Studying secondary education at uni

[K.Smithy]

I hope it's ok that I post here - I know this thread is old, but I wasn't quite sure if I should make a new one

I just had a question about studying secondary education at uni - I apologise in advance if none of this makes sense, I'm rather tired and I just don't know how uni and courses work in general...
My plans are to study at the University of Queensland, as they offer the double degrees that I am interested in (Bachelor of Science/Secondary Education & Bachelor of Mathematics/Secondary Education) - but the problem is, I don't know what double degree I want to do the most.

Here are my original plans (up until about now, as I am now second guessing everything).
I was going to put mathematics and education as my first preference and science and education as my second preference.
Assuming I was successful at receiving a place in my first preference I was going to study some courses from mathematical physics and pure mathematics within the mathematics degree. Within the education degree I was going to study all the usual courses and then have advanced mathematics and general mathematics as my two subjects that I specialise in. I looked at some example course structures, and it had advanced maths and general maths down as the two subjects you specialise in if you are doing a mathematics double degree... Is this a requirement or am I able to specialise in advanced maths and physics for example, instead of general maths? I was then going to hopefully do some summer courses to learn how to teach other subjects such as psych, bio or physics (I would really love to teach both mathematics and some sciences).

If I got my second preference and instead studied a bachelor of science, this is what I was going to do... I was planning to major in psychology and minor in biology within the science degree (Idk how majors and minors work tho) and then I was going to specialise in advanced mathematics and physics in the education degree. That way I should be able to teach psychology, biology, mathematics (at all levels) and physics - which is ideal.

I thought that I had made up my mind this year and I was 100% certain that I would do the mathematic and education double degree, but now I'm getting cold feet. Here are my thoughts:
I absolutely love mathematics - I just find it so interesting and I love a good challenge. I find so much satisfaction in completing page long equations, and enjoy spending my time studying it (however, it is much more enjoyable when I actually know what I'm doing - not so much when I haven't got a clue about what's going on). And I am super duper interested in some of the courses available within the mathematics degree. I love the look of mathematical physics and pure mathematics and would love to study them... The thing is.... maths isn't my strong point (it is my weakest subject - I'm studying methods and achieved an A- overall for the year - which I know isn't bad at all, but it's not amazing). I am 100% aware that how I am travelling in mathematics now is not a good indicator at how proficient I will be as a teacher (after all, even Eddie Woo was bad at maths in school). I know I will have to work HARD if I studied the mathematics double degree, and I guess I'm scared about some of the "What If?"s.. e.g. What if I'm never 100% confident in maths? What if I fail my students? What if I don't understand it enough to explain it to my students? What if I don't succeed at uni?... etc. etc. etc.. I get bad exam anxiety when it comes to mathematics, which is odd considering how much I love it.. and I guess I'm scared that it may get in my way at uni. But, anyways, I just think maths is beautiful, and I just long to understand it and all its intricate details.

The other thing is... I really LOVE psychology. It is my best 1/2 subject (95/100 for the year - damn, 1 point off of the A+ bracket _{damn you data test}) and I think it is so so so so so interesting. So being able to study it at uni would be amazing - and I have no fears that I will be able to perform alright at university if I were to study it. Furthermore, if I take the bachelor of science pathway it will be easier for me to teach all of the subjects that I want to teach (I won't have to do any summer courses). BUT. The downside is that I won't be able to study the mathematical physics and pure mathematics courses that I think I would really enjoy 

Lets also take a look at the ATARs required for each course. Last time I checked, I need to achieve an ATAR of 94 for the mathematics double degree, and an 87 for the science double degree.

Any advice or words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated
(Also, I apologise if I should have posted this somewhere else)

Mod edit: split from old topic & moved to uni queries board

[RuiAce]

(Also, I apologise if I should have posted this somewhere else)

I'm gonna let someone else answer the main body of this but I'll address this bracketed bit. In the future, for something like this you may want to consider making a new thread to avoid the necro-bump.

[Sine]

I’ll try to address a few things here (maybe not all).

Firstly, getting an A- in Maths is definitely not bad. As you said, plenty of current Maths teachers probably did a lot worse in high school. Secondly, I am assuming these are all your scores from year 11 – so you still have a year to improve and try to amplify your confidence in the subject.

As for how well you may do in university – there is a huge difference between high school and university mathematics. So, it is somewhat difficult to say how someone will do there. However, given you say that you find it interesting and actually enjoy it I believe you should do quite well because in general working hard is probably rewarded more in university than highschool.

