Anyone doing teaching? (1 Viewer)

[xox_eMz_xox]

^^ Mary J, what sort of teaching do you plan to do? Primary/secondary?? For primary, I would recommend a straight B Education (Primary) rather than the double. That way the education units are spread throughout the four years. From what I've heard the Arts/Education course mainly focuses on the pedagogy (actual learning HOW to teach) in the fourth year..

Hey..I want to do primary but the only course close enough will be arts/education. I really wanted to do just B Education but my UAI won't get me into Syd so everywhere else is to far away. Is it really that bad?

 

[snapperhead]

Good to see that so many people are considering teaching though it is a little disappointing that some have indicated they are doing it for the holidays and the so-called easy working hours....whilst the face to face hours are good, its actually 8-4 "on site hours" in most schools not 8:30-3:30 which is your actual clasroom teaching time. This of course doesnt include extra-curricular and having to meet in your own "unpaid time" (all meetings are "after school"- this includes parent, faculty and staff).
As for the holidays, as a secondy teacher, i mark and prepare fr the net erm for most of my break. I have been on "holidays" for nearly two weeks now, buI have ben marking Year 11 and preparing for a new HSC course for 2006+ designing and resourcing 3 new units (only have one completed as its proving tougher than I thought to make the units interesting)

And thats the other big thing about teaching is the actual teaching...people thik its easy but think back to your times in class- even as seniors, things must have been "tough" as students. Imagine that as a teacher every day 5/6 times a day. Add to that all the pressures that society puts on schools (esp. as parents cant be bothered to be parents any more and its now upto school to most things that occur in the home.....)

re the pay...whilst the starting wage might seem good to an 18 year old, compared to most other jobs with the same qualifications (ie 4 year degree), its actualy underpaid by a mile....so muchfor the importance and value of education! The killer isnt the starting wage, its the payment progression, knowing that you will never earn over a certain amount after a certain period of time- we werent even paid according the cost of living index up until 4 years or so ago (maybe 3, I cant remember)


Go the ACU hopefuls..you will ove it there, esp. those going to Strathfield!!

 

[Gummy_bear]

Good to see that so many people are considering teaching though it is a little disappointing that some have indicated they are doing it for the holidays and the so-called easy working hours....whilst the face to face hours are good, its actually 8-4 "on site hours" in most schools not 8:30-3:30 which is your actual clasroom teaching time. This of course doesnt include extra-curricular and having to meet in your own "unpaid time" (all meetings are "after school"- this includes parent, faculty and staff).
As for the holidays, as a secondy teacher, i mark and prepare fr the net erm for most of my break. I have been on "holidays" for nearly two weeks now, buI have ben marking Year 11 and preparing for a new HSC course for 2006+ designing and resourcing 3 new units (only have one completed as its proving tougher than I thought to make the units interesting)

And thats the other big thing about teaching is the actual teaching...people thik its easy but think back to your times in class- even as seniors, things must have been "tough" as students. Imagine that as a teacher every day 5/6 times a day. Add to that all the pressures that society puts on schools (esp. as parents cant be bothered to be parents any more and its now upto school to most things that occur in the home.....)

re the pay...whilst the starting wage might seem good to an 18 year old, compared to most other jobs with the same qualifications (ie 4 year degree), its actualy underpaid by a mile....so muchfor the importance and value of education! The killer isnt the starting wage, its the payment progression, knowing that you will never earn over a certain amount after a certain period of time- we werent even paid according the cost of living index up until 4 years or so ago (maybe 3, I cant remember)


Go the ACU hopefuls..you will ove it there, esp. those going to Strathfield!!

That is all what i cant wait for, im an organiser and i cant wait to have to prepare lessons and work out what ill be doing and all that.
Im realistic about teaching, i know that it involves so many more hours than just 8-3 and i cant wait

 

[cem]

That is all what i cant wait for, im an organiser and i cant wait to have to prepare lessons and work out what ill be doing and all that.
Im realistic about teaching, i know that it involves so many more hours than just 8-3 and i cant wait

I love the time teaching in the classroom and the preparing work and marking work directly for the students.

What is turning me off teaching, after 26 years, is the crap from the BOS that we have to go through at a private school to get registered. When they have people who can't actually read BOS documents and then demanding things be done a certain way because a document has four or five suggestions and you have followed suggestion three and they say it has to be suggestion one so you have to re-do everything it gets frustrating.


If I could get another job I would in a heartbeat.

