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Time for a Change of Career?
Written by Miriam Nicholls
, Friday, 10 October 2008
Press reports show that applications for teaching have risen by 30% this year already, perhaps this is an indication of economic uncertainty, or maybe there are just a lot more people who want to become teachers!
Whatever the reason, The University of Chichester, which is pre-eminent in teacher training, is looking to help anyone with an interest in finding out more about becoming a teacher. Jonathan Sargent (contact details below) is the science PGCE tutor at the University and he also has a role in helping recruit new teachers into the shortage subjects of maths, science, ICT, design technology and religious education.
Teaching is a fulfilling and worthwhile career; whilst no teacher would describe their job as easy, they would all say that the job is hugely satisfying, challenging and rewarding. Recent research shows that twice as many teachers find their work extremely enjoyable when compared to professionals with careers in marketing, IT and accountancy. They are far more likely to show high levels of absorption, enjoyment and motivation than people in such careers, with almost half saying they regularly experience a ‘natural high’ at work. Maybe you could too!
Teaching is a rewarding profession in more ways than one, offering fantastic career prospects and development opportunities. Besides paying tuition costs, the government offers grants for people training to teach in all subjects and additionally in the shortage subjects there are golden hellos of up to £5000.
Within the job, there are a number of ways in which teachers can progress in their careers, either within the classroom or in a leadership role. In secondary schools you could move up and across the management structure to gain responsibility for:
· a particular subject as head of department, faculty or curriculum
· a particular age group as head of year or key stage coordinator, or
· a particular area such as special educational needs or pastoral care (i.e. personal guidance).
Ultimately, you could progress to a senior management position such as deputy head and, of course, headteacher - at which point you will have overall responsibility for the management of a school and the education its pupils receive.
But what is teaching really about? To put it at its most basic, teachers change children’s lives for the better. Hopefully most of us remember one teacher who made a difference to us. The great pleasure of being a teacher is being that person for perhaps many hundreds or thousands of youngsters. If you really want to do it, and you can, then it’s a fabulous job. It can be both tiring and frustrating; but it is also exhilarating, fascinating and immensely rewarding. Teachers never get bored and one perk of the job is it keeps you young and alert mentally!
Basically there are two elements to teacher training, subject knowledge and pedagogy (delivery).
First, subject knowledge:
· You should have a 2(ii) honours degree or better in a subject directly relevant to that which you wish to teach (e.g. Engineering degree would be fine for teaching science, French wouldn’t!) This is a requirement set by all UK Universities.
· GCSE/O level (or equivalent) in English and maths. This is also a government stipulation.
· It is pretty essential to have a good A level in your chosen subject. Not a regulation as such, but usually a criterion for selection onto a training course
Secondly – pedagogy:
There are hundreds of different teaching styles and strategies, but there are certain common personal traits, characteristics and skills which are pretty essential. The following list is not exhaustive:
· interpersonal relationships,
· communication skills,
· emotional intelligence,
· administrative skills,
· organization and management skills,
· leadership skills,
· IT skills,
· determination,
· numeracy and literacy,
· team playing,
· good timekeeping,
· multi-tasking and
· good humour to name but a few.
Also liking children is pretty essential too! Now these skills are often inherent to the person. Teacher training can hone them and help the individual develop them, but it cannot put into someone’s personality a trait they just don’t have. What the teacher training can do (and at Chichester it does) is to help people develop their skills to become an effective teacher. You will learn how to plan, construct, deliver and evaluate lessons; how to promote good learning and how to know if it has happened; how to enthuse and inspire children to learn.
So that’s the background to being a teacher. If and when all these skills, knowledge and training come together, then you will be a good, possibly an outstanding teacher who will make a real difference to the lives of thousands of children. That is no small mark to make on the world.
If you would like to know more about training to teach, then please visit the University website http://www.chiuni.ac.uk/teachered/ or visit the TDA website for more information about entering the profession: http://www.tda.gov.uk/Recruit/becomingateacher.aspx or contact Jonathan directly at
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