A Question with many answers!!!! in my own head

Pjfogar

Hi All,

I really would like some advice from teachers working in England. I have taught in Kent (school given notice to improve) in a really poor school, behaviour and academically wise. I subsequently gave my notice and returned home thinking that I would have a good chance of getting a job here. This hasnt turned out to be the case. In fact I am now working in a supermarket! to pay my bills. Numerous teaching agencies have been in contact recently with job offers. My head is all over the place. Hate my job here but if I return I may hate the school again. I teach maths and just dont know what to do. Any advice would be great ppppppplllllllleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaasssssssssseeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!:eek::eek::eek:

seavill

If you get a job here it might be in a school you don't like a school just as bad as the one in England. However you could get a fantastic school either here or in England (more likely in England) but you will never know until you try it.
You might as well go back and give it another go who knows you may love it and never want to come home but working in a supermarket clearly isnt what you want to be doing with your life

RealJohn

I'd echo what seavill said. It's hard to get a teaching job in Ireland at the moment and if you do, there's no guarantee you'll find one any better than the one you had in england. If you can get a job teaching in england, I'd say go for it. You hate your job here anyway so you might as well hate a job that actually increases your chances of getting a job you might like in the future rather than hate a job that does nothing to enhance your future prospects while you hold out for a miracle dream job to fall into your lap.

StrawberryJazz

Go for the one in England.
I was nervous about leaving the motherland but honestly, when a good job opens up in Ireland who do you think they are going to choose? The teacher who is in and out of shop jobs and substitute hours or the teacher who has a history of consistant teaching with proven results?

I learned quickly, in England being a teacher is a completely different profession and no lesson is "good" with out the following:
1. Differentiation - every kid's needs must be catered for. Always have different versions of the activity for different abilities. This can be as simple as a fill in the blank question to an open ended question.
2. Progress - every kid must make progress. Proven progress. I achieve this by setting really easy task goals. For example, L4 = I will identify what a cell is. L5 = I can describe how a cell works. L6 = I can explain the function of cells in the body. Really simple and if inspected, make a point of getting the kids to put up their hands to prove they have "progressed"/reached their target level.
3. Independent learning - no English child will tolerate listening to you for more than 5 minutes, so pass the book onto them. Give them the resources, split into teams, get them to elect a team captain for the day and let them off. You are then free to wander around the groups keeping them on task while they do the hard work. It also allows you to spend more time with the struggling kids.
4. Powerpoint - for some reason they can't function without constant visual prompts, so leave them on the projector, preferably on a timer.

Hope that helps.

There are bad schools out there, but this is your chosen profession and if you can master getting kids to work in the sort of school that has to hire a recruitment agency, everything else will be a doddle.

Susie120704

I worked in many schools before getting my permanency in a dream school for me. Whether in England or here you will sometimes feel that it is not the right fit for you. Try another school and see how you get on. Sometimes the fit isn't right and you will perform better when you find the right fit.

2011abc

StrawberryJazz wrote: »

no English child will tolerate listening to you for more than 5 minutes

What are they meant to do when they get into college?!I appreciate the need for some/considerable 'variation of stimulus' but this smacks of 'primadonna-ism' -not to mention an unsustainable (certainly over a career) workload for teacher.I think youre the first teacher ,british or irish ,ive ever heard embrace the UK system !"Rage against the dying of the light" !You sound (no offence intended!) 'brainwashed'!Michael Gove would be proud!

StrawberryJazz

2011abc wrote: »

What are they meant to do when they get into college?!

How are they meant to get to college or university if they can't do the basics?
It's about adjusting to their needs, not my own preference of teaching style.

2011abc wrote: »

I appreciate the need for some/considerable 'variation of stimulus' but this smacks of 'primadonna-ism' -not to mention an unsustainable (certainly over a career) workload for teacher.I think youre the first teacher ,british or irish ,ive ever heard embrace the UK system !"Rage against the dying of the light" !You sound (no offence intended!) 'brainwashed'!

2011abc wrote: »

Michael Gove would be proud!

I actually find it easier to teach this way. Once you get your head around "I am not the most important person in the classroom-all-fear-me" mindset its basic. Why should I do all the work? I've already got my degree.
Notetaking is an outdated and limited skill. My worst university lectures involved just "taking down" what the lecturer said.
It is so much better to give them the resources, give them instructions and sit back and let them teach each other.
- They listen to each other more than they listen to an adult.
- They can explain things in their own terms.
- It minimises my role as the overbearing overlord who is forcing them to do something they don't want to do.
- It holds their attention and enthusiasm for longer...

2011abc wrote: »

Michael Gove would be proud!

Unfortunately, Michael Gove is offering me permanent teaching posts and a chance to actually earn something from that magic piece of paper I worked so hard to get, which is more than I can say for Ruari Quinn at the moment.

sitstill

StrawberryJazz wrote: »

Unfortunately, Michael Gove is offering me permanent teaching posts and a chance to actually earn something from that magic piece of paper I worked so hard to get, which is more than I can say for Ruari Quinn at the moment.

Amen to that!