[DrDusk]

As for how well you may do in university – there is a huge difference between high school and university mathematics. So, it is somewhat difficult to say how someone will do there. However, given you say that you find it interesting and actually enjoy it I believe you should do quite well because in general working hard is probably rewarded more in university than highschool.

I wouldn’t say that. Success in high school mathematics does generally mean success in uni mathematics, high school maths is literally just a watered down version of uni maths. Unless somehow you just lose motivation your gonna do really well if you did well in high school.
I have not yet seen anyone who got a really good mark in 4u maths(95+) get a bad mark in maths in uni, all of them are getting HD’s every math course and will likely continue to do so.

As for the other way around it can be done but your going to need to work hard and build up your problem solving ability and this takes lots of time.

[Sine]

I wouldn’t say that. Success in high school mathematics does generally mean success in uni mathematics, high school maths is literally just a watered down version of uni maths. Unless somehow you just lose motivation your gonna do really well if you did well in high school.
I have not yet seen anyone who got a really good mark in 4u maths(95+) get a bad mark in maths in uni, all of them are getting HD’s every math course and will likely continue to do so.

As for the other way around it can be done but your going to need to work hard and build up your problem solving ability and this takes lots of time.

Alright, I think you misunderstood since my post wasn't really talking about any of this.

Anyway, it is obvious someone who is doing extremely well in high school is more likely to do well in university than someone who didn’t. I was talking more in general – e.g. the middle portion of the population where crossover is much more likely - not about the extremes.

Hope this clarifies it

[DrDusk]

Alright, I think you misunderstood since my post wasn't really talking about any of this.

Anyway, it is obvious someone who is doing extremely well in high school is more likely to do well in university than someone who didn’t. I was talking more in general – e.g. the middle portion of the population where crossover is much more likely - not about the extremes.

Hope this clarifies it

Oh ok my bad =)

But I must say high school math for me was so far literally the same as uni maths even though it wasn't as broad.

[Sine]

Oh ok my bad =)

But I must say high school math for me was so far literally the same as uni maths even though it wasn't as broad.

Fair enough, yeah I didn't find much difference either.

Although, I have seen quite a few students who said they didn't do that well in high school (e.g. only slightly above average) but finding university more straightforward. Perhaps more resources available, more motivation for them personally etc

[DrDusk]

Although, I have seen quite a few students who said they didn't do that well in high school (e.g. only slightly above average) but finding university more straightforward. Perhaps more resources available, more motivation for them personally etc

Yeah I agree by far the most challenging math paper I've done was the HSC 4u math paper. Uni papers have been soo much easier compared to it. Then again I don't do the 'higher' versions of the courses like the Math Majors so probably that has something to do with it.

[AngelWings]

Is this a requirement or am I able to specialise in advanced maths and physics for example, instead of general maths?

This I'll reserve for someone more knowledgeable about the education area, like Aaron (a current Victorian maths/ IT teacher).

I thought that I had made up my mind this year and I was 100% certain that I would do the mathematic and education double degree, but now I'm getting cold feet.

It's OK to have this happen. I was set on architecture courses in Year 9, a Bachelor of Commerce in Year 10 and then a Bachelor of Science sometime in Year 11/ 12. You don't have to have everything set out in stone yet - even knowing you what you roughly want to teach already means that you're about 3 steps ahead of most of your peers. 

Here are my thoughts:
I absolutely love mathematics - I just find it so interesting and I love a good challenge. I find so much satisfaction in completing page long equations, and enjoy spending my time studying it (however, it is much more enjoyable when I actually know what I'm doing - not so much when I haven't got a clue about what's going on). And I am super duper interested in some of the courses available within the mathematics degree. I love the look of mathematical physics and pure mathematics and would love to study them... The thing is.... maths isn't my strong point (it is my weakest subject - I'm studying methods and achieved an A- overall for the year - which I know isn't bad at all, but it's not amazing). I am 100% aware that how I am travelling in mathematics now is not a good indicator at how proficient I will be as a teacher (after all, even Eddie Woo was bad at maths in school). I know I will have to work HARD if I studied the mathematics double degree

It's great to see your enthusiasm for maths.

If it's any consolation, my worst two subjects in VCE were Chemistry and Japanese. Guess which minors I got at uni and did better at uni than in high school in? Also, when I walked into my first uni class, I had not touched Biology since Year 9 (and I wasn't good at it). Guess who has an Honours degree in genetics now?

