Much to teach, much to learn

A lack of permanent positions, daily preparation, stacks of paperwork - newly qualified teachers face a steep learning curve. As they put their feet up for their first half-term break, three new teachers talk about why it's all worth it

This year, new primary-level teachers entered work with a sense of trepidation. The teacher shortage of the past few years was tackled by stuffing the training colleges with students. It worked; the shortage is over. But this recruitment drive led to the possibility that there will be more teachers than jobs.

"We were warned that things were bad," says Ian Cherry, a newly-qualified teacher in Rutland Street National School. "Everyone was terrified but by now most people have something at least - I don't think anyone has a permanent job though."

Cherry's school received 200 applications for the two positions it advertised. That's a large number by any standard, but he takes it in his stride. Teaching, especially at primary level, is not an obvious choice for a young man these days. "It's strange," he says, "I never would have said 'I love children' . . . but my mother sort of suggested teaching as a possibility and I just thought I'd give it a go."

A stint of work experience in his old school during transition year made the prospect more appealing and he decided to apply for the BEd in St Patrick's College, Drumcondra.

Teaching wasn't an obvious prospect for Áine Moore either. With a degree in marketing and German, her career in recruitment and human resources was in full swing when she decided to pack it in.

"I had always thought of teaching," she says. "To leave my job meant a lot of financial sacrifices but I wasn't getting the satisfaction out of working for a profit-making company. I'd prefer to work with children than adults any day."

She did the postgraduate diploma in education in Dublin's Marino College. The course was a huge challenge. "I had done my degree and various diplomas before that but out of all of those it was the one that really pushed me to my limits . . . It prepares you for the teaching itself, but there are certain things that would be impossible to prepare you for," she says.

Ian Cherry agrees: "There are some things that you just have to learn from experience." He mentions the example of discipline: "They advise you to use proximity control - that's standing beside a troublemaker, or putting a hand on a shoulder or something. It's just hilarious. It doesn't work on my lot. They couldn't care less where you're standing."

He doesn't believe that his class is different from any other in that respect. Rutland Street, the school that gave us Give Up Yer Oul' Sins, is part of the Breaking the Cycle initiative for children who are educationally disadvantaged. Among other things, the initiative specifies a maximum pupil-teacher ratio of 15 to one. Ian teaches 10 third class children, which enables him to give individual attention to each child. "There's a very wide range of abilities," he says. "Academically, I suppose, they're not really a third class, but I can definitely have more one-on-one attention with them because of the smaller number."

The little ones challenge you in the little things, or so Maria Hannon has found with her junior infant class in Knocklyon, Dublin. "Just things like calling the roll, or getting them to put their coats on, take a long time," she says. With 29 in her class she certainly has her work cut out. "People think that as a teacher you go home at 2.30pm, but there's a huge amount of preparation and correcting to do."

All three teachers agree, however, that the part they find most challenging is the paperwork. Every new teacher trained by the colleges must pass the Departmental Diploma, commonly known as "the Dip". The Dip involves undergoing a number of inspections during the year as well as keeping a detailed folder of plans, schemes and resources from week to week. Áine Moore says, "When the teaching day ends, it's time to get on with the planning." "I do find that preparing in such detail takes away from the teaching a bit," says Ian Cherry. "I'm literally so tired all the time, but it has to be done."

Maria Hannon has even more to face. She qualified from Marino College, which means that she has a part-time fourth year of training to complete in Trinity College Dublin on top of the Dip. "After school I go into college for 4pm and we have lectures until 6pm. That's four days a week," she says.

All three teachers are part of a pilot mentoring programme that allows older colleagues to formally act as advisers and provide support to teachers doing the Dip.

The newly qualified teachers get three days of practical lectures and advice on issues such as how to deal with parents. They get three days for preparing notes and another three in which they can observe a more experienced teacher. They also have weekly meetings with their mentors during which they can raise any problems they might be having.

The reality of having your own class is somewhat different to the experience of teaching practice. "On teaching practice the class teacher deals with parents and all the little things like collecting money and yard duty," explains Maria Hannon. "There's a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff . . . that you wouldn't think of."

Áine Moore found that being a bit older and having experience in the world of work helped a lot when starting out. "Of course nothing can really prepare you for the reality of working in a school, but I certainly found that I maybe wasn't as intimidated by parents and new colleagues as I might have been."

She describes her 31 first class charges as "gorgeous". The first day was daunting: "You want them to be happy and glad to come in to school but you still need to have authority and control in the classroom," she says. Maria Hannon agrees, adding, "You have to be flexible. I'd have high expectations . . . but there comes a point when you just have to accept that not everything is going to work out exactly to plan. If a lesson isn't working it's best just to forget about it and move on."

Despite the challenges, all three teachers are very positive about what they're doing. "I love the buzz of it," says Maria Hannon. "My class pick up on what I wear, everything. It's like having my own little fashion gurus."

Áine Moore doesn't see herself going back to the world of business any time soon.

"I don't think I'll regret the change. I really feel privileged to be working with children."

Ian Cherry agrees: "They're so funny. They're just dying to find out about me. 'Sir, what age are you?' and 'Sir, do you have a girlfriend?'."

More seriously, though, he says, "It's a big responsibility. It could be that, as a teacher, I'm the only adult who gives some of those children the time of day. If I could influence any of them to stay in school or even go on to third level, well, it's such a motivating factor."