Teaching and Beekeeping

[Ely]

Hi Folks. I'm hoping to start a PGCE in September in Primary teaching. I'm a little late at the the age of 37 but I recently returned from teaching in Thailand and I enjoyed it. I'm just wondering if there are any teachers on the forum. How do you manage your time between teaching, planning lessons, marking homework and all of you beekeeping duties? I'd like to pick up beekeeping again but I'm unsure if I'll have the time. Group speaking is still something I need to get used to . Hope you're all well and your bees are doing fine.

 

[pargyle]

Welcome back to the UK ! I'm not a teacher but I'm married to a retired teacher, my son in law is a college VP, my niece is an infant school teacher and I come from a family who were all teachers (Father, Grandmother, two aunts, cousin). Even my Mum was a school secretary !

So .. the honest answer is .. it's going to be tough - the pressures on teachers in the UK these days is intense. Even the holidays are impacted with classroom organisation and planning and evenings and weekends (outside of the early starts and late finishes) are equally taken up with lesson preparation and marking work.

If anyone comes along and says 'you have the long holidays' then you are bound to light a bonfire under any teachers on here or their relatives.

There's always the old adage of 'give a busy man a job and it will get done' so I'm sure you will fit it in somehow but I'd perhaps try and pursuade the school you finally work at to include beekeeping in their curriculum - you may have more chance to indulge your hobby that way.

 

[B+.]

Hi Folks. I'm hoping to start a PGCE in September in Primary teaching. I'm a little late at the the age of 37 but I recently returned from teaching in Thailand and I enjoyed it. I'm just wondering if there are any teachers on the forum. How do you manage your time between teaching, planning lessons, marking homework and all of you beekeeping duties? I'd like to pick up beekeeping again but I'm unsure if I'll have the time. Group speaking is still something I need to get used to . Hope you're all well and your bees are doing fine.

My wife did a PGCE when she left GSK. She is now Head of Physics in a High school so that was quite a while ago. When I read your post to her she said "You're mad"! You won't have time for beekeeping!
She did a primary placement and said it was too much like being at home (we had young kids at the time). You'll probably teach 5-6 different subjects each day so you'll have to do a lot of prep, especially since you won't have the resources to hand. Which means you have to be an expert in lots of different subjects.
She said to look for a SCITT PGCE so you spend more time in secondary school where you will get plenty of experience. You'll see a lot of difference teaching here than in Thailand (Government interference/bureaucracy) and lots of bad management (basically, its only PE teachers who have the time to do the things you have to do to proceed up the ladder so management is full of failed PE teachers in most schools - they have no idea about "hard" science and maths (STEM) subjects).
This is painting a pretty bleak picture so I hope it's not putting you off. She does say that she doesn't regret leaving pharma (so, I guess, that must have been pretty bad too ;-) ).
Good Luck.

 

[drdrday]

Hello Ely,
I did my PGCE (11-18) three years ago, although I didn't last beyond the first term when I actually started teaching (workload too great, lack of basic supplies or support from school, etc.).

I don't think I would have had too much of a problem keeping up with my beekeeping tasks during most of the PGCE. Teaching placements don't usually kick off until the beginning of October, when you won't need to be doing much with your bees anyway, and the start is pretty gradual.

The only really difficult point would be from the middle of April to the middle of June (although you would get the May half term holiday). During this time the number of lessons you will need to plan is at its greatest, and you will also need to spend time making sure that you are putting together your Record of Development (a collection of evidence of all that you have done that shows your understanding and steps towards the Teaching Standards). At the same time you might also have to juggle writing some 'Professional Investigations' if your PGCE course includes masters credits.

Despite all of this, I think if you're only keeping one or two hives you shouldn't be too hard pressed to spare them an hour or two at the weekend. It will probably give you a bit of much needed light relief!

Keeping up with your beekeeping once you're teaching full-time will be the real challenge! I certainly don't think I could have kept up with that. As a new teacher, having to plan every lesson as you go, the work is non-stop; every night of the week, and most of the weekend. At least it was for me as a secondary science teacher having to plan Biology, Chemistry & Physics lessons and practicals for 7 different years.

Obviously everyone's experience will be different, but for me I would have struggled with keeping bees at least until I had a couple of years of full-time teaching (and a whole lot of lesson plans) under my belt.

Hope that helps a little

 

[Jimmy]

Double post

 

[Jimmy]

Definitely possible. I'd agree with most of drdrday above and am also a secondary science teacher. I had several years teaching under my belt before starting beekeeping. Secondary does have some advantages over primary as my year 11 and year 13 classes leave by mid-May which reduces the teaching load.