I wouldn't give up from an A-. You will need to work hard (and smart), as you said, but I would not let that dishearten you at all. Instead, use this to fuel you to do better next time.     

I know I will have to work HARD if I studied the mathematics double degree, and I guess I'm scared about some of the "What If?"s.. e.g. What if I'm never 100% confident in maths? What if I fail my students? What if I don't understand it enough to explain it to my students? What if I don't succeed at uni?... etc. etc. etc..

The "what if?" questions are one of the most beautiful and cursed things in the human mind.

In your case, it probably would be better if you focused a bit more on improvement rather than what could go wrong. (Not saying don't have these thoughts, but try to think of ways that you can use them to improve your teaching/ mathematical ability e.g. your question of "What if I don't understand it enough to explain it to my students?" could be paired with "But also, what can I do productively about that to resolve the issue?".) Bad and unfortunate things happen, but take it as a lesson or a mistake to be fixed. While positive thinking won't fix everything, it will be able to curb some of the worry and distress (as in negative stress) it causes you. Hopefully, as you go through life, you'll find that focusing on the negative "what if?"s really doesn't help and doing something about it becomes a lot more effective.   

[K.Smithy]

It's OK to have this happen. I was set on architecture courses in Year 9, a Bachelor of Commerce in Year 10 and then a Bachelor of Science sometime in Year 11/ 12. You don't have to have everything set out in stone yet - even knowing you what you roughly want to teach already means that you're about 3 steps ahead of most of your peers. 

Yeah, I've had quite a wild ride these past couple of years figuring out what I want to do - but I'm very content with my decision to go into secondary education Now its just all the little things I need to get sorted - i.e. what courses I want to do, etc.

If it's any consolation, my worst two subjects in VCE were Chemistry and Japanese. Guess which minors I got at uni and did better at uni than in high school in? Also, when I walked into my first uni class, I had not touched Biology since Year 9 (and I wasn't good at it). Guess who has an Honours degree in genetics now?

Congratulations! Do you find that it is how courses are structured at uni that has helped? Or maybe having a different mindset or access to more resources?

I wouldn't give up from an A-. You will need to work hard (and smart), as you said, but I would not let that dishearten you at all. Instead, use this to fuel you to do better next time.     

I'm definitely quite motivated to perform at my best - I'm also trying to utilise these Christmas holidays to the best of my ability to ensure I will be ok in maths next year (just doing basic revision and finishing any class notes that I hadn't completed at the end of the year). But I did notice that my grades were slowly improving throughout the course of the year, I went from getting a flat B, to a B+ and finally to an A- (thankfully, my A+ in the PSMT was able to bring my overall grade up to an A-). But I've had an amazing teacher this year - while I studied extension mathematics last year, my grades had significantly dropped (from A/A+ in grade 9 maths down to flat Bs in grade 10 ext. maths). So this year my grades have improved again, even though the content is more difficult. Hopefully, I will continue improving next year I've taken note of some areas where I am losing marks in exams and it usually comes down to: 1) not reading the question correctly and thus not answering it fully or taking it in the complete wrong direction, 2) simplification after finding a derivative (for some reason I suck at this), and 3) just silly mistakes.

Once I get over my performance anxiety and just chill I think that will help a lot (its weird, but I was so relaxed during the end of year exam that I was actually enjoying it. I found the questions really fun and interesting)

The "what if?" questions are one of the most beautiful and cursed things in the human mind.

In your case, it probably would be better if you focused a bit more on improvement rather than what could go wrong. (Not saying don't have these thoughts, but try to think of ways that you can use them to improve your teaching/ mathematical ability e.g. your question of "What if I don't understand it enough to explain it to my students?" could be paired with "But also, what can I do productively about that to resolve the issue?".) Bad and unfortunate things happen, but take it as a lesson or a mistake to be fixed. While positive thinking won't fix everything, it will be able to curb some of the worry and distress (as in negative stress) it causes you. Hopefully, as you go through life, you'll find that focusing on the negative "what if?"s really doesn't help and doing something about it becomes a lot more effective.   

Yeah, I have to agree with you here. One of my new year resolutions is to practice positive self-talk and to be able to deal with any negative thoughts that do pop up (like as you were saying, twisting them into positives and fuel for motivation).

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to reply I greatly appreciate it

[Aaron]

This I'll reserve for someone more knowledgeable about the education area, like Aaron (a current Victorian maths/ IT teacher).

