Im thinking about a career as a primary school teacher...?

Question

what are your experiences as a primary school teacher and do you recommend it? i have worked two weeks as a classroom assistant as an unpaid placement and i absolutly loved it! im 17, have a C in French GCSE and A's and A* in everything else including maths, science and english. im waiting for my AS results in English language, Art, Sociology and Relgious Studies, so i think i have what i nmeed for the courses. people tell me the effort isnt worth the pay but non of them are teachers. is it worth the years in university? also, do you get paid in the holidays?

Answer 1

Hi there,

I am an elementary school teacher who is fluent in three languages and hold certifications in PE, Art, French along with general subjects.

It's great that you love teaching and being with kids. As a career, teaching is really rewarding emotionally and sometimes financially. I am near tears at some times seeing my students accomplish so much and they ALWAYS have the darnest things to say. I learn alot from my students and am truly lucky to have been blessed with such a career.

However, it is EXTREMELY difficult to get a teaching position of any kind in Canada. This includes getting on the Teacher On Call (TOC) list and everyone has to go through that before getting hired on a contract position.

I have had trouble getting on the TOC list for two years since i've been back to Canada after having spent two years overseas at a Canadian International School. Despite having special qualifications, it is always the luck of the draw as to who gets hired and who doesn't.

Personally, unless you are willing to wait it out and do EVERYTHING YOU CAN to get hired, I would not recommend teaching as a career. If you are torn between two choices, I would say that you might want to explore your other option. The teaching field in my opinion is not expanding and many schools are closing in certain areas.

Best of luck!