1. How many hours do you spend teaching each day and how many hours prepping?


I am part-time Performing Arts so will answer in my capacity as a specialist, as well as when I was a f/t teacher.
I teach 6 lessons at 45 mins each and get 30 mins prep time each day. I get to school before 8 on the 2 days I work (and did that when I was f/t -if I was later than 8 I felt like I was running late!) and now my first class is at 9:30 so I get an hour and half to prep. I then stay back after school for meetings one day a week until 5:30 and on the days with no meetings am usually there until 4:30-5 depending on how much I have going on.
As a f/t teacher it would vary but usually around the same. You generally get around 3 hours a week of APT (free blocks) while kids have ART etc. so you can photocopy and prep. It's pretty full on but still great. I also do a fair bit of planning at home on top of all this and when I was f/t would do correction at home.

2. At what point in your course did you start in the classroom and were you thrown in at the deep end or was it a gradual immersion?
Uni's tend to ease you in - first lot of rounds is observation but I would recommend getting in there and get involved as much as you can - you may not "teach" a lesson but don't sit back and do nothing either - the more you get involved in all aspects of rounds the better off you will be! As you progress through the course you take on more and more until 4th year where you are expected to take full control of lessons and behaviour - with the teacher there all the time helping you of course.

3. How easy was it to find a job as a newly-qualified teacher?
I was lucky because the school I did my rounds at gave me a job - I know some wonderful teachers who found it difficult though so it varies depending on where you are and what vacancies are like.

4. What's good/bad about it?
Good - holidays, making a difference to kids lives (sounds corny but true - best thing I have done in my years of teaching was running a breakfast club for kids who were coming to school with empty bellies - that was ace but still sad to see) I love being a specialist and running my own program but it's not for everyone.
Bad - kids who are difficult, parents who are difficult, long hours, not being recognised for a job well done at times, the pay isn't great, huge curriculum expectations at times, bureaucracy is at it's worst at times at schools but even with all that it is a wonderful job.