My first time doing observations I was simply watching a VPK class at my daughter's old daycare. I knew before that I didn't always enjoy large groups of smaller children, but watching Mrs. L try and keep everything under control with a bunch of 4 and 5 year old kids sealed it for me. I love babies and toddlers, but there comes a point when little kids get to be too much. As a group it becomes even more frightening for me. They just don't understand basic concepts and often I imagine they will take off on some crazy, hyper adventure without alerting me first. Before you know it I will have completely lost control of my 17 small students. It's just too much pressure.
I used to say I wanted to teach middle school. Since my program covers K-8 I thought maybe going to the higher end would be what I needed since the littles were overwhelming. Let me tell you somethin': middle schoolers are sassy!
I don't want to fight for run of the class either, of course. So I've made a home and settled in the middle ground. All of December was spent observing and interacting with two 4th grade classes. There is a lot expected of a 4th grade teacher since that is when things like standardized testing starts. The teachers I've been hanging out with have mentioned how much extra work it is making sure your students meet the expected growth levels by the end of the year.
Mrs. B, who had been teaching over 25 years, told me that she would not recommend going into the 4th grade because of all the extra work involved. I completely understand what she was trying to say, but I really enjoyed working with the 4th grade students. I may have to just ignore her and give it my best!
After this winter break is over I plan to move on and explore 5th grade. I am imagining it being something just as stressful because although standardized testing scores don't matter as much (they do still matter), you're now focused on making sure your students can move onto being sassy middle schoolers. Now that, my friends, seems like a difficult burden to bear.
