There are many benefits of being a CRT after graduating. It can help new teachers enter the profession gradually. In the first few years graduate teachers are learning how to teach and manage a classroom.
When you first start teaching you are getting up to speed with school life and learning the curriculum. This is difficult enough then there is there are the demands of full-time teaching as well, meetings, reports, parent teacher conferences, etc, etc. On top of that they are trying to become fully registered with the VIT.
This can be overwhelming. Graduate teachers are very keen and want to take on the world, but they can burn out quickly without the right support. Starting as a CRT will give them the ability to hone their classroom management skills and decipher a thousand acronyms. It will help them understand the varying demands of different sectors - Government, Independent and Catholic schools.
They can then decide which suits them and work towards getting a position in one of the schools they are at. This gives them a clear advantage in the long run, they get to see different schools in action. Then make a decision about what is the right fit for them. Generally, our graduate teachers secure positions in a school they have been to through our agency. They are then more likely to stay for a longer period of time and enjoy their teaching.
The highlights of working as a CRT
We spoke to a number of our recent graduate CRTs to get their perspective on their first year of teaching. One said, as the mother of a new child, casual relief teaching suited her needs perfectly.
Another said he wanted to work out which school he liked before taking a full time position. His thinking has now changed as he really enjoys being a CRT and is going to continue for another year.
One of our CRTs in her second year added that she had the opportunity as a CRT to try out lesson plans on a variety of classes, and learn how to adapt them for different occasions.
What our experienced teachers think
Our experienced teachers agree, there are huge benefits of being a CRT after graduating and most graduate teachers should do at least 12 months of CRT work before committing to a school. They have the time to work out their classroom management skills, and find their feet.
Working out your way of teaching is difficult, being a CRT can help graduate teachers find out what works for them. How to manage the classroom, then they can work on the curriculum.
Dee also makes sure she arrives at a school early. ‘Also keep in mind that regardless of what school you're in, there are certain things that are just standard across the board as far as teaching goes. [For example] children safety is always a priority no matter what school you're in.'
Val says that a benefit of casual relief teaching is the opportunity to try out lessons on a variety of classes and learn how to adapt them for different occasions. As a teacher, we often adapt our lesson plans to suit the class we are teaching. Being a CRT gives you the opportunity to try out different lessons on different students. It also gives less experienced teachers the ability to see how more experienced teachers set up their curriculum.
Overall there are many benefits of being a CRT after graduating and we encourage all teachers to follow this path. It's like a gap year and will help get teachers read for full time teaching.
For more information about teaching in your first year check out our full guide - The Complete Casual Relief Teachers Guide
