To teach or not to teach...

I'm genuinely watching Educating Essex on 4OD whilst writing this piece on teaching.  In the opening credits an adolecent student says 'Sir, I just feel like crying- is that normal?' To which the teacher replies 'At your age-Yes'. It's this sort of thing that has made me shy away from teaching! However, several of my teacher friends have advised me that, along with Educating Yorkshire, this programme is probably a fair representation of some of the best and worst days you can expect if you undertake the mammoth task of forming the young minds of Britain. This has never been something I have ever considered doing. Until now.

If, like me, you're thinking about teaching, here are some things to consider BEFORE you apply...

1. Do you REALLY want this?
Teaching is hard, to get through the training is tough, whichever route you take, and the job is even harder. It's stressful, demanding and often thankless so, if your heart isn't in it, it can be, well, horrible. Therefore...

2. Get some experience
Even if you're sure you want to do this, make sure you get some time to be in a school, other than as a pupil - it will also help your application. A teacher friend pointed out that the side students see of teaching is only one side, you need to also experience the endless admin, meetings, planning and preparation that goes into teaching nowadays. Aim to get long placements, two weeks or more, you need the novelty to wear off and reality to settle in before you can truly decide if this is for you.

A good way to approach this is to contact the school(s) you went to - it's an obvious contact that you've inadvertently made. Of course, if you left because you punched a dinner lady or were THAT pupil that teachers dreaded then you can also use friends/family and, dare I say it, 'networks' to get your foot in the door. A lot of schools and teachers would be happy to have some free labour for a few weeks!

3. Get yourself an honest teacher friend
Most of us know a teacher, or the boyfriend/girlfriend of a teacher. Good teachers love telling others about their job (as I've learnt this week). They are also usually pretty good at critique. So, speak to them, drain them of information, tell them your honest and frank expectations and see if they think you've got the right idea of what to expect. If they're on board with your choice, they might even help with Point 2.

4. Primary or Secondary?
Contrary to popular belief Primary is not just finger-painting and Secondary is not just a chance to ogle the fit mums and questionable six-formers. Some advice I received this week was that primary gives you a chance to build a better connection with one group of students over a year, whilst secondary may be better if you have a passion for one particular subject. For help deciding, 'See Point 2'.

5. It's a half-day-how, hard can it be?
Most teachers are at work at least an hour before the students and several hours after. If they're not, they're probably not very good teachers. Now that I come to think about it, I saw very few teachers leaving the school gates when we did as kids, but I see a lot of lecturers doing a 10 am-4 pm-oh-yeah-but-I-need-to-avoid-the-commute. There's a lot of marking and admin done at home by those teachers who do make it out before 5 pm. I actually lived with three newly-qualified teachers for a while and they were often out the door by/before 6.30 am, home late and that doesn't include school-trips, school-plays, parents' evening, homework club, breakfast club.....Again, 'See Point 2'.

6. The holidays alone are worth it!
Whilst several of my teacher friends will happily tell you that they do, in fact, like the holidays that they get, they aren't strictly the same as the kids. There's a lot of catching up on assessments/more marking/sleep that goes on at Half Term and the holidays than you'd imagine. Point 2, maybe?

You should also remember that the holidays are at pre-set times through the year, there'll be no sneaking off for an impromptu long weeked or an off-peak cheap trip away. Also, from now on, your holiday is also when places are full of British kids.

I realise, reading this back, that it all sounds quite negative, I don't mean it to! Those people I know who are right for teaching genuinely love their jobs. I can quote them here in saying that is a job with little inter-colleague competition, usually a great, ever-changing atmosphere, a very social ethos (read 'a lot of extracurricular alcohol consumption), it doesn't put you off having kids (in fact, the holidays can make this easier) and you do feel like you are 'making a difference'.

So, are you man enough? I'm not sure. If you're still up for it the next blog covers the application routes you can go down.

Next week - Medical writing. Apparently not just writing the little folded piece of paper inside your medicine that you immediately bin. Who knew?