All Primary / Secondary Masters Courses - Post Q's Here Please

JohnMearsheimer

Dickie10 wrote: »

hi i didnt applyh for the PME this year to start in september because their ws a good lot of stuff i needed to get in order before january. this collided with exams for me in maynooth so i thought i would wait and try to get some observation and maybe supervision/ practice in a few schools before h i applied for the PME next December, however Hibernia College are having a stand in maynooth tommorrow and was just wondering was this not very late in the year for advertising a stand to apply for PME in September. My family think im mad having a kind of nothing year next year and only getting small bits of expierence in schools. i was also going to do GAA training course for juvenile football and hurling, im thinking all this stuff might help to get in with a few schools eg be willing to do any type of extra curricular activity. anyway has any one any expeiernec of doing the PME wit Hibernia? it just sends alarm bells off that they are still looking for people at this stage of the year to do PMEs?

ps sorry for the spelling in a hurry and this wont be marked!

Noting strange about it. Hibernia have 2 start dates, March and September.

Dickie10

what are they like to d the PME with? i heard a few horror stories on her

loubian

Hi there, don't know if this is the right place. I have work experience in my local school and I want to write about it. I'm not studying education yet but I volunteered in my old school to see how it went. I want to write up about it so I could use it in my application for masters but Could anyone give me guidelines of how to write about it? As in if i was writing this for a college assignment... Thanks

JF2013

Hi everyone,

I was wondering just about subject recognition in regards to the teaching council. I have a degree in Gaeilge and History as well as a degree in Irish Studies. The degree in Irish Studies dealt with mainly english literature from Irish authors etc, does anyone know if this will entitle me to teach English at post primary level?

Thanks in advance

JF

evolving_doors

JF2013 wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I was wondering just about subject recognition in regards to the teaching council. I have a degree in Gaeilge and History as well as a degree in Irish Studies. The degree in Irish Studies dealt with mainly english literature from Irish authors etc, does anyone know if this will entitle me to teach English at post primary level?

Thanks in advance

JF

Teaching Council have a list of what degrees are acceptable, otherwise you're looking into getting your subject assessed!

Id hazzard a guess that you need an English degree to teach English!

Butterfly182

Hi,

I'm currently nervously waiting to hear back from three schools where I have done interviews for teaching placement. My first one was on Friday 17th April and I haven't heard anything yet, her exact words were 'we'll get in touch next week and take it from there'. Should I be worried at this stage?

The next two I know when to expect phone calls so I'm not concerned yet.

Dr Crippen

Just contact them, schools are fairly hectic at this time with language exams etc

Just give them a bell its the quickest and handiest way and they wont mind

KK94

Im applying for the September 2015 intake for the primary pme and am just wondering if anyone here who has already started the course could give me any info on it? My main query is whether or not it would be possible to continue working for at least the first few months of the course (before school supervision, teaching practice starts)? Or is the work load quite heavy from the beginning? Thanks in advance

KIngKoopa_EIRE

Hi guys, was wondering if someone could help me, I've been accepted into the PME in UCC, I was given a list of schools, I sent off CVs to some last month, still havnt heard a reply, and now I have rang the rest and apparently they are all full.
I'll be ringing those that I sent a CV to tomorrow. I'm wondering what happens if all these schools say they are full and I can't find a place? What can I do about it?
I explained to the so called "Helper" in UCC, she just said that its up to me to find a place and to send your CV blah blah blah (Things I've already done).
Are there any other things I can do?

Thanks very much.

Butterfly182

KIngKoopa_EIRE wrote: »

Hi guys, was wondering if someone could help me, I've been accepted into the PME in UCC, I was given a list of schools, I sent off CVs to some last month, still havnt heard a reply, and now I have rang the rest and apparently they are all full.
I'll be ringing those that I sent a CV to tomorrow. I'm wondering what happens if all these schools say they are full and I can't find a place? What can I do about it?
I explained to the so called "Helper" in UCC, she just said that its up to me to find a place and to send your CV blah blah blah (Things I've already done).
Are there any other things I can do?

Thanks very much.

