According to my diploma, I can teach Dutch, English and ethics in the first 4 years of high school (12 to 16/17 year olds). But I've also been teaching a course that combines Dutch, geography, history, math and ethics. That was a hard nut to crack, since I suck at math, and know very little about history and geography. I had to spend hours teaching myself first, before I could discuss it with my students, lol.
I love teaching, but I'm too much of a perfectionist: i worked like 60 hours a week preparing my lessons, wfiting my own courses from scratch etc. And then there is all the extra paperwork you have to do. And I've always had jobs in schools where students are mainly learning a profession, so they don't care about the subjects that have nothing to do with the profession they're studying. Definitely not the most appreciative public to have in your classroom, lol.
It was often more than I could handle, and two years ago, I quit my last job because I wqs suffering from a burnout.
I have been a happy unemployed teacher ever since :0)
But I do love it, and there is no other job I can think of that I would want to do.
The biggest problem is that I think our educational system is set up all wrong. The wrong people are in charge, the wrong people with the wrong ideas are teaching those kids the wrong things. So I have difficulties fitting in, I simply can't ignore all the mistakes that are being made by the system, but there is nothing I can do about it. I have to play along and keep my ideas to myself, because if there's one thing educators suck at, it is learning. Ironic, isn't it? :0s
I totally could have written this! All of it ... Love the job, the students, but not the 60 hour work week, all night marking, learning myself before teaching it ...
Ditto!
Lol. Only teachers know what it's like to be a teacher. Everyone else underestimates it. They're always nagging about the '24 hour work week' and all the holidays we have. Lol, that's how it looks from the outside. But I don't have to tell you, of course.
One thing i never did was give a student a RATM -CD ;0)
So true!
Hahaha I had no idea how cool that was lol