College project I need your help!

[starlightgirl120]

I am doing a presentation on the pros and cons of teaching higher education. I was wondering if anyone who has experience with teaching higher education could please reply with what they feel are the pros and cons of higher education. I really appreciate it! :)

[DarrenB]

By higher ed, do you mean college? If so you may want to address this to a different forum category since most viewers and posters here focus on middle and high school.

Darren B.
HelpingTeachersGrow . com

[starlightgirl120]

No I mean Middle school and highschool.

[MsCoffeeLover]

A few more specifics would be nice. What kinds of pros and cons are we talking about there? Just deciding what grade or level to teach is a pro/con process. The entire time we are school to become a teacher, we either have an idea of what audience we want to teach or figure out along the way.

With that said, I am a middle school teacher (7th grade). There are pros and cons within that grade, but in comparing it to high school is a different story. Eighth graders through high schoolers are punks to me. Typical behaviors for those ages are some behaviors I just don't want to deal with. All students have an attitude in some way, but I remember my teenage years well along with the attitudes, and that is just not for me.

Behaviors in middle school are funny. Sixth graders are still kind of cute and are still trying to please you a little bit. Seventh graders are quirky mix of everything, and I love it. There is something wrong with the 7th grade brain. Eighth graders, ugh...

During rotations, you get to spend time in a variety of classes. Second graders are so cute, try so hard, get so excited, etc. , but it is not for me.

Hours, planning times, student schedules and rotations are different also. There is no easy schedule in education. If you are lucky, you get to teach one prep at whatever level, but that isn't always the case.

It really is a personal preference, and I hope I gave you a helpful answer.

[jsfowler]

MsCoffeeLover...you took the words right out of my mouth

I teach 7th and 8th grade...

Pros...they can carry an intelligent conversation, they are "finding themselves", they are still teacher-pleasers, they are a mix of concrete and formal thinkers (seeing the transition is priceless!)

Cons...8th grade attitudes and "maturity", extra-curricular activities disrupt class time, too social

I never want to teach at any other grade level!! Elementary students are too clingy and immature. High school students are too social and way too mature. 6th grade and 8th grade are a stretch for me. In the words of Goldilocks, 7th grade is "just right"!

Middle school is not for everyone...Middle school teachers are different...and I am proud of it!!

[starlightgirl120]

The project is to see what teachers from any grade feel the pros and cons are. So any information is very helpful. Thank you!

[MsCoffeeLover]

jsfowler, you and I think a lot alike. Seventh graders are just a melting pot of something. I don't even really know what to call it. Personally, I think they are unique and quirky and a group of odd balls. All students have their own sets of quirks, but 7th graders as a group have uniqueness that just seems to separate them from the rest of the other grades.

Of course, I am speaking as a biased teacher, but 7th graders crack me up. It's like their brains are moving bicycle chains with each one having its own little kink in it. It just seems as though if you don't fit anywhere, you always fit in the seventh grade. I have always been kind of an oddball, so that just may be why I find these little jokers so endearing (most days)

I could deal with sixth graders if I had to. Eighth graders I flat out don't like and will not teach at that level.

However, if I had to choose between single gender classes, I would totally take classes of boys any day. Middle school girls, if not super sweet, can be really, really mean.

Sometimes the number of students you see in a day can be a good or bad thing. At the middle school level, you see a lot of kids every day all day long, and it can be overwhelming. At the lower levels, many folks either see the students all day long or rotate a class or two. I couldn't imagine spending an entire day or more than a class period with some of the students. If you teach more than one prep, you may see some of the same students twice. Ugh.

The little ones are too needy. They cry and whine and tell on each other and conflict resolution can be an all day long thing. It is a different kind of structure for those longer lessons.

However, seventh graders are far from perfect. Many don't like to do homework or classwork or write anything down or read for extended periods of time. They don't always use their time as well as they could, but that is one of the things they have to figure out. Sometimes a little effort really pains some of them.

[jsfowler]

Yes!! I have always said I would take a room full of boys over girls any day!!!! One year, I taught four class - 2 mixed, 1 boys, 1 girls. It was an interesting experiment.