Secondary Thinking about becoming a teacher

Hudu Gurusingha

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Hi everyone

So I'm still thinking about giving up my s**t job in OHS/Injury Management to get into teaching. Anyone who thinks dealing with teenagers is hard, try dealing with fraudulent workers comp claimants. Have been getting calls almost every day to do relief work so there seems to be a lot out there. Just got offered a week of PE work this morning at a school around the corner.

Anyone here doing relief at the moment in Perth?

Anyone? :)
 

shammersting

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Some really good posts in here guys and very enjoyable to read and gain further insight. A bit of a random question but does anyone have a rough estimate in their head what they think a 'Teacher Assistant' in a independent school would make? Thanks, cheers!
 

alex_is_on_fire

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Hi everyone

So I'm still thinking about giving up my s**t job in OHS/Injury Management to get into teaching. Anyone who thinks dealing with teenagers is hard, try dealing with fraudulent workers comp claimants. Have been getting calls almost every day to do relief work so there seems to be a lot out there. Just got offered a week of PE work this morning at a school around the corner.

Anyone here doing relief at the moment in Perth?
When I got back into teaching after a few years off, I had to rack up 40 days of supply teaching and go for my interview to get a rating (I was trained and did a little work in Tassie, and moved to Qld during those gap years). I recall doing a bit of relief work as a 22yo when I finished uni, a couple of ugly days, and swearing never to do it again. I was 31 when indeed I did do it again, and found it fine, especially once I established myself at a few places. I needed 40 days that year, I did 100. I also pushed this little operation into the next year (2002), carefully managing my week to avoid a) 6 or more days in a row at one place which would constitute a lower paid contract, and b) going to work on a Monday (Rams fan, saw most of their games on tv culminating in their 2002 Superbowl loss (knew I'd never get a chance to do something like this ever again as they then descended back to their usual sucky depths and I was going for full time work and getting my s**t together soon after anyway, so I exploited the situation for all it was worth...!). As a music teacher, I was also in a working band, so it was a great lifestyle, with two gigs a week plus a flexible and comparatively very well-paid job stopping me from crashing on other people's couches (and no homework or prep). Two contracts in late 2002 screwed everything up, and the band died the next year, but by that time I was a full-timer...
 

Hudu Gurusingha

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When I got back into teaching after a few years off, I had to rack up 40 days of supply teaching and go for my interview to get a rating (I was trained and did a little work in Tassie, and moved to Qld during those gap years). I recall doing a bit of relief work as a 22yo when I finished uni, a couple of ugly days, and swearing never to do it again. I was 31 when indeed I did do it again, and found it fine, especially once I established myself at a few places. I needed 40 days that year, I did 100. I also pushed this little operation into the next year (2002), carefully managing my week to avoid a) 6 or more days in a row at one place which would constitute a lower paid contract, and b) going to work on a Monday (Rams fan, saw most of their games on tv culminating in their 2002 Superbowl loss (knew I'd never get a chance to do something like this ever again as they then descended back to their usual sucky depths and I was going for full time work and getting my s**t together soon after anyway, so I exploited the situation for all it was worth...!). As a music teacher, I was also in a working band, so it was a great lifestyle, with two gigs a week plus a flexible and comparatively very well-paid job stopping me from crashing on other people's couches (and no homework or prep). Two contracts in late 2002 screwed everything up, and the band died the next year, but by that time I was a full-timer...

Awesome mate. Similar situation for me. Did a bit of relief some years ago, but Im 32 now and want to teach, do some coaching on the side, and if needed some contract work. All with the aim of getting a full time contract later on. Bit of a risk, but f*** it I reckon, I hate my line of work so much, just want to do something meaningful with my life
 
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Hi everyone

So I'm still thinking about giving up my s**t job in OHS/Injury Management to get into teaching. Anyone who thinks dealing with teenagers is hard, try dealing with fraudulent workers comp claimants. Have been getting calls almost every day to do relief work so there seems to be a lot out there. Just got offered a week of PE work this morning at a school around the corner.

Anyone here doing relief at the moment in Perth?
Full timer in the northern suburbs here.If you get your resume out to schools that have trouble getting relief teachers and are prepared to teach all subjects you can get calls 4 days out 5 in terms 1 and 4 and have your phone ringing all morning in terms 2 and 3. Good luck!!
 

Hudu Gurusingha

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Full timer in the northern suburbs here.If you get your resume out to schools that have trouble getting relief teachers and are prepared to teach all subjects you can get calls 4 days out 5 in terms 1 and 4 and have your phone ringing all morning in terms 2 and 3. Good luck!!

