I want to be a teacher, but.....?

Question

i am worrid about the amount of work teachers have to do at home...lesson planning etc....can someone tell me if they would recommend teachind as a career when they have young children at home?

And also, do they teach you how to plan lessons effectivly at uni?

i will be doing BEd(primary) cource in sept.

Answer 1

I am a teacher but I used work as an investment banker.

The extra work you do in the evening is not such a big deal considering you can, if necessary, finish your day at 4 or thereabouts. Also you can choose to work locally - so no big time commuting. What it means is that it gives you control of where you put the hours in which is great when you have children at home. I reckon I worked far far more hours overall in my last job with no flexibility at all and no long holidays to recuperate.

Once you have been teaching a year or two, many of the lessons are repeats or just need some tweaks (although good teacher will try to introduce some new ideas and approaches year on year). In theory it would be possible to plan the lessons in the school holidays so there is not so much to do in the evenings although obviously the odd concert, play and parent/teacher meeting crops up. I reckon teaching at primary level means less evening work than teaching at secondary level. Although perhaps more exhausting during the day you will have a teaching assistant and a lot of the marking can be done at school - no huge long essays or assignments to mark which you get at secondary school. School days finish earlier too.

If you have young children at home and are doing a full time teaching job you will absolutely knackered most of the time - full day of work, followed by messing around with children's supper and bedtime and then settling down to an hour or more school would not be my idea of fun. If you can possibly afford it and can get it I would suggest a job share or a part time teachers job if at all possible until the children are older.

Lesson plannning is very much part of any form of teacher training - you will be fully prepared and equipped to deal with the job.

Answer 2

The first few years of teaching can be hard going Doing anything for the first time takes longer. However a lot of teachers do have young families and you might consider job sharing or something like that until your own children are older. In any case they will be growing up while your doing your course.
Its not the easiest job .There are times when you 'll feel very tired at the end of the day but every job has its snags. At least its never dull.
Your course will give you a lot more confidence about things like lesson plans. In Scotland you get a lot of support in the probationary year. I don't know the English system. Why not go ahead with the course if its what you really want to do and cross bridges as you come to them.

Answer 3

I can't lie, the work load for teachers is high exspecially in the first three or so years. Untill you have taught a subject two or three times you don't get it down to a tee. Also there are ebbs and flows, this time of year it is a little hectic with final year assessments and parents evenings etc.

On the plus side
I don't have children but know several teachers that do and cope with it well. Its just choosing your time and using it effectively.

As for planning lessons during uni it is hell on earth! But they do tend to cover all bases, after you finish your Uni course and Induction year things do ease off a bit in that department, you are not expected to do a formal written lesson plan for all lessons just enough to jog your memory and to get you through.

Ofsted (if you are in the UK) ask for some but only really if they are observing those lessons and a few others and your medium and long term planning (sometimes called block planning)

Hope this helps
It is a rewarding but demanding career think carefully before you decide, its definately not for everyone.

Get some experiance in a local school as a help or teaching assisstant first this will give you a taster, most schools are glad for the help!

Answer 4

Teaching is difficult and not for everyone.

On the one hand, teaching is a good job for parents with young children because teachers have a good amount of school breaks and that allows you to take a vacation or just relax with your family. Also, if your children have started school, they might pick up good study habit from you because they will see you doing your "homework" on a regular basis.

On the flip side, teaching is demanding and there will a lot of work to be taken home. I am often stuck grading papers even on breaks and weekends. It does get better after you have been teaching the same material for a few years and have built up some lesson planning books/resources.

Best of luck!

Answer 5

I know 2 teachers, and they have both had he same experience of planiing lessons.

The first year is hard going.

Lesson planning and wanting to work miracles. By their second year they were relying on previous lesson plans and felt more confident about what was expected of them.

I think they get training on lesson plans when they go on placement. but the Uni's do cover how to plan lessons.

If you feel up to doing extra go on a Training the Trainer course (just a couple of days at most) I have been on them in the past and the are very effective on helping you to plan and very very effective on keeping your audience interested. I do not know where you live so I cannot give you details of the fab curses I have done

Good luck in your career

Answer 6

I went to school to teach. It does take some juggling to manage children and the extra work, but it can be done with some perserverance. To answer your second question, yes the school you attend will teach you how to effectively plan lessons persuant to your state's guidelines. They will show you how to write full lesson plans, and once you have the hang of that, you can begin shortening the lessons when you actually teach and gain confidence in your ability. Plus, when you start teaching, you will have mentors ( experienced teachers) in the schools that you will be practicing in that are more than willing to assist you with planning to make sure you are meeting the curriculm guidelines. I hope this helps!

Answer 7

Teaching can be a very rewarding career but you'll need your partner's support to cope with your children when you come home with a load of marking and preparation to do, or have to go back out for yet another parents' evening.

I did a one year PGCE but I would expect you'd learn a lot more in a 3 year BEd course about HOW to teach effectively.

Answer 8

teachers do have a heavy workload and often work at home, but i , like many of my colleagues manage to juggle this with family committments, plus it gets easier each year as your resources build up and you get more experienced with preparation and planning, i went to uni at the age of 37 and have been teaching now for 5 years, it is a great career and you have the benefit of never having to worry about childcare in the school holidays!! good luck!

Answer 9

It is a demanding job that becomes a huge part of your life. As a teacher you are allocated PPA time or non contact time were you are able to plan and prepare. Your school placements and uni should be supportive in developing your skills and ensuring you are able to carry out tasks required.

Answer 10

You`ll learn everything you need to know at university. Go for it, it is an ideal job for someone with children. Stop worrying, you`ll make a good teacher, it is amazing these days that people want to be a teacher, especially in inner cities. Good luck to you.