The Delights of Teaching

Why teaching? This is a question I am often asked and my response is always the same - it is never ever boring! No two children are ever the same - they may be funny, irritating, awkward, sad, happy, curious, interested or downright rude but teaching is a job that means working with people, both children and adults, for practically every minute of your working day.

You have to have your wits about you and give it everything you have got to make a success of it. But that is why it is a challenge to communicate and manage your classroom so that your children will have an interesting and stimulating learning experience. And unlike other jobs, if your'e a success, your children will give you instant feedback. None of this waiting for two years before somebody even notices you. Do a good job and the delight on children's faces will tell you straight away.

Secondly your country does need you - the growing school population means that teachers in shortage subjects like modern foreign languages, mathematics and science will be in demand. No you are never going to make a fortune, but you are very unlikely to ever be unemployed, you should be able to work anywhere in the UK and if you make a success of your work, you should expect to be a head of department within years and a head/deputy head after 20 years.

Furthermore you do get 13 weeks holiday when you can still travel and some of those things you never could afford to do as a student.

There are two routes as a teacher - either an honours degree followed by a PGCE or a four-year course, which gives you the honours degree and qualified teacher status. The four-year course offers more time to reflect, prepare and see a variety of schools and you will know more about education tan those that have just done a PGCE course. It is undoubtedly better for the person who feels sure that teaching is the career for them.

Even if you finally decide not to go into teaching, a four-year course will have been an excellent education in your own subject and in training you to communicate to other people. This is a skill, which is highly valued in all industries, and you should have gained the confidence to deal with people without getting flustered, nervous or confused. With so much graduate unemployment and a plethora of fairly tedious and uninteresting jobs around, why not choose course that offers you work that is valued, is never dull and the prospect of certain employment?