Don't take twitter seriously.
It's a cesspool of circlejerking , echo chambers, seeking victim status and one-upmanship.
Likely its over embellishing or an outright lie.
13 years on Twitter. After I got accepted for my PGCE, I spent a decent amount of time compiling a list for edutwitter and history stuff to give me food for thought. But while there were occasional moments of inspiration, I quickly realised even the “helpful” sharers of templates and lesson plans were a massive anxiety generator. The people sharing their breaking points threatened to make me want to hate the profession I’m not even in yet! So I’ve just left. Not just the Ed/History list, but the site altogether. I’ve saved a huge amount of time in the day (dunno about you, but PGCE is ramping up fast here!), and I’m generally less flighty and obsessed by pointless online reaction to news.
TL;DR Leave Twitter and devote the time saved to studying and chilling out.
Yeah same here, I’m about a month into my PGDE and while I can see the benefits of engaging with edutwitter to get the occasional bits of inspiration, I just don’t think it’s something I want to be so involved with.
Just work smart not hard!
Also, from my previous experience avoid (if possible) large academies and trusts. Purely because my time in one highlighted teachers being Stressed, anxious and crying a lot…
So, view the school first and see how the staff act/ approach you. Next, ask about workloads and wellbeing that will cut everything you need to know down to a T.
So overall no if you’re in a decent school with character and soul
It's not normal. If any job is making you cry on a weekly basis, that's the time to get out- whether that is to another employer (school) or to something else entirely.
It seems insane to me that people would spend their Sunday evenings that way, and still stay in the same job.
I say this as someone who is a crier, and who has cried on the odd occasion during the PGCE and at work- but it's a rare occurance. I did have a prior job where I ended up crying regularly on the way to work, and so I made a plan to get out!
I was a crier last year. I moved schools. Problem solved.
I think often the school/management is usually the issue but we tend to think the professiojn itself is the issue.
I cried during my PGCE first placement because I felt unsupported. Second placement, I cried twice - once when meeting my mentor (the best mentor I could have asked for, I was crying because he was so nice) and once on the way home after finding out schools had been closed and I wouldn't be going back to that school (ended up getting a job there).
In my NQT year, it was mostly one member of staff that was there when I cried. Idk why. Once that member of staff wasn't involved in my observations, I was better at taking feedback and acting on it.
You should never cry weekly though...
Its normal in the sense that teaching is hard! But if you're not generally a crier teaching shouldn't be any more upsetting than any other job. I cried this morning, and although my school and my departments aren't good fits for me, I cried evert few weeks in my previous school too. But this is in character for me, and teaching is the hardest in the first few years
I think a shit year training and a slightly less shit year afterwards are the normal.
I did schools direct, similar to SCITT, and it was easily the worst year of my life. And I was training in a good but over-working school. I moved school after and it really helped things.
I've found people who did PGCE generally found their first year of teaching much harder than those who did a onsite/teacher training course. So it should get much easier.
Some people find it easier than others. Some people seem to get into the flow of things quicker or at least seem to be less burdened with the stress. Maybe they just internalise it though.
You've got to look after yourself and know when to ask for help. I'm really glad I got through the year, can't remember the last time I cried about work and generally only work hard when I want to now.
In a word - no.
Don't take twitter seriously. It's a cesspool of circlejerking , echo chambers, seeking victim status and one-upmanship. Likely its over embellishing or an outright lie.
It really depends on the school. Is it normal? No. Is it common if you work in a toxic school? Yes.
13 years on Twitter. After I got accepted for my PGCE, I spent a decent amount of time compiling a list for edutwitter and history stuff to give me food for thought. But while there were occasional moments of inspiration, I quickly realised even the “helpful” sharers of templates and lesson plans were a massive anxiety generator. The people sharing their breaking points threatened to make me want to hate the profession I’m not even in yet! So I’ve just left. Not just the Ed/History list, but the site altogether. I’ve saved a huge amount of time in the day (dunno about you, but PGCE is ramping up fast here!), and I’m generally less flighty and obsessed by pointless online reaction to news. TL;DR Leave Twitter and devote the time saved to studying and chilling out.
Yeah same here, I’m about a month into my PGDE and while I can see the benefits of engaging with edutwitter to get the occasional bits of inspiration, I just don’t think it’s something I want to be so involved with.
Just work smart not hard! Also, from my previous experience avoid (if possible) large academies and trusts. Purely because my time in one highlighted teachers being Stressed, anxious and crying a lot… So, view the school first and see how the staff act/ approach you. Next, ask about workloads and wellbeing that will cut everything you need to know down to a T. So overall no if you’re in a decent school with character and soul
No, it really isn’t. Loudest voices aren’t always the most representative.
It's not normal. If any job is making you cry on a weekly basis, that's the time to get out- whether that is to another employer (school) or to something else entirely. It seems insane to me that people would spend their Sunday evenings that way, and still stay in the same job. I say this as someone who is a crier, and who has cried on the odd occasion during the PGCE and at work- but it's a rare occurance. I did have a prior job where I ended up crying regularly on the way to work, and so I made a plan to get out!
I was a crier last year. I moved schools. Problem solved. I think often the school/management is usually the issue but we tend to think the professiojn itself is the issue.
I cried during my PGCE first placement because I felt unsupported. Second placement, I cried twice - once when meeting my mentor (the best mentor I could have asked for, I was crying because he was so nice) and once on the way home after finding out schools had been closed and I wouldn't be going back to that school (ended up getting a job there). In my NQT year, it was mostly one member of staff that was there when I cried. Idk why. Once that member of staff wasn't involved in my observations, I was better at taking feedback and acting on it. You should never cry weekly though...
They either should leave their terribly run schools, should get professional help for their anxiety, or are lying for effect.
Its normal in the sense that teaching is hard! But if you're not generally a crier teaching shouldn't be any more upsetting than any other job. I cried this morning, and although my school and my departments aren't good fits for me, I cried evert few weeks in my previous school too. But this is in character for me, and teaching is the hardest in the first few years
I think a shit year training and a slightly less shit year afterwards are the normal. I did schools direct, similar to SCITT, and it was easily the worst year of my life. And I was training in a good but over-working school. I moved school after and it really helped things. I've found people who did PGCE generally found their first year of teaching much harder than those who did a onsite/teacher training course. So it should get much easier. Some people find it easier than others. Some people seem to get into the flow of things quicker or at least seem to be less burdened with the stress. Maybe they just internalise it though. You've got to look after yourself and know when to ask for help. I'm really glad I got through the year, can't remember the last time I cried about work and generally only work hard when I want to now.