Thanks mate, this is great news! :)
 

TheDyerLegacy

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I have just found out in the last three-four days that the course I applied for (a fancy-pants dip ed) was full and so they've shoved me into the B.Ed programme instead, doing combined first and second-year courses. Which would be a challenge but one I'd be OK with, except... In three weeks I'll have my first placement, teaching maths (which I haven't taken for more than a decade) to primary school students (who I was intending to have zeeeerrrooo contact with) once a week. I know the maths won't be too much of the difficulty, but basically the course I was doing had no placements until two weeks in November or something, and that was in a secondary setting, and I'm kind of shitting myself.

There's a lot about it all that's a bit messy, given that I'm doing it through the BEd, like having overlapping placement windows etc., but I'm more or less excited about it, and it does allow me to teach prep to 12, even if I was only really interested in Secondary. It's just... placement, three weeks into my studies, seems like it might be a bit terrifying.

Am I worrying too much, or not enough?
Ahh you must be doing the P-12 at VU? I heard of a few guys that were doing a condensed format of the P-12.. Heard it's pretty full on with extra units per semester.. I think you end up doing 15+ week semester if I'm not mistaking...
 

TheDyerLegacy

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Well I've been told I will be working with Preps next year (5year olds). When I was told, I was shocked. Not knowing any males that have taught it was a concern, but upon researching this, I have noticed that more schools are putting males in the prep classroom (for the male role model).

My principal did this too when he told me I would be in one. Wanted that male presence and thought I would be a good fit (having a young child myself). On the plus side, less I need to report on. Downside is it will be hard work at the start, getting them into a routine.

Im use to teaching older kids (8-12year olds) as I've been teaching them for the last 4 years. So I'm going to need to get my head around a whole new curriculum and lower my expectations (to word and letter recognition rather than full page of writing with paragraphs lol).

Im actually looking forward to the challenge.
How have you gone with the Preps this year?
How long did it take to find a settled routine?
 

TheDyerLegacy

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Finally finished my 4 year course, and have received a job - a 1 year contract teaching Grade 6's.

Any tips on establishing a strong behavioral strategy from the start? I don't want these kids walking over me, which has happened with Grade 6's in the past.

Very nervous, and excited at the same time. Start of a new chapter in my life.
Did you receive a job offer from a school you had previously been placed at?

I only ask since most people I have spoken to have received jobs based on their final placement...
 
How long do you guys (particularly high school English) spend on lesson planning? The assignment I am doing at the moment is creating a reading lesson plan and it is taking ages with the amount of detail I have to include and this only covers 3 lessons.
 
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That can be a "how long is a piece of string" question...! It gets consistently quicker and less tedious with practice, and as you build up a repertoire of stuff you can use that again in different forms.

I always:
1) state first what the assessment type is and what I want the kids to pass in on the big day (e.g. an essay on Romeo and Juliet). Discussion with your boss or your own experiences will tell you how long the essay is, and technical content comes from the syllabus criteria.
2) invent a specific question/problem/angle for the topic. Check it lines up with the criteria.
3) design the task specifically around 1-2. The single most important part of this step is what you leave in, and what you leave out. It's perfectly ok to axe a shitload of content - getting to the teaching point is paramount, and you don't want to be bogged down. My subject is music, and because the kids aways have a weaker background in the fundamentals of this subject by the time they get to me in high school, I have to consciously try not to go off on tangents fixing up these gaps, because if I did, I'd kill student interest because the simplest of assessments would be overly complicated - so, as an English example, don't put in heaps of, say, extra grammar and syntax content in your planning, if the real purpose of the task is paragraph construction (leave all that stuff for separate worksheets). Just worry about the buzzwords that go with the syllabus (unis and district offices alike love that s**t), and quote those, but make sure nothing goes in there without a purpose...
4) Fine tune the task - and then do the entire assignment yourself! a) you'll know everything about the task then, and b) you create an example of work if you need to show something to the kids.

The interesting thing is that most subjects do different syllabuses as times change, but the song remains the same! In my subject, music, it doesn't matter what new syllabus or departmental policy comes in - the kids will still be asked to compose, play, know history and know theory. So at the end of the day, can the kids write an essay, or identify verbs and adverbs, or talk fluently and confidently in front of the class...Aristotle probably asked the same questions of his kids...
 

wadistance

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Guys,
Faced with two job offers here. One is in the North shore (about 40-50minmin drive each way) and a FT role at a good independent school. Other job is a Term 2+3 role at a Govt school in the West (varies between 30min-50min drive time depending on luck).

Obviously, I'd be crazy not to accept the independent school job wouldnt i?
 

AFDogs

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Oh that's awesome.. congrats on the job... How are you finding it so far?

Enjoying it heaps. I've got a good bunch of students and a lot of the planning is done for me - we work cooperatively in a team of 7 teachers. My Leading Teacher is highly organized and provides on the go feedback for me, and we team-teach regularly. Couldn't complain if I wanted too.
 

AFDogs

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Guys,
Faced with two job offers here. One is in the North shore (about 40-50minmin drive each way) and a FT role at a good independent school. Other job is a Term 2+3 role at a Govt school in the West (varies between 30min-50min drive time depending on luck).

