Profile: Sarah Johnson, music teacher
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Sarah studied at King’s from 2005-2008 and completed a BMus.
What did you do on leaving King's?
Teaching Music at Secondary School level had always been my inspiration for continuing in education, and upon graduating from King's I immediately took on a teaching post at the young age of 21 (just 2 years older than some of my pupils!). It was through this vocational method that I studied to become qualified. I completed a GTP rather than the traditional PGCE as this suited my learning style better (what better way to learn to teach than to actually do it?) but many opt for the PGCE as it provides a slower integration into classroom teaching.
What made you decide to do teaching?
As corny as it sounds, I have always wanted to teach. It is one of the only careers that allows you to actively pursue your love of being an academic whilst inspiring young people to love your subject as much as you do. In fact I am completing a Masters in Education alongside my career. Emparting wisdom and knowledge really is the greatest gift you can give, and to continue gaining it yourself is really wonderful.
What's been good about it?
An amazing part of the career is seeing the development of the pupils, and seeing the sense of achievement they can get on a regular basis from your input. You become very attached to the pupils and it is surprising the lengths you will go to make sure that they are happy, healthy, safe and enjoying everything they do. To me, being a form tutor has been such an amazing experience for just those reasons.
What's surprised you about it?
Teaching allows me not only to pass on my knowledge of a subject, but also to add to the development of children on a much larger scale. I have discovered that my subject teaches much more than just an ability to play or write music but that it goes a long way to making pupils well rounded individuals; providing some of them with stability that they may not have in other areas of their lives. That makes the career so very rewarding. Everyday is an opportunity, and every lesson of every day is so different because the pupils make it that way... its difficult to get bored in this career!
What would you change about the job?
The long hours! People have the preconceived notion that its an easy job; after all teachers finish as 3 o'clock, and what could be better than a career that has 13 weeks paid holiday a year? WRONG. Most days I work for roughly 12 hours, and I work 6 days a week. The 7 hours of the school day are taken up with teaching, running extra-curricular clubs, dealing with rewards and sanctions, and phoning home to parents/carers... this can really feel as if it eats into the time that you need to actually get your work done! The report writing alone in a subject such as music where you invariably see the pupils for one hour a week and have 6-8 classes in each year group is extremely difficult and time consuming (as is planning and writing lesson plans, creating resources to make your lessons fun and innovative, creating music for extra-curricular clubs, planning trips, organising concerts... the list is endless). Needless to say the holidays never end up being just that, they are more of an opportunity to catch up.
Where do you think this job takes you?
You can progress throughout the career within the school, taking posts such as Head of Music, or Director of Creative Arts, alternatively you can follow the pastoral route and become a Head of Year, Deputy Head Teacher, Assistant Head Teacher or eventually a Head Teacher. There are opportunities to train teachers, or you can progress to many other types of teaching, such as lecturing. There are so many things you can do that it would be counter-productive to stay still in a career such as this!
What did you do on leaving King's?
Teaching Music at Secondary School level had always been my inspiration for continuing in education, and upon graduating from King's I immediately took on a teaching post at the young age of 21 (just 2 years older than some of my pupils!). It was through this vocational method that I studied to become qualified. I completed a GTP rather than the traditional PGCE as this suited my learning style better (what better way to learn to teach than to actually do it?) but many opt for the PGCE as it provides a slower integration into classroom teaching.
What made you decide to do teaching?
As corny as it sounds, I have always wanted to teach. It is one of the only careers that allows you to actively pursue your love of being an academic whilst inspiring young people to love your subject as much as you do. In fact I am completing a Masters in Education alongside my career. Emparting wisdom and knowledge really is the greatest gift you can give, and to continue gaining it yourself is really wonderful.
What's been good about it?
An amazing part of the career is seeing the development of the pupils, and seeing the sense of achievement they can get on a regular basis from your input. You become very attached to the pupils and it is surprising the lengths you will go to make sure that they are happy, healthy, safe and enjoying everything they do. To me, being a form tutor has been such an amazing experience for just those reasons.
What's surprised you about it?
Teaching allows me not only to pass on my knowledge of a subject, but also to add to the development of children on a much larger scale. I have discovered that my subject teaches much more than just an ability to play or write music but that it goes a long way to making pupils well rounded individuals; providing some of them with stability that they may not have in other areas of their lives. That makes the career so very rewarding. Everyday is an opportunity, and every lesson of every day is so different because the pupils make it that way... its difficult to get bored in this career!
What would you change about the job?
The long hours! People have the preconceived notion that its an easy job; after all teachers finish as 3 o'clock, and what could be better than a career that has 13 weeks paid holiday a year? WRONG. Most days I work for roughly 12 hours, and I work 6 days a week. The 7 hours of the school day are taken up with teaching, running extra-curricular clubs, dealing with rewards and sanctions, and phoning home to parents/carers... this can really feel as if it eats into the time that you need to actually get your work done! The report writing alone in a subject such as music where you invariably see the pupils for one hour a week and have 6-8 classes in each year group is extremely difficult and time consuming (as is planning and writing lesson plans, creating resources to make your lessons fun and innovative, creating music for extra-curricular clubs, planning trips, organising concerts... the list is endless). Needless to say the holidays never end up being just that, they are more of an opportunity to catch up.
Where do you think this job takes you?
You can progress throughout the career within the school, taking posts such as Head of Music, or Director of Creative Arts, alternatively you can follow the pastoral route and become a Head of Year, Deputy Head Teacher, Assistant Head Teacher or eventually a Head Teacher. There are opportunities to train teachers, or you can progress to many other types of teaching, such as lecturing. There are so many things you can do that it would be counter-productive to stay still in a career such as this!
