Should I teach the young ones?

[Little3Dee]

I'm considering going back to school to finish my degree in early education (I'm 38 now). I'd like to teach Kindergarten or at least as young as possible. My preference is early education because I feel I'll be able to utilize my creative side with this age group.

My boyfriend teaches high school English. He works insanely long hours, barely sleeps and I watch him and wonder how he's going to keep up with this.

I may be delusional but I wonder if teaching younger children is as hard as the older ones? When I see how stressed he is it makes me question whether I should go into teaching at all! But I think maybe it will be easier with younger kids?

Any thoughts on this would be helpful! I wonder if I am going to go through everything that he is going through?

[Roswenth]

It depends a lot on the school, how crowded the classroom is, and whether or not you have an assistant. Having an assistant to help you put together projects and materials makes a world of difference. If you don't, and you have a crowded classroom, I think the workload can be very similar to any middle or high school teacher (I taught middle school for a year and preschool 4 years).

[Addict]

Little3Dee -

My wife teaches 4th grade - and for a reason. She would hesitate to teach anything 6th grade or older because of the puberty issues, etc. She has always claimed that in 4th grade the kids still young enough to love their teacher and school, and they are old enough to understand discipline and good behavior. She likes this balance.

[Little3Dee]

I guess I thought it would be easier - but then I realized he only teaches English and I would be teaching all subjects! I wonder if there is less homework to grade or if the lesson planning is any different?

[Roswenth]

I personally think lesson planning is much more difficult at the younger age groups because you have to plan very concrete activities, using a lot of references, and plan pretty much in 10-minute increments, even if you don't write all of it in the lesson plan. However, it probably evens out with the older students in grading homework.

To me, it all comes down to the age you enjoy the most. I prefer younger ones, because like Addict says, they think you're the bomb from the get-go. :D Older ones tend to me a lot more jaded, and you have to impress them at the beginning.

[Little3Dee]

Thanks for the tips! Yes I feel that I can relate better to younger children.

What about the student teaching part of it? Will I be student teaching just K-3 or will I be expected to student teach at higher grade levels?

[AW2245]

I think whatever way you cut it, teaching is a lot of work. I taught Pre-K for 4 years, and while I didn't have the grading of papers to do, the DAY wore-me-out! I wouldn't have had the energy to grade papers after working with them all day! Also, as someone else mentioned, with the young ones planning is a little more difficult because they can't read or write, so planning activities that are managable, educational, and fun is sometimes a challenge. I now teach 4th grade, which gives me more energy in the evenings because they are not so tiring, but I have a lot more paperwork to do - often working from 7am to 8pm with only a dinner break. And of course those not in the profession love to talk about how you work 8-3 and have all summer off - like it is a cake walk! As someone else said, teach what you love - that is the only way you can truly do a good job in teaching and survive! :eek:

As to student teaching, I would think you would not student teach in a grade that is higher than that you would be certified to teach. For example, if you will be certified to teach PK - 3, you shouldn't have a student teaching placment in any grade higher than 3rd grade.

Good luck! You can do it!

[barnume]

I am in my first year of teaching PK and I teach 3 and four year olds. I teach itinerantly, but did do my student teaching in a prek class that had a mix of 3 and 4 year olds. I was also very tired at the end of the day, but it was so rewarding. The thing I like about early childhood is that kids still like school. I feel like when they are older and school becomes more of a chore in some cases, that is bogs you down as a teacher. Dealing with parents can be a bit more frustrating since you see them more. There is more to plan, but if you integrate your curriculum you can use similar or the same materials to do more throughout the day. Also, if you believe in learning through playing for kindergarten and PK students you can teach more in center time than any other time instead of having a set activity for every subject. If you can use an emergent curriculum it is even better b/c students get to have a hand in what they learn. Of course you already have an idea of what you want them to leave your classroom knowing from plans, but if you can get your ideas from things the students say in class or become obviously interested in, it makes coming up with ideas and things more simple. I hope that this helps!

Also, I have a book called Creative Resources for the Early Childhood Classroom by Judy Hurr and Yvonne Libby Larson and it is what helped get me through student teaching. It has many lessons, themes, and bulletin board ideas. It might be a little expensive, but is a wonderful resource. Good luck!

[mkcornflower]

I also teach younger children. Granted it is on a much smaller scale as the rest of you (I homeschool), but I have 4 different grades and teach a 1yr old, 4yr old, 5yr old, and 7yr old. I've been teaching them since the oldest was 1 and I have gotten to LOVE it. :D It is very hard, since we make our own curriculum, to come up with fun, new ideas that can involve everyone with out it being too hard for the little ones and too boring for the bigger ones. But, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love to teach kids at this age because they appreciate it more. I have taught sunday school classes of 3-5yr olds on and off for 10 years and this is where my niche is. They are like little sponges that soak up everything you are teaching them and they love to learn. I think, for me, it would be harder to teach junior high and high school because by then, most kids have been burned out on learning, had bad teacher experiences, and overall hate school and the authority figures. It seems to me that this would be more challenging to try to get through to them and get them to learn anything. Maybe that's just me and my experiences as a high school student who saw how my teachers and the school were treated by less appreciative children.:confused:
Don't know if this will help you any, but it may give you some perspective on why Kindergarten teachers always seem so perky and bubbly and happy, and high school teachers (like your boyfriend) are so tired and drained.:p

[eyd]

Hello,

I read your post. I am glad to see that you would like to become a Kindergarten teacher. I worked in corporate America for 13 years before becoming a teacher. My former co-workers always ask me how I can handle teaching kindergarten. I always respond I rather deal with 5 year olds that don't know how to behave, then older kids who are purposely rude.

I have been teaching for six years and I taught kindergarten for five years. I have found it to be very rewarding. However, it is time-consuming, last year I had 51 students 25 in the morning and 26 in the afternoon and no aide. This year my afternoon group was eliminated and I only have 30 students in the morning and an aide for 40 minutes on Mondays.

It is always easier when you have an aide to help with projects or students who don't feel well. When I get home I find myself working on projects to make the next day go a lot quicker. Gradually as you spend time in Kindergarten some projects become easier for you to do with the students and that is when you incorporate new ones. Or you can change things around. The more time you dedicate to planning the smoother your classroom will run.

Sometimes I feel that I missing out on certain problems with students. But at the end of the year when they can read by themselves and they are more independent. I can honestly say I did my job.