Tuesday 18 September 2012

To Teach or not to Teach ...

Having gained my Degree via the Open University I now find myself with another decision to make. Should I train as a teacher?

I have toyed with the idea for years now and had decided against it for various reasons which I have listed below. However, now that I have got a First I rather think it would be a waste to do nothing with it. I have worked in a Primary school for 9 years now and am an experienced Teaching Assistant. I also teach twice a week. Lots of people have told me that I ought to go into teaching and that they thought I would be good at it ...but ... I don't know if I should or could do it. There are obstacles in my way, reasons not to do it.

Reasons Against


  • I don't have good enough maths or Science O levels so would have to get a tutor, study & retake those GCSEs.
  • It would mean working full time for a year of my study & possibly for a year as NQT ( newly qualified teacher). This would make family life difficult & would mean I couldn't support my children as much as if I was working part time.
  • Would I be able to work part time when I qualified?
  • I would be 52 before I qualified.
  • Teaching involves a huge amount of planning, preparation, time.
  • I don't need the pressure, stress or money.
  • I don't think I would be good enough.
  • I like my life at the moment and I like spending time with my family.
Reasons For

  • I enjoy teaching.
  • I would like to feel I had achieved a proper career in my life.
  • It would be a good use of my degree.
  • It would be a source of income that I could access forever - supply, tutoring.
  • If I was left without my husband in the future I would have a reliable income ( sorry to be morbid, but its a thought)
  • I can't see me being a T.A for the rest of my life.
  • I don't know what else to do as a job.
So ... that's my dilemma. What do you think? The GCSE thing is a massive obstacle and a pain in the neck and delays everything by a year. I know I can teach but do I really want to do it full time? I just don't know what to do. My friend suggested doing my maths first, as it would be useful/interesting to do, and then reconsidering.

I don't know ... I would be grateful for your input!!

7 comments:

Razmataz said...

That is a tough one. My take on this is I see it as something you feel you should do, not something you want to do. If it was the right thing for you, you would be making it happen no matter what. You wouldn't be making a pro/con list to convince yourself to do it. You also had a bit of stress last year and this might throw you back into that. Plus, it is a good time to have more time for teenagers.

I can see something else presenting itself to you that would strike you more clearly as what you really need to do.

I noticed your last name from Facebook. Pellew is not a common name...my family are Pellew-Harveys from the UK.

Ash said...

If you are feeling a bit fragile - like a piece of fine glass, it may not be wise to place the glass under a heavy wheel to see if it's strong enough to take it.

If in doubt, take time...

The worries about "missing something" or future life changes are not to be dismissed, but perhaps looked at a bit differently? Anything can happen..anytime..walking across the road, sitting under a tree or sitting still sometimes. If we don't worry about these things, why give importance to those which have not happened yet?

We have a limited life span - Fact. Most of us want it all in this life - Fact. Many probably have it all but still want more - Fact.

This debate inside you is causing so much confusion that if I were you, I would take the whole issue, pack it up in some imaginary box and keep it aside for a while. Do something else you enjoy, without guilt or
worry and see if you want to open the box after that. If you do, go for it, if you don't throw it in the bin.

Be gentle with yourself, good luck with whatever you want to do...now I have to see if I have any forgotten boxes lying around me. I threw out a whole lot yesterday...but I suspect there may be some forgotten around me :-)

Lots of Love, peace, good health and calm...
Ash
www.keeptalkingmum.blogspot.com

sarah at secret housewife said...

Thank you Chania. What you say makes a lot of sense. I think this is something that I feel I should do. Lots of people I work with have been telling me I should do it and I would be good at it. The crux is that I'm not sure I actually want to do it.
I am going to do my maths GCSE, partly as an exercise in learning which I enjoy, and partly to have it under my belt if I want to train to teach.
Oh, and yes - the Pellew name is not actually mine, but it was my great grandmother's, so you never know, we might be related!I use it as a nom de plume as I rather like it and it is part of my family history.

Thank you Ash for your comment too. I am going to put this in a box and not worry. What will be will be!

Jean | Delightful Repast said...

Sounds like you're doing great right now with your boys - I wouldn't want to rock that boat; think I'd wait till they were out of the nest to make any big changes.

Caz said...

As someone who has also thought a lot about teaching, I say - do it, do it, do it!!! You're already halfway there with your TA experience and your beaut degree. I so understand about the maths and science concerns though, as they're the things that have also stopped me. I think you'd find it highly rewarding...and if you do decide to persue it, you can give me advice when I have to make the same decision. xx

tlcukjourney said...

The only thing that comes to mind is "It's never too late to be what you might have been"... Life is short, if you have any passion then you should pursue it... I enjoyed stopping by your blog!

Urban Cynic said...

I agree with Razmataz in that you sound like it's something you should do rather than something you'd really like to do. Maybe sit down with a good career advisor and talk through your skills.

I offer this service (I'm not a career advisor but I do write CVs for people)and someone asking you the right questions can really help you get some focus on what you're good at, what you like to do (often different than things you're good at) and where your skills are.

An advisor or business coach can usually see themes or repetitions in your working life that you can't. Get a professional in is my opinion.