How many hives do you currently have? And what other time commitments do you have? Young family, scout leader, caring for elderly relatives etc?
If it's a handful, should not be an issue IMHO. You might end up doing hive inspections when the time of day/weather is not ideal but needs must. As a PGCE and then an NQT your timetable will not be as full on as an experienced full time teacher. Starting with more world experience than a fresh faced 21 year old will also give you some personal organisational/logistics knowhow that won't reduce the workload but will help you manage it and put it in perspective. If you concentrate on what needs to be done for both work and the bees (rather than what is possible) that helps.

This article is worth reading with some handy hints about using time effectively:

http://www.hertsbees.org.uk/tips/bee-management/20-minute-beekeeper/

 

[Ely]

Thanks folks

 

[B+.]

Obviously everyone's experience will be different, but for me I would have struggled with keeping bees at least until I had a couple of years of full-time teaching (and a whole lot of lesson plans) under my belt.

I think a lot depends on what subject you teach. If you teach a STEM or Language subject, these are shortage area and the salary looks attractive - but - the preparation workload for each class (particularly in the beginning) is enormous!
If you teach a subject that requires little/no preparation (e.g PE), you'll find it much easier especially if you can use the same prep-work for different classes in the same year-group.
IMHO, teachers walk on water and turn water into wine!

 

[pargyle]

IMHO, teachers walk on water and turn water into wine!

Massive understatement ! It saddens me that it's a profession that is madly undervalued both in terms of appreciation of what they do and what they are paid.

It also seems to me that there are some parents who look at school teachers as available to look after their kids from the crack of dawn until the last post-school activity/club has long since finished. My wife had parents of the children she taught who thought, because she was still working in the classroom, that it was fair game to leave collecting their children until long after they should have gone home. When confronted the retort on more than one occasion was 'well you are still here and being paid !' ... would that were the case.

The other 'sh1T gripper' - "Why do you have to have Inset days after the holiday ? It means I have to find child care ...."

Yeh ... tough isn't it ?

All this and more to look forward to Ely ... credit to you for even considering teaching as a profession. The children are great .. seeing them develop and learn .. fantastic ... Parents ? ... you will have to contend with !

 

[masterBK]

I taught Biology in a secondary for a couple of years before moving into FE. Most teachers are very well organised and so can usually find the time to look after a few Hives. Inspections don't need to be more than 3 or 4 minutes per hive per week during the active season with possibly double or treble that if you have to do something like a demaree or pagden. Extract OSR during May half term and extract the rest during summer hols. Get Varroa treatment done late august before autumn term starts and if you use overall feeders holding over a gallon then feeding can be done in no more two or three hive visits. No need to open up beehives between middle of september and Easter hols apart from doing Oxalic in Xmas hols.

 

[B+.]

All this and more to look forward to Ely ... credit to you for even considering teaching as a profession. The children are great .. seeing them develop and learn .. fantastic ... Parents ? ... you will have to contend with !

When my wife was feeling quite low after a particularly shitty period, I bought her a little ornament to hang on her classroom wall. It read "Children are born with wings but, without a teacher, they will never learn to fly!".

 

[Ely]

Thank you for the insight B+ and others. I’ll not lie. I feel like running off back to my wife in Thailand! No pension or security though.

 

[B+.]

Thank you for the insight B+ and others. I’ll not lie. I feel like running off back to my wife in Thailand! No pension or security though.

There wont be one here either. The government has been robbing pension funds for years! The only happy teacher I know is one who already retired.

 

[Beefriendly]

. The government has been robbing pension funds for years! .

Got any proof for such a serious allegation.?

 

[Repwoc]

https://www.google.com/search?ei=Kq...hUKEwiikIb4w8XoAhUXEcAKHSMGAVMQ4dUDCAs&uact=5

 

[Erichalfbee]

Got any proof for such a serious allegation.?

Look at repwoc’s reply.
Now let’s move on.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Reading the replies and being from a family of teachers covering the 1940s to 1970s plus having a few years as a tutor/assessor for new electricians after a career in engineering at various factories and refineries I aren't entirely sure why so much negativity is being broadcast about lesson preparation and planning. An established and experienced teacher of "hard" science based subjects will find every class basically a repeat of the previous ones. To quote Montgomery Scott "ye cannae change the laws of physics" The challenge lies in the humans forming the class and identifying any struggling, discover the basic problem and add to the explanation. Be aware others might have the same problem but keep quiet.

