Job Responsibilities
As a teacher my core responsibility to assess the needs of my
students on a regular basis and and prepare a curriculum that is
taylored to meet these needs. Eg if I am teaching a unit on
Australian History, the reading pieces I choose will need to be
of varying levels so that all the students can access the
information. Assessment is done by regular testing, taking
anecdotal notes on each child and general observation. Then
using the appropriate teaching guide -in Vic learning is outcome
based(set by the department)we plan lessons to meet the
guidelines along with the needs of our students. Planning is
uusally broadly done in teams eg 5/6 team plans basically what
will be covered then the individual teachers plan more detailed
lessons for thier grade. Lessons take shape in various formats -
individual work, group work, activity based, discussion based,
research based etc. Planning time is anywhere from 3-10 hours
per week plus a full day in the team each term. Assessment time
is hard to guage as it is ongoing and continuous. Teaching time
is 5 hours per day. After teaching time is when planning and
corrections take place. It takes a minimum of an hour after
teaching time to complete corrections every day. We are also
expected to attend 3 hours of meetings outside of school hours
per week along with professional development activities after
school hours. After planning, teaching and assessing is
reporting. We must report to parents and the education
department on the progress of our students. Reports go home to
parents twice a year and are 5 pages long. It takes between 30-
40 hours twice a year in your own time to complete the reports.
Then there are the parent teacher interviews twice a year.
These generally eat into your own time as well by around four
hours each time. You are also expected to take on other duties
around the school such as coaching sporting teams or running
lunchtime science club etc. Twice to three times a week you have
to patrol an area of the yard during luch or recess times to
ensuire the children are supervised at all times. Attending
school camps for up to 5 days 24 hours a day with no extra
renumeration. Twice a year teachers undertake a performance
review where they have to prove that they have achieved their
set goals as well as performed to the level expected of them.
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Job Requirements
To become a teacher is a 4 year university degree. In the first
couple of years your program is outlined for you and then you
choos a major and elect subjects based around this. I had no
trouble getting the classes I wanted however I am not sure if
the same can be said for everyone else. To be honest I only the
found the classes to be mildly useful when it actually came to
teaching. Most of what I have learnt has come with experience
and the most valuable part of my course were the school
placements. Things may have changed since I was at uni though.
I did howver enjoy the fact that most of our classes were
tutorials and discussion groups rather that lectures and the
assessment was mostly practical rather than exams. I found the
workload dramatically increased with each year of the course and
the final year was very tough as we had to write a thesis as
well as all our other assessment pieces. The professors were in
general very helpful as they had all been teachers in a school
setting themselves so they were not just preaching theory at us.
As theories on education are constanly changing teachers are
expected to regularly update their knowledge base by attending
courses and other professional development activities.
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Uppers
The best part of this job is working with the students. There is nothing better
than seeing one of your students achieve. The rapport you build with your
students and the difference that you can make to some of thier lives is
extraordinary. Years down the track when you run into an ex student and they want
to talk to you and tell about their live and how much fun they remember having
with you is a real buzz.
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Downers
The downers of this job is that not everyone can be helped and
no matter how hard you try, sometimes you just get no-where. The
lack of respect from the general community for what teachers do
is disgusting. Many people think we are glorified babysitters
who get too many holidays. But believe me you earn those
holidays and you need them. There are a lot of factors beyond
the teaching aspect that are not enjoyable eg the number of
hours you put in in your own time, the meetings, parents who
want to tell you how to do your job or abuse you if they don't
agree with your approach and of course every now and then you
come across a nightmare student who you would rather not teach.
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Lifestyle
Being a teacher encompasses much of your lifestyle as there is so much to do
outside of work hours. You rarely get to travel - except on camps and excursions.
You are expected to dress as a professional. The other thing is that you don't
get to choose your holidays, you have your holidays during the school holidays so
if wish to do anything it is always more expenseive because it is peak time. You
only seek this job if you really have a passion for it.
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Compensation
This is a job you do for love not money or perks. After 10
years I have only just cracked to $50,000 mark. There are no
bonuses or other benefits. Starting wage is now around
$36,000. I know retailers who earn around $10,000 a year more
than me.
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Advice to Jobseekers
There will always be a need for teachers but consider carefully
before deciding to enter this field. I love it, but that is the
only reason I stay. If you want to make a difference it is an
all consuming job but the reward are worth it. If you are
thinking of entering because you think it sounds like an easy
job with lots of holidays you will get a rude surprise once you
start working in the field.
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