This year our school had four first year teachers and about eight prac teachers. Most of them have indicated that this crap is enough to turn them off teaching.

I have been having a holiday for the last two weeks but after January 1st I will be spending up to 10 hours a day preparing classes for next year and that will continue throughout the year.

I allow myself three weeks a year totally free of school work and try to get one day each weekend and one night each week totally free. Unfortunately that rarely happens and as I will only be teaching seniors next year the chances are that it will happen even less.

If it is the apparent hours and holidays that is attracting you don't do it but if it is for the altruistic purpose of helping shape the future of the nation then do it.


For those of you considering Primary - a work of advice from someone who started that way - get a High School subject as well as you don't know if you might decide later on to change to older students.

At 18 and even at 28 I swore I would never teach anyone over the age of 10 but by 31 I was teaching High school and would never go back. Luckily I had a High School subject.

 

[xeuyrawp]

I love the time teaching in the classroom and the preparing work and marking work directly for the students.

What is turning me off teaching, after 26 years, is the crap from the BOS that we have to go through at a private school to get registered. When they have people who can't actually read BOS documents and then demanding things be done a certain way because a document has four or five suggestions and you have followed suggestion three and they say it has to be suggestion one so you have to re-do everything it gets frustrating.

That's interesting. Do you realise that here, you represent the BOS and your school? Be a little more professional, don't bitch about your employers behind a screen of anonymity.

If I could get another job I would in a heartbeat.

I don't think I've ever heard a teacher say that. If you're capable, you should be able to get a job. You really shouldn't be teaching kids if you're not content in your occupation.

if it is for the altruistic purpose of helping shape the future of the nation then do it.

Shape the future of the nation? What are you, a facist?

For those of you considering Primary - a work of advice from someone who started that way - get a High School subject as well as you don't know if you might decide later on to change to older students.

For someone that has supposed to have done a teaching degree, you don't seem to know much about the modern system. Very few unis in NSW don't have primary/secondary separation in their degrees. Many unis (Macquarie, Sydney, UNSW) have three separations of specialisations -- early childhood, primary, secondary.

At 18 and even at 28 I swore I would never teach anyone over the age of 10 but by 31 I was teaching High school and would never go back. Luckily I had a High School subject.

You're a marker in Modern History for the HSC, and you not only originally planned to teach in primary education, but was were still teaching it at the age of 30...? You obviously didn't go back to uni (to learn the subject matter that you need to be able to even come near HSC marking...), because you don't know about the system. Yet you were still abel to mark it in the HSC?

You're saying that the BOS hired a trained and experienced primary teacher, who hadn't formally studied the content in over 13 years?

 

[mishka]

Hey..I want to do primary but the only course close enough will be arts/education. I really wanted to do just B Education but my UAI won't get me into Syd so everywhere else is to far away. Is it really that bad?

No it's not bad at all!! I didn't mean to say it was "bad". It will still get you into a classroom If you go to any uni and decide the course isn't for you there's always possibility for transfer.

Go the ACU hopefuls..you will ove it there, esp. those going to Strathfield!!

Yep!

 

[piss weak]

I want to do Primary @ Sydney...

 

[MaryJ_]

^^ Mary J, what sort of teaching do you plan to do? Primary/secondary?? For primary, I would recommend a straight B Education (Primary) rather than the double. That way the education units are spread throughout the four years. From what I've heard the Arts/Education course mainly focuses on the pedagogy (actual learning HOW to teach) in the fourth year..

I'd like to be a high school teacher, and at UWS doing Arts first UWS is the only way to go about it

 

[cem]

That's interesting. Do you realise that here, you represent the BOS and your school? Be a little more professional, don't bitch about your employers behind a screen of anonymity.



I don't think I've ever heard a teacher say that. If you're capable, you should be able to get a job. You really shouldn't be teaching kids if you're not content in your occupation.



Shape the future of the nation? What are you, a facist?



For someone that has supposed to have done a teaching degree, you don't seem to know much about the modern system. Very few unis in NSW don't have primary/secondary separation in their degrees. Many unis (Macquarie, Sydney, UNSW) have three separations of specialisations -- early childhood, primary, secondary.



You're a marker in Modern History for the HSC, and you not only originally planned to teach in primary education, but was were still teaching it at the age of 30...? You obviously didn't go back to uni (to learn the subject matter that you need to be able to even come near HSC marking...), because you don't know about the system. Yet you were still abel to mark it in the HSC?

