Case Study - Second Level Teacher

My name is Maeve O’Brien and I am a second-level teacher of Business, Economics, LCVP Link Modules, Enterprise and French in Limerick City.

Although I thought that I may like to pursue a career in teaching at a later stage, I wasn’t certain when choosing my CAO options in 1993. I really enjoyed studying Business and French at Leaving Certificate Level and consequently went on to do a degree in Business & French at the University of Limerick. I chose to do this course, knowing that I could go on to do a Graduate Diploma in Business Education afterwards to enable me to teach business subjects. I graduated from the University of Limerick with a 1st class honours degree in Business & French in 1997. I decided to apply for the Graduate Diploma in Business Education during the final year of my degree and was interviewed and offered a place on the course following the successful completion of a shorthand and typewriting skills test.

The Graduate Diploma year was very intensive but definitely worthwhile. I learned a lot in a short space of time and thoroughly enjoyed my teaching practice placements. I graduated with a 1st class honours Graduate Diploma in Business Education in 1998. While on teaching practice, I was approached by the Principal of my co-operating school to return and undertake some teaching in the following school year. I did not want to commit to the school unless I was absolutely certain that I would like to immediately pursue a career in teaching. I always felt that if I worked in industry for a period of time, the experience in international business would only stand to me in the classroom at a later stage. For a number of years, I worked for multinational companies in a variety of roles in areas such as marketing and customer support and as Management Board Assistant.

I undertook some part-time work in the College of Education at the University of Limerick during this time and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I started teaching full-time in September 2004 and have never looked back. My everyday duties and responsibilities include class preparation and delivery for class groups from 1st through to 6th year. This would include setting and correcting homework and liaising with the Learning Support Team within the school regarding students with special educational needs. As I am a Form Tutor, I meet with my class group every morning for roll call. I meet with parents at parent teacher meetings and other parents’ evenings held throughout the year in the school. I meet regularly with the other teachers in my subject areas. We work on subject planning and this would involve agreeing what areas of the course we will teach within a specified time frame. These meetings are invaluable as they enable the sharing of resources and ideas within a subject area. I also team teach a number of subjects including LCVP Link Modules and Transition Year Enterprise and work very closely with the other teachers in both of these subjects. I also work closely with other members of staff on whole school planning to develop policies in areas such as admissions, special needs education and health & safety.

No two days are the same in teaching and new challenges present themselves all the time. As a teacher I consider myself a mentor to young people of all abilities, having an ability to make a difference by encouraging my students to achieve to the best of their potential. Irish schools are continually changing and this requires a teacher to continually reflect on their own work and the quality of the relationships that they form with their students. I really enjoy interacting with my colleagues on a daily basis. I am actively involved in the Limerick Branch of the Business Studies Teachers’ Association of Ireland and really enjoy meeting with teachers from other schools in the area.

One of the benefits of teaching is that you have the time, particularly during the summer holidays, to pursue other areas of interest to you. There are many professional development opportunities on offer for practising teachers. I am currently pursuing a Masters in Education in Educational Mentoring at the University of Limerick and am thoroughly enjoying it. My thesis is based on the development of a mentoring programme for newly qualified teachers of the business subjects. The Masters is designed with practising teachers in mind, so has involved a combination of workshops at weekends and summer schools.

My advice to anybody interested in pursuing a career in teaching is to think carefully about whether you would like to pursue a full-time teaching degree or a non-education degree followed by a Higher Diploma postgraduate course. I am really happy I made the decision to leave industry for a job in teaching a number of years ago and look forward to a long, rewarding and challenging career.