Hi, I was in your position until about a week ago. What I will say that at this point you need to check EVERY school that is on the list (with the exception of all Irish schools if you haven't fluent Irish). I kept following up on schools until I found one. I would call them on the phone first use the thing they say to( i.e. introduce yourself as a PME 1 student, your subjects and is there a time available to meet the principal or vice principal). They will either say, just send on your cv by email to X (sometimes the email addresses are different to the ones provided on the sheet), or they will say I will get the principal to ring you back. You can ask should you send on your cv too as it may be helpful. The PME 2 places are gone long ago so be clear that you are a PME1 student. Send a follow up communication if you haven't heard from schools in a while, your email may have been misplaced etc (had that happen at least once) as you said that you will do.

Basically you need to find a school by yourself, I went in to them in the same situation and they just said keep looking.

You need to contact all schools, brush up on your interview skills in the meantime, and something will come along hopefully. I got my school by calling them first, sending a cv, sending up a follow up email and attending an interview.

Dickie10

i graduate this month and purposely didnt apply for the hdip next year because i want to spend the year going round schools getting unpaid experience and getting my foot in the door when time comes to get schools for the pme

Butterfly182

Dickie10 wrote: »

i graduate this month and purposely didnt apply for the hdip next year because i want to spend the year going round schools getting unpaid experience and getting my foot in the door when time comes to get schools for the pme

That's cool, my advice is to keep a diary of how your placement in schools go, e.g. find an example for a challenging situation which lead to a positive outcome, concrete examples of how you developed your skills etc. It will help you to remember things when it comes to interviews. You will find it difficult to get into schools too because of the PME students but if you're only in there a very short time you have a better shot. Volunteering through organisations which work with young people may help too e.g. youth cafes etc.

highfive

Hi All,

I'm also still looking for a teaching placement for next year for the PME in UCD. Same situation as KIngKoopa_EIRE with UCC, if you can't find one you can't do the course. Needless to say I am getting a little nervous at this stage!

I've done two interviews, didn't get the first and still waiting for the second to get back to me. It was all good experience though. I've got another one this afternoon so wish me luck! I was talking to a vice principal that I know and he said that I will get one, just keep trying. Good luck to everyone that's in my situation too!

Highfive

P.s. If you know anyone in a school who might need a PME placement student in Maths and Physics in the Dublin area please get in touch by private message and I'll send you my cv, thanks

Dickie10

thanks for the advice i plan on spending the year going around a few schools and trying to "get in with them". i have the application in for Garda Vetting too so hopefully this helps on volunteering and things like that. im big into GAA too so id be willing to help out in coaching or helping with schools teams after hours. would this help for getting into schools ? i have some experience with this already. i also get on well with my old school abd proncipal and i know a few teachers in other local schools . i also have a cousin a vice principal a few hundred miles away and he is a serious help in getting advice. hopefully a year of this sort of thing should have me well set for hdip next year. any other things i could be at to help my cause.

on another aspect what type of standard of a degree would get you the pme?

Butterfly182

Dickie10 wrote: »

thanks for the advice i plan on spending the year going around a few schools and trying to "get in with them". i have the application in for Garda Vetting too so hopefully this helps on volunteering and things like that. im big into GAA too so id be willing to help out in coaching or helping with schools teams after hours. would this help for getting into schools ? i have some experience with this already. i also get on well with my old school abd proncipal and i know a few teachers in other local schools . i also have a cousin a vice principal a few hundred miles away and he is a serious help in getting advice. hopefully a year of this sort of thing should have me well set for hdip next year. any other things i could be at to help my cause.

on another aspect what type of standard of a degree would get you the pme?

No problem, and definitely having interests in sport and other things helps, in some of my interviews the first questions which they asked were the things that I did outside of college (most of them actually!). Some principals love GAA so that will be of benefit to you and even those who aren't huge sporty people will appreciate the skills which you have developed. Some really like people who get involved with charities too.

Look at the PAC website for this years points, you have your minimum teaching council requirements to meet i.e. your degree must be a pass at minimum, then entry to the PME is very similar to the CAO process. In some colleges this year you only needed 50-51.99% in your degree but not all of those people got on, and competition for schools is tough so the better your degree is, the better your chances are of getting a school. If your degree results aren't perfect you can definitely turn it around by showing your passion for the subject, and the things which you were doing while you were at college such as extracurricular activities etc. Bear in mind that some of the colleges limit you to a certain list of schools which you can apply to as well, not all of the schools in an area are on the list, some don't work with the colleges anymore due to various reasons too. Have strong references too for your CV (who consented to be your referee and know you well in a professional manner!), the school I got called at least one of them.

