More and more teachers these days are finding themselves dissatisfied with the conditions under which they work. And that inevitably leads to the question of what to do next. Many former teachers have opted to leave the country, with the added benefit of finding a warmer climate, in search of lucrative English language teaching gigs abroad. However, not everyone is keen to leave home for life in a strange land.
If you’re a teacher who wants to quit your school, the first dilemma is whether to look for a position in another school or sign up with an agency. Given the present climate of homogenisation in education, it’s unlikely that a new school will bring you much different from the one you’re at now, so the agency route is the choice of many.
It’s a difficult decision to make, whether or not to sign up with one of the many teaching agencies now operating. What are some of the pros and cons?
Working as an agency teacher may bring you a great level of freedom. You’re not tied to the administrative burden you will probably have in a staff position; if you don’t like a particular school you simply don’t accept another assignment there. And if you feel like a day or a week off, most teaching agencies will accept you telling them you’re simply not available on certain dates.
There are disadvantages too, of course. Not being involved in the on-going life of a school may bring you freedom, but it also takes away some of the satisfaction derived from a permanent teaching post. There’s no opportunity to watch students develop under your guidance, no sharing of victories. Perhaps even more importantly, there’s no year-round salary. This is the sticking point for many teachers considering leaving a permanent position. No matter how we try to justify it, the fact is that teachers work relatively short hours, have rather long holidays and are tolerably well paid.
There’s also the question of the quality of work you’ll find in through teaching agencies. Many of the supply jobs around are in schools that are understaffed or where teachers are particularly stressed and so take more than the average number of sick days. Do you necessarily want to spend all your working hours in schools where the conditions are bad? It’s a scenario that really bears thinking about.
The best advice that can be given to anyone considering moving to agency teaching is to speak to other teachers who are already working this way. It’s important to speak to a number of people as not everyone’s experience of agency work will be the same.
When you’ve gathered enough opinions about the pros and cons, sit down and analyse carefully whether you will really find yourself in a better position than you are in at present. The results of your comparisons may surprise you.