middle school

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Home : 2003 : January : 23

middle school
By teach6

I am currently in my 2nd year in 6th grade in a Middle School, after having taught 5th for a long time in an elementary school. I had taken some extra credential work to get a Middle School certification. These are my thoughts:
1.
You need to make sure you and your other grade level people have a 'common planning time'--a true Middle School concept. We do not,because the principal doesn't want to take the extra study hall. It leads to a lot of miscommunication or no communication between the 6 of us.
2. There is some more prep, but the paperwork seems endless....65 essay questions on a test X 4

essays takes me longer than what I had in 5th.
3. Since we switch classes every 50 minutes or so, there are times when I feel like I am herding cattle, rather than truly getting to know the kids. I miss the rapport I had with my own class, even though there are times I feel like I touch more students....just not for very long.
4. Change is always good...for me, not in the way I thought. I know now for certain I am a true elementary teacher. I miss not doing units,reading and writing about what it is I am studying about in Science,reading novels on the same topic,etc. If you had common planning time, that would be more possible. However, try writing projects like books, fables, etc with 65 students. It seems endless.
5. Sometimes the logistics of a large group prevent you from doing things. Arranging field trips for only my 3 sections of something and not everyone can prevent me from doing it.
6. You have to be organized. Do you remember who left 5th hour and who left 3rd hour? Who handed what in???
7. No recess is a dream. Moving around from class to class keeps them happy, but woe is me if you are the disorganized student. A true nightmare.

Good luck in your decision. I left my old school because of a couple of the personnel, but I would go back in a minute. Change is good, but I have found that the extra prep doesn't make up for feeling close to my kids.....even after all these years.