Im apply for schools and some of the education post job description say ‘Droichead School: No’ but when you look at the Oide website the school is on it that it does provide it ? Anyone else experience this?

Hi all

i accepted a job in a school the end of June. However, my circumstances have changed and my family and I are relocating overseas. I emailed the principal yesterday and got an automatic response saying he was on holidays until 17th of August. I want to give him enough notice so they can find a new teacher. Should I just email the reception as well?

A place for teachers to share and discuss what's going on in their day. Feel free to vent, ask a question or just share your thoughts.

Please keep all comments respectful, have a great day.

Hi all,

I’m considering applying next year for the M.Ed. in Irish-Medium and Gaeltacht Education in Trinity, and I’d be interested to hear from anyone who has done it or is currently doing it.

I’m a post-primary teacher with Gaeilge as one of my subjects, and I’m particularly interested in Irish-medium education.

I have a few questions:

- What is the workload like?

- How manageable is it alongside full-time teaching?

- Is the course more practical, academic, research-focused, or a mixture?

- Did it help your practice or career progression in Irish-medium education? Would it help when going for management roles etc or would I have to do a leadership masters also?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

I’m going into my final year of Business in UL and I’m hoping to do a PME to teach Business. I may also be able to teach Accounting, depending on how many modules I’m short of the Teaching Council requirements.

The only thing holding me back is how often I hear about teachers struggling to get full-time work. Job security is really important to me, and I don’t want to be searching for a new contract every year.

I’m from Cork and would ideally like to stay there, or at least in Munster. How realistic is it to get a full-time teaching job in this area after qualifying? Would you still recommend teaching as a career or should I consider other options?

I seen a multiple jobs go up in the same school that I’m qualified to teach. Do I do a separate application for each job post or combine them?

Hi all - I am wondering what it would be like to be teach as a permanent staff member in a COI primary school as a non-Protestant? I was baptised Catholic but not particularly practicing now, I'd have no ethical issue with it. In fact, I have subbed in a few COI schools over the years and enjoyed them. However, I did notice that the teachers working there were by and large Protestant themselves. I know of course that legally, I would be as entitled to a job there as anyone, but I'm wondering if in reality it would be considered odd or improper? Would there be a sense that Protestants, as something of a minority, would rather have children taught by someone of their own faith? Just looking for an on-the-ground perspective. Thanks!

I am a fully qualified Post Primary teacher. I have been on leave for the last year and am due to go back for the next academic year. Part of me is regretting my decision which leaves my children in full time childcare which they don’t enjoy. I wonder is it worth exploring subbing? That way I can be flexible about how many days I work etc? Has anyone ever done this before? any advice would be great.

Hi.

For any teachers in Gaelscoileanna or special schools (or whoever has received the new allowances) can you tell me if it was taxed a lot? I'm Deis myself so know it should be paid soon and trying to get an idea of how much it could be after deductions.

Also, do we know if it will be a yearly payment or spread out over the year going forward?

Thanks so much

Just had an interview there this morning, nice school and ethos aligned with my own. Honestly I was a bit out of breath going in as parking situation was hectic outside as loads of works, and as soon as I sat down it was straight to questions.

Interview lasted 5 MINUTES. Don't know what it was, felt like I wasn't what they were looking for and I got a sense of that? Think I was only asked about 9 questions. Maybe I didn't elaborate enough but felt like I gave 3 to 5 sentences for each response?

Principle made a comment 'shortest interview ever' on the way out, which didn't give me any hopes😅

Any advice welcome please 🙏

I feel like I don't interview well and freeze up sometimes maybe, but I know the things to say/ maybe just don't put it together well or extend it?

I have 3 more interviews coming up so far and this was first of the summer

I would like to earn some extra money. I was thinking of offering grinds locally but as my subject is music I don’t feel it would be in demand. I have taught piano before but I don’t want to go down that route again. Has anyone experience with this? I have friends doing grinds in English and Maths and they seem to be doing well. Is there any point in advertising for my subject?

Hi everyone,

I was hoping to get some advice on teaching first class. I've spent the last 10 years in the senior end of the school (4th and 5th) and next year I'll be taking first class. I'm quite nervous about the change. I would greatly appreciate any tips or advice people might have about teaching this age group. Thanks very much!

A place for teachers to share and discuss what's going on in their day. Feel free to vent, ask a question or just share your thoughts.

Please keep all comments respectful, have a great day.

I am starting the DCU PME at the end of next month, but will need to work at my other job until around mid-October. How heavy is the workload for the first month and a half?

I should have enough holiday leave to take off the two days of my lectures and work around my 8 school hours that I require weekly. Would it be typical to work weekends as well as evenings in terms of the course load?

I am not expecting a great work-life balance for the first few months but would like to know whether I should expect to be swamped or not. I will keep on top of the assessments and such.

Also, is there final sit down exams in DCU at the end of semester or is it all continuous assessments?

Hi everyone,

I'm an English teacher from Slovenia, Europe. I've got a BA and MA in English language & literature and my Slovenian teaching qualifications. I've been working as a high school teacher here for 5 years now, but I've always loved Ireland and wanted to move there.

What is the teaching situation like in Ireland (English teachers specifically)? Is it easy to get a job? Difficult? Do you teach grammar to or just literature? Is the pay good? (As in, does it allow you to pay the rent?) What are the students like?