JFitzgerald

Dickie10 wrote: »

i graduate this month and purposely didnt apply for the hdip next year because i want to spend the year going round schools getting unpaid experience and getting my foot in the door when time comes to get schools for the pme

Sorry but why on earth would you work for free? I didn't do a tap of teaching work prior to the teaching course and got a school for my dip no bother.

mtoutlemonde

JFitzgerald wrote: »

Sorry but why on earth would you work for free? I didn't do a tap of teaching work prior to the teaching course and got a school for my dip no bother.

Was thinking the same thing! Would a school not be breaking the union ban on job bridge? I know the person is not doing job bridge but it is similar. Also might have problems with Garda Vetting.

Dickie10

id like to do some experience not work for free, just some sitting in on an odd class and asking the teachers of my subjects some questions. plus for my own experience and confidence. i dont think theres anything strange at all about this, surely all careers have to start with some unpaid experince to gain a foot on the ladder in some small way.

mtoutlemonde

Dickie10 wrote: »

surely all careers have to start with some unpaid experince to gain a foot on the ladder in some small way.

That's what the PME is for. You may find it harder than you think for schools to allow you to do this. Some teachers may not be as accommodating as you would think.

poster2525

With Hibernia it's 68 hours of face to face contact + all the prep that entails. You also do observation hours prior to this! So, that equates to over 3 months of free teaching! You can't sign on or work during this so you're living off your savings.

loubian

Dickie10 wrote: »

id like to do some experience not work for free, just some sitting in on an odd class and asking the teachers of my subjects some questions. plus for my own experience and confidence. i dont think theres anything strange at all about this, surely all careers have to start with some unpaid experince to gain a foot on the ladder in some small way.

I volunteer / work in my old school for free. It's experience that I can use in my application to the masters of primary education. It gives me a chance to see how it works as a system and whether I actually like it or not. I love it though! Obviously, this won't be available to everyone. I was just lucky that the principal was my old teacher!

Edit: just read you're looking for experience after finishing. My story doesn't really relate then.

Dickie10

finishing my degree, so i didnt even apply for PME yet , same as that just making sure i actually like the job b4 i shell out 10 k! id say i will though as i love my subjects!

The Cycling pianist

Hi guys.

Does anyone know if the PME is recognized in the United Kingdom? I've searched this thread fairly thoroughly and can't find a clear answer, nor can I find one on any of the college websites.

Thanks in advance if anyone knows.

Laurahlou89

Hey, I am looking to apply for the primary pme for sept intake. Closing date for applications is 19th June 2015, and i am assuming an interview sometime July. Just wonderig how much prep u guys did before your interviews, were you gettin grinds for 6months leading up to the interview or just a few wks before hand? I am wondering have I left it too late and would I be ready in time? I have c1 in LC irish (7 years ago). I also did conversational irish classes last yr from sept to Xmas but I am not very confident in speaking the language. Just wonderin what your thoughts are on this? Thanks. ☺️

sureitsgrand

Hi all.

Any info on this would be really appreciated:

I'm looking into perhaps doing the PME. Up until recently I always thought that my undergrad degree didn't qualify me for a teaching position: I did a politics degree and although I satisfy the requirements for teaching CSPE, it is not a LC subject. I was always under the impression that anyone registering for a PME (or equivalent) must be able to register with the Teaching Council for at least one LC subject.

However, looking at the most up to date requirements I can't see any stipulation for this - it just says 1 "curricular" subject.

With an undergrad and masters (and hopefully a PhD within a year) in politics my goal is to teach the new Politics and Society course in a few years time. However, I'd love to try and get started on the PME so I'd have that done by the time the Politics & Society course started up properly.

So the question is, is being able to teach CSPE enough for registration to the Teaching Council (and hence being able to start a PME course)?

Any info or advice welcomed!

Thanks.

mtoutlemonde

sureitsgrand wrote: »

Hi all.

Any info on this would be really appreciated:

I'm looking into perhaps doing the PME. Up until recently I always thought that my undergrad degree didn't qualify me for a teaching position: I did a politics degree and although I satisfy the requirements for teaching CSPE, it is not a LC subject. I was always under the impression that anyone registering for a PME (or equivalent) must be able to register with the Teaching Council for at least one LC subject.


