Hmm, Interesting

Home

Chat

Blogs

Collection

Directory

Home : 2001 : November : 4

Hmm, Interesting
By Shiela

This is all interesting because I've been thinking about it a lot. After student teaching I decided I KNEW I wanted upper grades. As others have said, the lower grades are just not independent enough. You have to be in
charge of so much more. In upper grades we just post the assignment and the kids copy it. We make them be responsible for taking home notices and getting them signed. They have to keep work that is ongoing. In primary grades you have to be much more of a personal manager to make sure each kid gets all these things done. The kids also work on a given thing for like 10 minutes max, even

when you had to work an hour to plan it and prepare for it because the kids can't do any of that themselves. The upper grade kids want to help you, too. You end up with a lot fewer clerical and menial jobs to do because they want to do all of them when they finish their work. Also, you put the responsibility for learning more in the hands of the kids. Don't understand your math homework? Come in and get help at lunch ... it's your responsibility. In primary grades it seems more like it's the teacher's job to bend over backwards and be responsible to police each kid's learning.

Overall, I like upper grades for this reason. However, one thing I hate about my state is that the classes have 20 kids max up to third grade and up to 36 kids in 4th, 5th, and 6th. Everyone thinks you're crazy to teach a grade that has 36 kids, and I can't say I disagree with them. With team teaching I have 64 kids. Primary teachers have 18 or 20. But, like I said, I count on them to be a lot more responsible than any 2nd grader, so that puts a lot less work on me.

The one thing I hate about upper grades is the discipline issues. I teach fifth grade, and it's really a point where you see the kids totally dividing. As somebody said, the ability levels get way farther and farther apart between the high and low kids. Also, hormones are raging. For kids from kind, supportive families, this is a positive things. The kids are mature and outgoing. For kids who have terrible home lives, the raging hormones translate into totally out-of-control behavior.

Sometimes I wonder if I want to switch grades. But I had some experiences with younger kids recently during special classes I taught, and I think I'll stick with the older ones. Point is, in all grades you take the good with the bad. Your job is to find the ones with the most good for you.