You're saying that the BOS hired a trained and experienced primary teacher, who hadn't formally studied the content in over 13 years?

To take your points one at a time - and I have trouble with replying to separated quotes.


1. If you understand what had happened you would understand my attitude and that of many of my colleagues - the BOS sends out guidelines to programming - with three or four suggested ways of arranging the content - at out school we chose one of these suggestions but the person from the BOS who read our programme insisted that it could only be done using the first suggestion from the BOS guide - that meant that I had to re-write the programme to suit them when I had already written according to BOS guidelines but not to the guidelines of the bureaucrat (not a qualified teacher by the way) who only read the first suggestion. This person also didn't realise that the syllabus content for Stage 5 went over four pages and complained that we had not covered stuff from the last two pages but had included stuff from the first two pages.


2. If you can employ a teacher for $47,000 to teach why would you pay me over $75,000 to do the same job. Private schools do have to consider the $$$ and so employing younger teachers saves them money. I have been told that if I wanted to go for a Head of Department's job or Deputies I would be considered and even probably get it but I don't want that - I want to be a full time classroom teacher - something at which I believe I am very good and my students agree (25% Band 6 this year!!!). My point is that at my age schools want younger teachers who cost a lot less. If you had read my post you would have noticed that I said that I love teaching IN THE CLASSROOM and I even enjoy most things about my school but I would love to teach in the country but can't get a job there - having applied six times, had six interviews and each time the job has gone to a younger teacher and always male.


3. Teachers do shape the future of the nation - we teach young people to think - very anti-fascist actually - well good teachers encourage their students to think, question and argue their points of view - I know I certainly do.


4. Just because the unis have separation in their teaching degrees doesn't mean that a person can't get themselves a secondary teaching subject - they need to do some extra study and get a major in a subject that is taught at High School e.g. History.


5. I qualifed as a Primary teacher with a BA Dip Ed. My degree included a double major in History and my Dip Ed included Primary methods of teaching - I have a Teachers Certificate from the Dept of Education and I taught primary for 11 years and one term. I was then offered a History teaching position at a private school as they knew I had a double major in History.


6. I was in my second year of High School teaching when I applied for HSC marking - I was surprised to get it that year as normally you have to have been teaching the subject for three years but they were short of markers for the old P and E course and I was appointed. I have been marking ever since.



Since finishing my original uni degree I have done a M.Ed and MA in History so I have still been studying. Very little of my subject matter that I teach have I ever studied at uni but that doesn't mean that I am not able to learn it. More importantly I know how to teach it and I am capable of learning on my own - something that I was encouraged to do by excellent teachers when I was at school and the lifelong love of learning has stayed with me.


From the student teachers I have seen over the last couple of years they aren't being taught the subject matter that much anyway - only one/four has studied any Australian history at uni despite it being mandatory in Stage 5 and he was taught that Gallipoli was a great victory for the Australians??? With a subject like History and all the options available it would be very hard to fit it all into a uni degree. For instance how many High School Ancient teachers studied Pompeii at uni but they have now to teach it. There have been some one day courses but only hundred or so teachers have attended (I have been to two of them and done a two week tour of the area last holidays with a group of other teachers).




You do need to realise that they are a lot of teachers out there who have not studied the content of modern syllabi but are still teaching it - how - because we are professional and we take enough pride in our jobs to be able to learn new content for ourselves. This is particularly the case when new syllabi are introduced or when changing schools where a new teacher may find themselves at a school which teaches a topic they have never taught before or ever considered teaching. For instance one job I applied for this year the school teaches South Africa in both Preliminary and HSC history - I have never studied that topic but would have been expected to learn it in order to teach it had I got the job - the person who did get it is spending a large part of these holidays reading the school's textbook and other resources in order to teach it first week back.

 

[SweetSeasons]

That's the idea I like about teaching... you're always learning your self.

 

[CJBrownie]

I'm considering teaching at this stage.

I was offered a teaching scholarship from the NSW Dept. of Education.

If I do accept it, I'm looking at applying for Bachelor of Education (Secondary) / Bachelor of Science at USyd. I'm thinking Physics/Science and Mathematics as my major teaching areas.

 

[chubbaraff]

Hey I was thinking of doing that but im going on exchange, just by curiosity how hard is it to get in? ie how did u go in the HSC in those subjects and you uai, Private msg me if you want and what they look for and stuffl. I have to aply next year coz you cant defer it ... thanks in advance if you respond.