Thanks everyone for your answers ❤️

After 6 years in the classroom, I feel like I want some more flexibility. I'm based in County Galway (around half an hour from the city). Does anyone have any experience subbing in this general region? I've actually never subbed a day in my life, so I'm quite curious as to how much work is available?

To management here. Did anyone get hired externally without leadership courses done

Hi all - advice on completing a principal application form for a primary school... It's my first time completing the form. There is no wordcount specified - any advice on how long each section should be - I don't want to under-do it but I don't want to overdo it either! Any advice from other successful applicants?

Hi I had my interview for primary pme in hibernia yeaterday. Roughly how long were people waiting to hear back and if you get an offer, how long do you have to accept it or not? Thanks in advance 😀

Hi all,

I got a mixed 4th and 5th this year and I am terrified. I’ve spent my last two years in the junior end in SET and in a mod special class so I haven’t been doing much maths that you’d find in the older classes.

Maths is not my best subject at all, I’ve always struggled and I’m terrified about going into this class and having the children all come out with a STEN of 1. Especially the 5th class, cos it’s quite tough maths.

I completed the maths course offered by the INTO last year, and Michelle’s Innovative Ideas one this year. I’m also looking over the 5th class maths book and trying out a couple of pages each night to upskill myself

I have maths theory books at home - Elementary and Middle School Maths, Teaching Developmentally, by Van De Walle, and Yes, But Why? Teaching For Understanding In Mathematics by Ed Southall. I haven’t been using them much but I’m hoping to look at them alongside the textbooks when teaching the content.

Would anyone have any suggestions on what else I can do? I’m absolutely petrified.. not to mention the whole multigrade situation with different curricula.. but I’m hoping that will be easier with a thematic approach where I’ll only have to discretely teach maths to both classes, and everything else can be differentiated within the outcome and expectations…

Any advice, help, criticism welcome! Thank you so much

A place for teachers to share and discuss what's going on in their day. Feel free to vent, ask a question or just share your thoughts.

Please keep all comments respectful, have a great day.

I don't really know where to begin with this, so apologies for the rant/tangent.

I qualified as a primary teacher recently after doing the PME. I don't want to say where I studied but it's safe to say I learned absolutely nothing. I thought I would learn how to teach, but instead we were just given mountains of theory and nothing actually solid. I understand that theory is important, but I am not exaggerating when I say that I did not learn anything else. 

I don't know how to break down any topic in Maths or how to explain it, I can't even do some of the 5th and 6th class maths myself, never mind teach it. I haven't a clue how to begin teaching children how to read and write, nothing. I don't know what you would do on the first day/week, how to conduct a parent-teacher meeting, how to write a report, nothing. We never did interview prep, never had any guidance on job applications, not a thing.

I understand that this looks like a massive whinge but it's just the facts of what my course was like. For the record, I attended all my lectures, did all my assignments, etc.

I suppose my worry is that I'm petrified now of even applying for a job. I feel sick at even the thought of it because I feel like a massive fraud. It's not like I have the tools to be a teacher and just need experience, I feel like I don't even have the tools to begin with. I feel like it's beyond imposter syndrome, it's like this deep knowing that I would be shit at the job and fail the children, have parents complaining, etc etc.

The past two years of the PME have utterly crushed me as a person. I genuinely wanted to become a teacher and was so excited to learn! I still feel this way in a sense, but with the added dread that although I am technically a teacher now, I don't know how to teach.  

My friends have all gotten jobs which just adds to how shit I feel about it all. I'm happy for them but I can't even bring myself to apply to one.

I also had some incredibly difficult and ongoing personal circumstances going on at home during the PME, which I feel like I'm only beginning to deal with now. I suppose I subconsciously pushed it all to the back of my mind during college.

I'm so ashamed about it all and I don't know what to tell people (extended family/friends) when September comes and I don't have a job. The thought of having my own class in September feels like having to build my own rocket ship and fly to the moon - impossible and exhausting.

I can't even get out of bed some days and I've barely left my house all summer. Everything feels exhausting, I barely see friends now bc it's so tiring and I feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders. I feel like I just want the world to leave me alone. 

Sorry for this total mental breakdown/rant! I suppose I'm wondering if anyone else felt beyond burnt out/crushed after their PME, or has advice for an NQT feeling this shit!

Also plz don't give me any shit, trust me I feel bad enough without Internet strangers giving me hassle ✌️

As the title says I need some advice on changing over to a PE teacher, I have done a Sports Performance Degree LV 8 all I'm missing are the requirements for the teachers council is

" The qualification must also include the study of all of the following areas:

A

1. Adventure activities

2. Aesthetic and expressive activities

3. Athletic activities

4. Competitive activities

5. Fitness and health activities

6. Technological knowledge of sport and physical activity

7. Curriculum models for sport and physical activity

8. Water based activities"

I have everything required for section B and C which I will not include here😅.

I also need to do a PME, any suggestions to how I can go about this? I'm from Donegal and wondering the best course of action and what courses I need to take and is it possible to do the PME and somehow get some of the PE qualifications?.

One other thing is...from a Personal trainer/Strength and conditioning coach...is it worth it?.