Obviously, I'd be crazy not to accept the independent school job wouldnt i?

Independent schools demand a lot more from their employees. If you feel ready for it, then by all means go for it. Always take full time where you can.
 

wadistance

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Brisbane lioness just about covered it. Here's some (rather cynical) thoughts.

Why do you want to become a teacher?

If it's too make a difference - forget about it. You will burn out within 5 years. (most do), unless you are really lucky, or REALLY good.

If it's for the money - forget about it. Whilst starting salary might be ok at high 40s/low 50s, it caps out very quickly at 70 without going into management - which has less to do with what your capabilities are, and everything to do with your ecopolitical relations.

If it's because it's easy hours - forget about it. Unless you are one of the (unfortunately huge %) teachers who are prepared to do little/no work and just cruise by in life (or a PE teacher :p) you will end up working well more than 40 hours a week. At a private school you can expect to give up 10 hours a week for extra-curricular activities, along with your 10-20 hours of planning/preparation/marking/reporting time, and the 35 hours of onsite time too.

I was similar, very good at maths, loved 'teaching' and mentoring other kids - in 1st year uni I was actually tutoring a class I was undertaking!

When I got to the 'real' world - I had no way of interacting with kids who just didn't care, who's parents didn't care, and who couldn't see any point to anything. Thousands of hours, every recess/lunch spent developing relationships, finding meaning in kids lives....in the end all I did was get a reputation as being "great with the deadbeats", and given a class full of them.

It was too much, and I ended up quitting due to stress at the end of the year.

=======================
teaching at the moment attracts three types. Those that can count, and those that can't. I'll call them the 99ers and the 1s.

The 99ers are middling students, who don't have much hope of getting a degree in anything other than arts/communication/etc. (There's nothing wrong with these degrees, but IMO they should not be the realm of universities). They see teaching as a solid income, where it's almost impossible to be fired (once your 'in'), and the hours are easy.

The 1s, are those people who excel at school, and have a genuine enjoyment in developing the wellbeing of others....these people often go on to be doctors, nurses, etc. Very, very few go on to be teachers - and most that do end up leaving soon after due to lack of support (again IMO often as senior teachers and power-wielders are fearful of their own performance failing to measure up).

===================

having said all that, please try and become a teacher. We need you.


So I finally read through the OP and this is the first response given - which definitely the most cynical piece of writing I have read. Maybe in your experience you've hated teaching, the kids didnt like you, you're not a good people person, you still havent moved out of home, whatever. I hope this was a joke. Even though the figures I will throw around are based on 2015 scales, all is relevant.

First up, if you're doing that many hours planning and prep, you've got it wrong. A full time load is around 23 hours a week for a reason - so you have periods off to plan and prepare. Sure, the first term or two may be tough, but after that, its all repetition. Same classes, same lessons, all that changes is the kids, and how you interact with them, and differentiate lessons if need be. If you have out of school hours for sport etc, its not that much. Couple of training sessions a week (2 x 90mins) and then a game on the weekend (3 hours max), and this is all packaged into your salary.

If you start off at a private school, you'll be on around $70k first year out, a bit extra if you take a form group. Every year pay goes up, after 7 or so years you're around $95k-$98k in private, minus $6 -8k for public. You will get paid more for being head of house, head of unit etc etc etc. If you get to 8 years and haven't got the skills to lead a team (which is what it is), then chances are its not teaching thats the problem, its you as a person. What job is going to pay you $96k a year to have 12 weeks holiday and no managerial responsibilities?

I am first year out, got a 1 term block at a private school, started at $70k. Currently weighing up a couple of FT jobs, but next year will be up to $74k-ish. I train full time for my sport (12 times a week), I spend a decent chunk of my time in cafes/watching sport/seeing friends and still have time to cook every night and have some time off. If you can't plan your time, thats your problem, or you're just not cut out for it.
 
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Heh...somewhere in between both of your posts (yours and the quote) is the truth...! Get yourself a job in the lower socio-ec, a mortgage, a family, as well as try for promotion, and then see if those 24 hours are enough for a full-time sports training regime and a regular Friends-style seat down at the coffee shop...!

Life doesn't stick to plans...
 
Oct 22, 2011
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Ahh you must be doing the P-12 at VU? I heard of a few guys that were doing a condensed format of the P-12.. Heard it's pretty full on with extra units per semester.. I think you end up doing 15+ week semester if I'm not mistaking...

Yeah, it's a busy time. I'm not overloading in the actual semesters, but taking winter and summer courses instead.

First placement went really well.
 
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Can anyone give me the pros and cons of teaching primary compared to secondary? Currently in my 4th year studying a bachelor of education (physical education) and have been enjoying the teaching I have been completing in a primary setting
 
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