While I am a teacher, I know when something is outside of my knowledge so I won't go too much into detail because I could be totally misleading you. What I will say though, is based on my own research on the UQ website (specifically looked at the BEd/Maths as you stated), you have to specialise in the generalist Maths teaching area as part of the degree (and then take Adv maths as well?).

If it's anything like Victoria, you take the generalist Maths area and try to convince an employer that you are capable of teaching x or y. I will say this again and this has stuck with me ever since my teaching degree: Your degree enables you to be a teacher of students, not a teacher of a x specialist subject. The method areas are kind of like majors where they say what you are an expert in, but often you are required to go outside of your areas at some point in your career especially in the government systems where funding is tight.

In Victoria, teachers of the higher level maths (e.g. methods or specialist mathematics) have Maths as a teaching method and they have demonstrated competency through academic studies at uni OR experience / ability through employment. There's no teaching method explicitly for each of the Year 11/12 maths, it's one broad method area.

As a side note, you can actually do Psych and Maths. I'd look into that more if you are sold on these two areas. Are you able to do two method areas in Queensland? The combination in Vic is rare but I've seen it before. Personally i'd be deciding on two things:
a) Whether teaching is a certain career move for you.
b) What you want to do more out of Advanced Maths or Psych. If it was me, i'd choose Adv Maths purely because the demand for maths teachers is significant and I think it'll give you an edge. Psych, not so much. But it would give you variety.... so this really would be a personal decision for you. I know as a current teacher having two different areas for me (maths and IT) is really important and allows them to balance each other out. I can't see myself teaching just one discipline (although at times it'd probably be easier lol)

Just be very careful when interpreting these degrees. You wouldn't want to enrol in it with an incorrect interpretation only to get a shock when you realise it's something different.

Perhaps you can do all of these things you mention in your post... but again, i'm not an expert in this area so I won't try to mislead you. I'd have a chat with somebody in Education at UQ (perhaps send an email?) to see what they say. Another contact would be the Queensland College of Teachers (https://www.qct.edu.au/) who are the registration body and govern all of the entry requirements etc. I remember when I had queries about my method areas, I contacted them (VIT, the equivalent in victoria) and they clarified it for me pretty easily.

[K.Smithy]

While I am a teacher, I know when something is outside of my knowledge so I won't go too much into detail because I could be totally misleading you. What I will say though, is based on my own research on the UQ website (specifically looked at the BEd/Maths as you stated), you have to specialise in the generalist Maths teaching area as part of the degree (and then take Adv maths as well?).

Yeah, I was rather confused about that. I would have assumed that if you took Adv maths as a teaching area you would be able to teach all levels of secondary mathematics and thus would not need to specialise in general maths as a teaching area.

If it's anything like Victoria, you take the generalist Maths area and try to convince an employer that you are capable of teaching x or y. I will say this again and this has stuck with me ever since my teaching degree: Your degree enables you to be a teacher of students, not a teacher of a x specialist subject. The method areas are kind of like majors where they say what you are an expert in, but often you are required to go outside of your areas at some point in your career especially in the government systems where funding is tight.

Many of my teachers have also told me this. My psych teacher, for example, also teaches year 6 music - she doesn't have any training in music education, but she did play cello in a youth orchestra so they were convinced she could teach year 6 music. For myself, however, I would just like to be as informed as possible regarding the subjects I teach. It would give me a lot more confidence in my ability to teach effectively. That's pretty much the only reason why I want to study so many courses.

In Victoria, teachers of the higher level maths (e.g. methods or specialist mathematics) have Maths as a teaching method and they have demonstrated competency through academic studies at uni OR experience / ability through employment. There's no teaching method explicitly for each of the Year 11/12 maths, it's one broad method area.

I guess my question here is: is the mathematics you teach in the classroom easier than what you learnt at uni? (I don't know if this makes sense, but I've heard a couple times that at uni what you will cover is more complex than what you will need to teach in the classroom - is that correct?)

As a side note, you can actually do Psych and Maths. I'd look into that more if you are sold on these two areas. Are you able to do two method areas in Queensland? The combination in Vic is rare but I've seen it before.

By "two method areas" are you talking about specialising in two subjects within the education degree? If so, yes. Usually you can. However, I'm pretty sure if you choose physics as one teaching area then you have to choose maths as your second. This is where I get a bit confused, because I would love to specialise in advanced maths, but to do that I think I might have to choose general maths as my seconds subject? (I'm not too sure - I am planning to go to the UQ open day next year, so I will be able to ask questions about course structure and stuff then).