However, looking at the most up to date requirements I can't see any stipulation for this - it just says 1 "curricular" subject.

With an undergrad and masters (and hopefully a PhD within a year) in politics my goal is to teach the new Politics and Society course in a few years time. However, I'd love to try and get started on the PME so I'd have that done by the time the Politics & Society course started up properly.

So the question is, is being able to teach CSPE enough for registration to the Teaching Council (and hence being able to start a PME course)?

Any info or advice welcomed!

Thanks.

Hi sureitsgrand, I don't want to rain on your parade but with only CSPE as a subject, you would be practically be throwing 12,000+ into the fire as it would leave you 0% job prospects. CSPE is used a filler subject to fill up timetables. I have been teaching for a long time and I haven't heard anything about the new Politics and Society course and I really can't see it happening in the next few years - I could be wrong - correct me if you know more. I know someone who left a job to do the PGDE and only had CSPE and went back to the job she left. Now to answer your questions - you would need to check with the recognised list of degrees for registration with the Teaching Council to make sure you would be able to register for CSPE. Once you check that, you can do the PME. I hope this helps - feel free to ask more questions.

sureitsgrand

mtoutlemonde wrote: »

Hi sureitsgrand, I don't want to rain on your parade but with only CSPE as a subject, you would be practically be throwing 12,000+ into the fire as it would leave you 0% job prospects. CSPE is used a filler subject to fill up timetables. I have been teaching for a long time and I haven't heard anything about the new Politics and Society course and I really can't see it happening in the next few years - I could be wrong - correct me if you know more. I know someone who left a job to do the PGDE and only had CSPE and went back to the job she left. Now to answer your questions - you would need to check with the recognised list of degrees for registration with the Teaching Council to make sure you would be able to register for CSPE. Once you check that, you can do the PME. I hope this helps - feel free to ask more questions.

Hey,

No prob about any parade-raining!

I understand completely what you're saying re CSPE. I remember from my time at school that it was a 'filler' subject and you had any old teacher giving it a lash. You're right, being a qualified teacher with just CSPE would be....to be blunt, money down the toilet.

It is my impression that the Politics & Society course is coming down the pipeline, though...with it happening in a few schools from September 2016 and a rollout the following September. Now, I'm well aware that this has been said in the past and never materialised so one has to be cautious.

It would be a calculated gamble if I was to go ahead with it (the more I look into it, it is possible to do a PME with just CSPE). I actually do a lot of teaching as part of my PhD and to be honest I often enjoy it more than the research side of things..... hence my interest in teaching a Politics & Society subject.

But I am a realist, also. I know where CSPE ranks among students and teachers (and hiring principals!) and it would be pretty much useless to be able to teach just it.

Anyway, I'm rambling. I appreciate the reply.

All the best.

spurious

At the same time Politics and Society is coming online, CSPE is being made non-compulsory.
That's joined up thinking right there.

Corkgirl18

sureitsgrand wrote: »

Hi all.

Any info on this would be really appreciated:

I'm looking into perhaps doing the PME. Up until recently I always thought that my undergrad degree didn't qualify me for a teaching position: I did a politics degree and although I satisfy the requirements for teaching CSPE, it is not a LC subject. I was always under the impression that anyone registering for a PME (or equivalent) must be able to register with the Teaching Council for at least one LC subject.

However, looking at the most up to date requirements I can't see any stipulation for this - it just says 1 "curricular" subject.

With an undergrad and masters (and hopefully a PhD within a year) in politics my goal is to teach the new Politics and Society course in a few years time. However, I'd love to try and get started on the PME so I'd have that done by the time the Politics & Society course started up properly.

So the question is, is being able to teach CSPE enough for registration to the Teaching Council (and hence being able to start a PME course)?

Any info or advice welcomed!

Thanks.

They've been talking about this new Politics course for years so I would be very very cautious. If you love teaching maybe try building up your credits in second subject to increase your job prospects? I'm pretty sure you can do the PME with one subject though.

Dickie10

i was told by a principle that having history and geography degree would be able to also teach politics and society if it comes in. now the same guy said he would have no qualms in throwing me into to do Ag.Science if he was in trouble, because i have the level 6 Agriculture cert! so i dont know!