 

[CJBrownie]

Hey I was thinking of doing that but im going on exchange, just by curiosity how hard is it to get in? ie how did u go in the HSC in those subjects and you uai, Private msg me if you want and what they look for and stuffl. I have to aply next year coz you cant defer it ... thanks in advance if you respond.

Are you talking to me? I'm assuming you are.

I did all the interviews and application for the Scholarship before sitting the HSC, so a lot of it is based on the interview I'm assuming. They just talk about the cliche why you want to do it and why you think you could do it, etc. They also asked me about current affairs and issues affecting school age children and how I would handle these issues if they were happening to my students etc. I do some teaching in the Australian Air Force Cadets, so they were pretty impressed with that too.

In the HSC I got:

English Adv - 81
Physics - 89
Chemistry - 76
Maths Ext 1 - 94
Maths Ext 2 - 85

UAI - 95.15

So I got my HSC results on the Friday then the UAI on the Saturday, and on the Monday I got the phone call saying they were offering me a scholarship. I don't know if they knew my HSC results before offering it to me or not, but I don't think it would matter too much either way. As long as you displayed interest in the subjects you wanted to teach and got a high enough score for a teaching degree in University, you've got a good chance of getting in.

 

[Gummy_bear]

*sigh* i wish i had known about the teaching scholarships.. i mean, i knew of them, but i had no idea how to apply or anything and silly stupid me didnt bother to try and find out.
if i get into uni, even with hecs, im gonna have a hard time paying for everything, in high school i was lucky enough to have my pop offer to pay for my uniform and school fees, but for uni...i think ill be barely scraping through.

Does anyone know if there are any scholarships that can be applied for now? i doubt there are, but thought i would ask.

 

[Ninew]

well im thinking it will be B arts/primary teaching for me at UWS.. mainly because i don't think i have a chance at sydney and i would love to go to charles sturt bathurst but its to far away :-( , even though i have plenty of family there i'd get to home sick still and miss my bf and mates

Yay! Someone wants to do the same course as me. Although i would really love to go to UTS and do primary teaching over four yers but oh well, UWS will do me just fine. Although i will have to live with the fact that people will call me dumb for going to UWS! Morons!

 

[Ninew]

The starting salary is $47,000... and head teachers would be getting around $77,000 - $80,000.

That's good enough for me!

And according to this booklet i was reading the other day about teaching salaries, if you do a master of teaching, your salary starts at around 50-60 thousand as they consider your degree higher than a four year degree. BTW the booklet was from teach NSW/Board of studies/major universities all combined.

 

[Ninew]

It's also a very small, pretty uni. lol so yeah it's more like a school environment then a your just a number kind of thing like at the bigger uni's. hehe, like three people who will be in one of my units for next year already Hope you guys get in

I was thinking of going to ACU but then again the turn off would be that i would have to go past my ex-high school every day. Argh! I just want to get out of that area. But i still might consider it!

 

[cem]

And according to this booklet i was reading the other day about teaching salaries, if you do a master of teaching, your salary starts at around 50-60 thousand as they consider your degree higher than a four year degree. BTW the booklet was from teach NSW/Board of studies/major universities all combined.

What actually happens is that a Master of Teaching graduate starts on the second year pay scale - what you would have been getting that year if you had been teaching the year before instead of doing a Master of Teaching. They are 5 year trained teachers (I had a girlfriend who did an Honours degree when the rest of us did our Dip Ed. so we were teaching for the year while she did her Dip Ed. The following year we were all on the same scale as she was 5 year trained to our 4).

I.e. If both start training 2006 and the 4 year trained teacher starts teaching in 2010 while the Master of Teaching teacher starts teaching in 2011 both will get the same salary in 2011 even though the 4 year trained person has had the extra year of actual classroom experience.


I had a first year out teacher this year who had done the Master of Teaching and he was on the Year 2 of the 13 year scale (about $50,000) but his top rate still comes in after 13 years (unless he is in a promotions position, which I expect him to be in by then - probably my boss!!!).

If you start training in 2006 regardless of whether you do 4 or 5 years of training you will not reach the top of the scale until 2022 (unless you have been promoted by then).

 

[NobodyKnows]

B Teaching/B Arts, University of Newcastle, Secondary Music teaching. *fingers crossed*

 

[rebecca05]

penrith campus .. last year = 72.7 pretty close! 04 = 77.2

i hope it goes down again. my UAI = 70.15

Did you do the RET test?