Personally i'd be deciding on two things:
a) Whether teaching is a certain career move for you.
b) What you want to do more out of Advanced Maths or Psych. If it was me, i'd choose Adv Maths purely because the demand for maths teachers is significant and I think it'll give you an edge. Psych, not so much. But it would give you variety.... so this really would be a personal decision for you. I know as a current teacher having two different areas for me (maths and IT) is really important and allows them to balance each other out. I can't see myself teaching just one discipline (although at times it'd probably be easier lol)

a) I was interested in taking up a career in theoretical physics, but there is no demand for it in Australia. Now I am 100% content with my decision to go into education - it is something I am extremely passionate about. Can I ask you a teaching related question? How rewarding is this career? Do you enjoy it?

b) Yeah, that is one of the reasons I wanted to teach maths and science (also, I just don't like any other subjects). I think there might be a bit more of a demand for psych teachers in QLD compared to Victoria though, because it is a new subject and not many teachers are familiar with the content. But idk.

How many teaching areas do teachers in Victoria usually have? Is it just one? Because in QLD there are teachers who teach 3/4 subjects (at my school anyway)

Just be very careful when interpreting these degrees. You wouldn't want to enrol in it with an incorrect interpretation only to get a shock when you realise it's something different.

haha yes, I'm making sure to read all the information about the degrees and courses I want to do - hopefully there won't be any nasty surprises

Perhaps you can do all of these things you mention in your post... but again, i'm not an expert in this area so I won't try to mislead you. I'd have a chat with somebody in Education at UQ (perhaps send an email?) to see what they say. Another contact would be the Queensland College of Teachers (https://www.qct.edu.au/) who are the registration body and govern all of the entry requirements etc. I remember when I had queries about my method areas, I contacted them (VIT, the equivalent in victoria) and they clarified it for me pretty easily.

Awesome, thank you!


Thank you so much! Your response is super helpful

[AngelWings]

Yeah, I've had quite a wild ride these past couple of years figuring out what I want to do - but I'm very content with my decision to go into secondary education Now its just all the little things I need to get sorted - i.e. what courses I want to do, etc.

That's great! 

Congratulations! Do you find that it is how courses are structured at uni that has helped? Or maybe having a different mindset or access to more resources?

I think it might be the structure uni has, as I found that I didn't quite change my mindset, nor did I access more resources (although I could've, had I the time to do so). 

I'm definitely quite motivated to perform at my best - I'm also trying to utilise these Christmas holidays to the best of my ability to ensure I will be ok in maths next year (just doing basic revision and finishing any class notes that I hadn't completed at the end of the year). But I did notice that my grades were slowly improving throughout the course of the year, I went from getting a flat B, to a B+ and finally to an A- (thankfully, my A+ in the PSMT was able to bring my overall grade up to an A-). But I've had an amazing teacher this year - while I studied extension mathematics last year, my grades had significantly dropped (from A/A+ in grade 9 maths down to flat Bs in grade 10 ext. maths). So this year my grades have improved again, even though the content is more difficult. Hopefully, I will continue improving next year I've taken note of some areas where I am losing marks in exams and it usually comes down to: 1) not reading the question correctly and thus not answering it fully or taking it in the complete wrong direction, 2) simplification after finding a derivative (for some reason I suck at this), and 3) just silly mistakes.

Congrats on the improvement! It's really good that you've noted where your mistakes lie, as that'll help to rectify them. Reflection and evaluation will be key skills - both as a (future) teacher and as a student.

[Aaron]

Yeah, I was rather confused about that. I would have assumed that if you took Adv maths as a teaching area you would be able to teach all levels of secondary mathematics and thus would not need to specialise in general maths as a teaching area.

You'll need to clarify that. We do have a "double method" in Maths here in Vic but from what I gather it is not an absolute necessity to teach the senior maths.

I guess my question here is: is the mathematics you teach in the classroom easier than what you learnt at uni?

Yes. I can say that with certainty. Like I have stated in many other posts when people query teaching as a career, knowing your content is only a small component of the job. It is essentially a vocation where the way you teach is the actual focus. I know my mathematical content extremely well but if I don't know how to teach it to students half my age, then it becomes a major issue. I personally think if maths is something you want to teach, it is valuable to get as much maths at uni in as you can so you can a) be able to respond to the challenges that students have and b) future proof yourself for any changes to curriculum in the future, particularly with a focus on senior mathematics.

