Questions on becoming a high school teacher (1 Viewer)

[Ares]

I'm 18 and am currently studying my first year of Arts/Law at UOW, however this first year has been only law subjects. I've always been torn between doing law or teaching and that's why I picked Arts (english/history major) and law; however after studying law, I've realised that it definitely isn't for me for a multitude of reasons. I want to become a high school english/history teacher, but I have lots of questions:

IF finding employment will be difficult, I would like to have the flexibility to teach in Catholic schools, however: I'm agnostic. I find religion fascinating from a philosophical/historical perspective (and could see myself teaching studies of religion), however I don't believe (and often don't agree with) many religious viewpoints. Do Catholic schools want only Catholic teachers who aim to encourage students to follow Catholicism? Because if so, I feel like I wouldn't be suitable to teach at a Catholic school because as a teacher I would focus on teaching students the material and encouraging them to question the material and make up their own beliefs - which may be frowned upon in strictly Catholic schools. Also at Catholic schools I know that going to church and participating in Catholic ceremonies is very important (I went to a Catholic school); would I be required to identify as Catholic and participate in all Catholic ceremonies in order to teach at a Catholic school?

Also, what is a good university for teaching? I've been told that Notre Dame is great for teaching in general and that it's easier to be qualified to teach in Catholic schools if you go there. At the same time, I'm told that Sydney and UNSW are also very good. I'm looking at 3 options:

1. Arts (3 years) and Master of Teaching (2 years) at UOW (where I already study).
2. Arts/Education (5 years) at Sydney university.
3. Arts/Education (4 years) at Notre Dame (if I want to be qualified for Catholic schools).

I would prefer to continue studying at UOW and do an Arts (english/history majors) and Master of Teaching. However, if Arts/Education at Sydney would mean better employability, I would rather go there. And if being qualified to teach in Catholic schools would increase employability, I would want to go to Notre Dame. I'm just not really sure which uni is best for me! If I had to pick a type of school to teach at I'd prefer private independent high schools (which I'm told Sydney uni is better for); however I'd still like to experience what it's like teaching in disadvantaged public schools at some point. And if it is difficult to get a permanent job as a teacher nowadays (which I'm told it is), I would like the flexibility to be able to teach in Catholic schools.

Thanks for anyone who can help me out!

 

[Carrotsticks]

One of my fellow coworkers is atheist, yet he is currently studying a Dip Ed. at ACU. Catholic schools often explicitly state in their job description something along the lines of "the successful applicant will have a strong sense of faith". I cannot find the ad on LinkedIn at the moment for some reason, but of the 2-3 teaching positions I found (for Catholic schools), they had some mention of that. Whether they really stick truly to it, I do not know (and I sincerely hope is not the case).

In terms of where you wish to do your teaching degree, another good place may be ACU. My coworker advised me that you have a higher chance of acquiring a position at a Catholic school with that.

I think best for you would be the Arts and the Master of Teaching, as you now have postgraduate qualifications too.

On the note of employability, I suggest you develop your extracurriculars that are directly related to teaching. Those will play an enormous role in terms of employability, much moreso than the university in which you studied.

One of my other fellow coworkers is currently doing the M.Teach at USYD. She has discussed with many teachers (from numerous prac works) the idea of employability, and the majority of the head teachers consider what current teaching experience you have and what you have done relevant to teaching (not explicitly teaching in classrooms necessarily). She also informed me that a lot of the 'employability appeal' comes during your studies of Education (whether it be the Masters, Diploma or the Bachelor), and your impressions during your practical teaching work. During your very first practical teaching experience, they record how you go and actually ask for the report (from the supervisor) when you apply for your job. I'm told that this report can be a deal-breaker, so it's quite stressful for a lot of to-be-teachers.

My suggestions to you:

- Do the Arts + Masters of Teaching. You are already familiar with your current university, and you will already have post-graduate qualifications plus opportunities to continue to a doctorate if you enjoy the field.

- Don't worry too much about employability re: Studying at a Catholic University to get a position at a Catholic school.

- A large degree of your 'employability appeal' boils down to your relevant teaching experience, how well you perform in your practical teaching experience and also what level you are able to teach at (**)

Now, on (**), I'm not too sure about what level of English you can teach, so it's difficult for me to comment, but I can provide my experiences with Mathematics.

I can currently (and I daresay fairly confidently) teach the Mathematics Extension 2 course. I've been told from numerous teachers and to-be-teachers that employability-wise, this is a huge plus since there are so few teachers available who are able to teach this course (let alone with some degree of confidence). Perhaps it is the same case with you for English Extension 2.

I also write examination papers for Mathematics and regularly present in seminars on Mathematics at Libraries, and I've been told that this is also a huge bonus for teaching employability. If you are very concerned about employability, perhaps you can dedicate some time to sharing your knowledge to others via means of seminars. Libraries are a great starting place, as they always look for potential speakers for their students. I started off that way too.

Good luck with your teaching, and glad to see another to-be-teacher hopping on board =)

 

[Drifting95]

One of my fellow coworkers is atheist, yet he is currently studying a Dip Ed. at ACU. Catholic schools often explicitly state in their job description something along the lines of "the successful applicant will have a strong sense of faith". I cannot find the ad on LinkedIn at the moment for some reason, but of the 2-3 teaching positions I found (for Catholic schools), they had some mention of that. Whether they really stick truly to it, I do not know (and I sincerely hope is not the case).

