it is so exhausting. When I meet someone that has taught for twenty or thirty years, I am amazed. Make sure you can do something else. I agree with the other people here, teach for a couple of years. If you hate it, stop. Use your experience to do something else.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

Hi there - I really do extend my sympathies to you - a PGCE placement in a difficult school can feel like hell on earth. I was sent to a fabulous school on my first placement and this really confirmed that I did want to be a teacher. My 2nd placement was like a vision of hell. I was spat at, kicked and verbally abused on a weekly basis - it seemed the norm for this school. The only things that kept me going were (1) knowing how great it was to teach in school 1 (2) the other PGCE students on placement at that school - we all really helped each other through it.
If as you sound - you do want to become a teacher it seems to me you have to make a choice and soon. It is still early in the placement so it may be possible to speak to your tutor (college) and say GET ME OUT OF HERE and get a placement elsewhere. This is not admitting defeat and you have learned a valuable lesson when it comes to looking for your first school for Sept (you KNOW what you don't want!). Or choice 2 would be the way I dealt with it - just keep going and realise that the toughening up you are receiving now will stand you in good stead in your 1st job. You'll always need classroom management skills - children do not always want to be there either.
Make sure you TALK to someone who can help you in practical ways and don't quit. Teaching is the BEST job in the world! I'm now Head of Dept and in my 10th year of teaching!!
Good luck x

Answer 5

Hi. I totally sympathise with you.

I'm currently on my probationery year at a large comprehensive school in Scotland and I have to say I'm loving it. That's not to say I have enjoyed every minute of the PGDE program so far.
My Initial Teacher Training period last year was a real mixture of highs and lows last year. I had one excellent placement, one mediocre placement and one disaster.

I have to admit, I was reduced to tears on more than one occasion, thinking that I was just not capable of managing a rowdy class of secondary school kids. I took everything personally and assumed that I was just not capable of being a teacher. Having made a huge decision to leave my job and become a teacher, there was no going back and I had to try and work through it. On more than one occasion I was ready to throw the towel in!

Then, all of a sudden, everything changed. Within a very few weeks of starting my probationery year I realised two very important things:

Firstly, there is nothing personal in the way the kids are with you. they rebel against the system and not against you as the teacher. Secondly and most importantly, I took time to observe the other, more established teachers at the school. They have identical problems to me. Some can manage it well and others cant.

You need to get confidence in your own abilities and that wont happen during the ITT period, when you have assessors and supporting teachers looking over your shoulder at every lesson you teach. Wait until you have your own classes and very quickly you will develop a style and more importantly, you will develop confidence. As you grow in confidence, so the kids will begin to accept you more. You set your targets at a more achievable level and begin to realise that the old saying "small victories" is so true. If lessons dont work out, dont worry. Think about how you can improve things and try something different.

My advise to you: stick it out for this year - there's not much left of the year anyway. Leave making any decisions on whether its right for you until you have had a good spell on your own in a classroom. You'll still have bad days, but believe me, when it goes well, you wont find a better job.

Good luck!

Answer 6

It's totally normal to feel overwhelmed with your PGCE placement. They're not really your kids, they'll always see you as an outsider.

It gets so much better when you get kids of your own and they see you as their real teacher.

Also, PGCE time is a valuable process to help you decide exactly which type of school you want to work in eventually. Not everyone is cut out for challenging behaviour. Why don't you chalk it up to a learning experience and say "Well I know I won't be applying for any jobs at this school".

It is a definite plus, I think. Just think of all those new teachers who will not have a clue what type of school to apply to when they qualify. You've now got a real heads-up on what you like most in a school/teaching environment.

Answer 7

I suspect we are teachers on different continents, but I think our experiences are probably more alike than different. I would challenge you to consider why you want to teach. Only you can answer that question, and the answer will dictate what you should do.

Some years ago, a wise person told me that some teachers teach because they need the affirmation of the students, that that affirmation feeds a teacher's ego. Then this sage told us that some teachers teach because it is a mission, sometimes a mission without lots of affirmation because the kinds of kids they teach aren't in a place emotionally to reward teachers in that way.

I am not sure that person was wholly correct, but her comments made me rethink why I keep teaching. It's not about me; it's about the kids and what I can share with them that will keep doors open for them.

On that note, I, too, am an English instructor. It is hard to cover all the subjects under the umbrella of English well. It is also hard to meet the demands of mandated standards.

If you answered the essential question regarding why you want to teach with some sort of "I want to make a difference" statement, and you combine that with the feedback you have received in your previous experiences, I think you need to contine your program.

The earlier stages of teaching are grueling. You are learning more than the students and on many more levels. You have to master classroom management, find a way to deliver content so it makes sense to a variety of learners, navigate the "colleague " relationships, which can be daunting on occasion, and find time to renew yourself physically and emotionally. If you are married and/or have children this is even more challenging.

Our world needs good teachers who can remind themselves that what they do is critical to the survival of society. Our job will become ever more challenging as we face more distractions, more government interference, more emotionally needy students. If you find even a bit of passion for your subject or your students, I hope you persist in your career. Who knows who you will influence and in what manner.

All the best in a difficult but delightful field. I have taught for 27 years and find myself questioning the same things you do. Fortunately, I have a few of those moments that make me realize why I teach to renew my soul when things seem so bleak.

Answer 8

I teach first grade and it is mostly crowd control. I have been teaching for 7 years now and I am getting so burned out and want to do something else, but the thought of going back to school scares me. What else can teachers do with a degree in Education and a teaching certificate?

Answer 9

the training and placement bit is the hardest stick with it it works out in the end