Can I ask you a teaching related question? How rewarding is this career? Do you enjoy it?

It's a very demanding job. Lots of unpaid overtime. You hear often those that are misinformed have a sook because teachers get their "12 weeks of holidays" but in essence it's time in lieu for all the overtime teachers have to do throughout the school year. Especially in the first few years of teaching, it is extremely difficult but gets easier as you learn.

It's so rewarding. I also can say that with certainty. To do well you have not have pay as the first consideration on your mind and you have to like kids (clearly). You have to be somebody who wants to make a real impact. I reckon I spend about half my day interacting with students outside the scope of my disciplines. I'm basically half teacher half carer (keeping in mind I am primarily a lower secondary teacher - years 7 to 9, and that's the way I want to keep it). Often you're seen as a third parent (or even *the* parent) to some of these kids. I know some cases where kids see the teachers more than their parents. I feel extremely privileged to be interacting and building relationships with the kids that I teach on a daily basis. I go out on camps, excursions, etc. and I will tell you it beats a 9-5 desk job, hands down.

You won't last if you can't: handle pressure, build relationships, and be versatile. I walk into work every day not knowing what will happen. Sure we have timetables and all that, but things happen!

How many teaching areas do teachers in Victoria usually have? Is it just one? Because in QLD there are teachers who teach 3/4 subjects (at my school anyway)

Two for secondary teachers. Some are "double method" areas (e.g. Music, Maths) where you only focus on one specific area but learn this in depth. Some common combinations are: English/Humanities, Maths/Science, PE/Science... for obvious reasons. For me, I am qualified to teach Maths and Computing (aka IT and Digital Technologies).

Any other Q's, feel free to let me know (obviously within the scope of what I can answer!)

[K.Smithy]

Yes. I can say that with certainty. Like I have stated in many other posts when people query teaching as a career, knowing your content is only a small component of the job. It is essentially a vocation where the way you teach is the actual focus. I know my mathematical content extremely well but if I don't know how to teach it to students half my age, then it becomes a major issue. I personally think if maths is something you want to teach, it is valuable to get as much maths at uni in as you can so you can a) be able to respond to the challenges that students have and b) future proof yourself for any changes to curriculum in the future, particularly with a focus on senior mathematics.

Awesome, so if I can just survive learning maths a uni for 4 years she'll be right And I completely agree! I've met so many really really intelligent teachers - I'm talking geniuses(!) - but some struggled to communicate concepts. 

It's a very demanding job. Lots of unpaid overtime. You hear often those that are misinformed have a sook because teachers get their "12 weeks of holidays" but in essence it's time in lieu for all the overtime teachers have to do throughout the school year. Especially in the first few years of teaching, it is extremely difficult but gets easier as you learn.

It's so rewarding. I also can say that with certainty. To do well you have not have pay as the first consideration on your mind and you have to like kids (clearly). You have to be somebody who wants to make a real impact. I reckon I spend about half my day interacting with students outside the scope of my disciplines. I'm basically half teacher half carer (keeping in mind I am primarily a lower secondary teacher - years 7 to 9, and that's the way I want to keep it). Often you're seen as a third parent (or even *the* parent) to some of these kids. I know some cases where kids see the teachers more than their parents. I feel extremely privileged to be interacting and building relationships with the kids that I teach on a daily basis. I go out on camps, excursions, etc. and I will tell you it beats a 9-5 desk job, hands down.

I have so much respect for teachers - I know teachers who work for hours and hours outside of school to help students, mark tests/assignments, prepare lessons... And despite some students not being the nicest, they always walk into school with a big smile on their face. It saddens me whenever I here students talking smack about teachers - most of the time they don't realise how much energy teachers put into their jobs and how much they actually care about their students. I have so many teachers to thank for just being awesome human beings and helping me out (whether it be with school work or just life in general). I aspire to make a difference in the lives of students, just as many of my teachers have done for me.

You won't last if you can't: handle pressure, build relationships, and be versatile. I walk into work every day not knowing what will happen. Sure we have timetables and all that, but things happen!

Surely not knowing what will happen brings some excitement into your life
Hopefully 2020 will present many opportunities for me to see if I can handle pressure, build relationships and be versatile.

Any other Q's, feel free to let me know (obviously within the scope of what I can answer!)

Thanks again for taking the time out of your day to reply