I went to a catholic school and one of my teachers was atheist. It didn't seem to be a problem from my perspective and he was fairly open about it all to the class.

 

[OzKo]

I think schools with religious affiliations have that requirement for three reasons:

1) They want teachers to understand that the decisions made behind the scenes will be somewhat influenced by religious factors. This wouldn't affect teaching, but rather the management of the school. Essentially they want to see if you are a good fit for the school as a whole, rather than just the teaching aspect.

2) They want to ensure that any teachers are well aware that they can't rail against religion during class.

3) Some parents will prefer teachers which can be provide 'religious support' to students if necessary, and they may feel more comfortable with teachers which share their beliefs. In the end, parents may be paying for this privilege so these schools are wary of this.

If an issue arises regarding the 'religiousness' of a teacher, the school can always point to the requirement they include in the job ads to show that they considered these particular concerns prior to recruitment.

 

[Ares]

I think best for you would be the Arts and the Master of Teaching, as you now have postgraduate qualifications too.

On the note of employability, I suggest you develop your extracurriculars that are directly related to teaching. Those will play an enormous role in terms of employability, much moreso than the university in which you studied.

One of my other fellow coworkers is currently doing the M.Teach at USYD. She has discussed with many teachers (from numerous prac works) the idea of employability, and the majority of the head teachers consider what current teaching experience you have and what you have done relevant to teaching (not explicitly teaching in classrooms necessarily). She also informed me that a lot of the 'employability appeal' comes during your studies of Education (whether it be the Masters, Diploma or the Bachelor), and your impressions during your practical teaching work. During your very first practical teaching experience, they record how you go and actually ask for the report (from the supervisor) when you apply for your job. I'm told that this report can be a deal-breaker, so it's quite stressful for a lot of to-be-teachers.

My suggestions to you:

- Do the Arts + Masters of Teaching. You are already familiar with your current university, and you will already have post-graduate qualifications plus opportunities to continue to a doctorate if you enjoy the field.

- Don't worry too much about employability re: Studying at a Catholic University to get a position at a Catholic school.

- A large degree of your 'employability appeal' boils down to your relevant teaching experience, how well you perform in your practical teaching experience and also what level you are able to teach at (**)

Now, on (**), I'm not too sure about what level of English you can teach, so it's difficult for me to comment ...

Good luck with your teaching, and glad to see another to-be-teacher hopping on board =)

Thanks for this, it really helped! At UOW currently it's just a Graduate Diploma of Education (1 year), but that's being changed into a Masters of Teaching (2 years) in 2015 so by the time I graduate Arts degree, I'll be doing Masters. So you're saying that post-graduate teaching education is better than just an undergraduate Education bachelor? I know that USYD has a 5 year Arts/Education undergraduate double degree - did your coworker do that and then do Masters on top of that, or just Arts by itself and then Masters (instead of Arts/Education from the start?).

Also, Notre Dame has a course: "The Graduate Certificate in Religious Education from the University of Notre Dame Australia offers applicants the opportunity to achieve accreditation to teach Religious Education in a Catholic school as defined by the Catholic Education Office, Sydney." It can be taught in 6 months full time, or 12 months part-time whilst teaching. This is great because it means that I can: do Arts (English/History majors) and Master of Teaching at UOW, then do this certificate if I need/want to teach in Catholic schools sometime down the line.

But it also says that when applying you must: "Hold the equivalent of a four year teaching qualification". Would a 2 year Masters of Education be the equivalent of a four year teaching qualification?

At the moment, I think my best course of action would be doing Arts + Masters of Education at UOW, then if need/want to, Religious Education Certificate at Notre Dame. This means I don't have to change unis, will have the benefit of post-graduate education (if it is better), and always have the option to go back and gain qualification to teach in Catholic schools, fairly quickly, if I wanted to.

Also in relation to what level of English that I could teach - last year I only did Advanced English, and opted to do subjects like Legal Studies and History Extension rather than English Extension 1 and 2 (I really wish I'd done English Extensions now though). But my "dream subjects" that I absolutely aspire to teach would be Ancient History, History Extension, Advanced English and Extension 1/2 English - and with 5 years of study hopefully I'd be good enough, but I have no idea right now as all I've studied is a year of law so far.

 

[enoilgam]

I also went to a catholic school. If you had beliefs other than Christian or whatever; you wernt "normal"

I went to a Catholic School as well and I had a totally different experience - half the people I knew including teachers were atheists and it wasn't an issue. I wouldn't pay too much attention to the religious criteria because I don't really think it's a hard and fast rule - religion is playing less and less of a role in society and I'd imagine that Catholic schools wouldn't be in a position to select only devout Catholics. You will have to participate in some religious events, but overall it shouldn't be a big deal

In terms of teaching, ACU and Notre Dame offer the best pathways into a Catholic school because of the practical options. Notre Dame is slightly more expensive, but ACU is more out of the way for most people. It depends on what you value more - I'd rather travel less and pay a bit extra, but each to their own.