 

[madasafish]

On topic.
Our Association's Training officer is a teacher.
He has begged/borrowed s/h equipment and free bees to set up hives at the school where he teaches (other teachers have done the same).
He organises training courses - and gets (persuades) suitably competent members to do the teaching at them.. Usually run in winter - lectures - and summer- real live experience.

In essence he trains less but organises training more-- and it appears to work..

(He of ourse is v busy in term time..(and still busy out of it)

 

[B+.]

Reading the replies and being from a family of teachers covering the 1940s to 1970s plus having a few years as a tutor/assessor for new electricians after a career in engineering at various factories and refineries I aren't entirely sure why so much negativity is being broadcast about lesson preparation and planning. An established and experienced teacher of "hard" science based subjects will find every class basically a repeat of the previous ones. To quote Montgomery Scott "ye cannae change the laws of physics" The challenge lies in the humans forming the class and identifying any struggling, discover the basic problem and add to the explanation. Be aware others might have the same problem but keep quiet.

That's an excellent point. However, if you teach across all three sciences (plus the maths that is required for science but isn't taught by the Maths department) across 3 or 4 year groups and however many streams your school has...plus the differentiation that has to be done for every class...you'll begin to see why that is no longer true.
My wife did that in all her previous jobs but...since she's a physics specialist now, she has less planning to do..that's the only reason she had the time to take on a more senior role. As a Medicinal Chemist - she taught, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Astronomy (plus extra Maths where necessary) - all the way up to A level (while also serving as an examiner for 2 different boards). Teaching today is a nighmare.....and now, with Covid-19...she has to do it all via online teaching tools that don't work at the volumes they're now having to cope with......plus....deal with the sad cases of children who've lost parents to Covid-19.
I'm sure, when this is all over, things will go back to much the same way as they were before - the most valuable members of our society being political footballs. We shouldn't let this happen. We owe them all far more than we can ever pay them for!


My apologies to the OP - beekeeping has been lost in most of these posts. Perhaps because the truth is, as a teacher, there is no such thing as "free time".

 

[pargyle]

Reading the replies and being from a family of teachers covering the 1940s to 1970s plus having a few years as a tutor/assessor for new electricians after a career in engineering at various factories and refineries I aren't entirely sure why so much negativity is being broadcast about lesson preparation and planning. An established and experienced teacher of "hard" science based subjects will find every class basically a repeat of the previous ones. To quote Montgomery Scott "ye cannae change the laws of physics" The challenge lies in the humans forming the class and identifying any struggling, discover the basic problem and add to the explanation. Be aware others might have the same problem but keep quiet.

The OP is intending to be a primary school teacher .. so it's mostly all subjects to be taught. So there is an awful lot of planning required. The regular pupil assessments and monitoring can rarely take place in the classroom during teaching hours .. unlike secondary school teachers non-contact time is very limited as budgets don't permit a surplus of staff, class sizes of 30-35 are not uncommon and god forbid you should get a disruptive or special needs child to cope with in amongst this. Depending on the Head Teacher themes and projects can vary from year to year and a teacher could end up moving year group and all that material they have created has to go into store and a fresh set created and planned.

It's a whole different ball game to single subject teaching at secondary level ..

Plus put all this into the challenge of keeping 30+ six to eleven year olds under control, on track and motivated ... it's a bit like herding cats.

Teaching is a very rewarding profession, nobody would deny the satisfaction level from seeing the development of children as they progress under a teacher's guidance but I don't think there is a primary or infant school teacher in the land that doesn't spend hours outside of their official day working and who doesn't feel under pressure from a whole slew of factors.

Teachers are assessed and paid on performance and for taking on additional responsibility - so, want to earn more - you have to do more - inevitably on top of your classroom workload. Starting salary of about £22k and an average primary school teacher salary of £27,500 .. there's supposed to be a handful of 'super teachers' who could potentially earn £100k a year ... find me a Primary School head teacher who has the budget to pay a teacher this much - Unicorns !

It's not a pretty picture at present and one that has been getting progressively worse in this sector of education for decades. See what came out of a survey in 2019:

"Experienced teachers have a wealth of knowledge and skills to offer schools. However, complaints of high workloads, endless accountability and targets, along with insufficient financial reward for the hours in a working week, result in tired and stressed professionals, causing this expertise to be lost by them leaving the profession.

53 per cent of teachers are considering leaving teaching according to a recent YouGov poll, and it isn’t just experienced senior staff. 11,000 young teachers actually leave in training, an exodus that has tripled in the last six years and points to a terrible loss of energy and new talent into teaching."