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How did you choose your students?

Horhang

Thinker
Joined
Sep 6, 2017
Messages
158
I am an 8th grade Science teacher. In my interactions with both HS and Elementary teachers we all find that we cannot understand how the others can teach “that age.” What I have come to think is that teachers very early in their career find that age group they feel most comfortable teaching and stay there. I think this is especially true of MS and HS teachers where they can move between the two levels, but almost never do once they have been teaching for any length of time. Elementary teachers, at least in CA are mostly limited to the k-6 grades, but even there tend to stick to general groupings: k-3 and 4-6 in my experience, and don’t like moving out of their preferred set.
I am wondering, those that teach, or have taught, how did you decide what level you wanted to teach at. Probably more directed at MS and HS teachers, as it is subject specific and the choice of grade level is open, though subject specific, but also for Elem teachers where subjects are common, but grade levels are to some degree open to movement?
 
Taught all the sciences at one point or another (except Astronomy as no school/system I taught in had a yearlong Astronomy course). It was a segment of general science so the equivalent usually of a quarter. (Florida/ Pasco and Orange counties certified in all sciences k-12 as well as Library Science/Librarian)
 
By the by, when I taught as a sub I frequently taught 3-6 and had no trouble. Of course it helps a lot that I like kids and they mostly tend to like me.
 
I'm doing calculus and analytical geometry out of Earl and Swokowski's college book to a nine year old. The eight year old sits for the trigonometry but doesn't know calculus so he does the trig functions on Microsoft Excel.

We are nearly done with our original objectives. The nine year old was reading at the college level a year ago.

With the exception of math, school has evolved into all student-directed learning. They propose what they're going to do and know the kinds of things we think are acceptable.

So they get up between 10am and 2pm depending on who is having a growth spurt, and first rule of the day is read a book. They say "good morning" handing over a book.

The rest of the day they propose what they're doing. We are editors. Speech critics. Source verification. Music critics. MMA or skating coaches. Apprentice work on equipment or making calculations is always a standing offer.

School is every day. However long we feel, and whatever Mom and Dad are up to on the homestead, home production, whatever kind of contract we are on, that is school.

They do not seem inclined to get up at 7 am and hike down to the road at twenty below zero to attend a system that scored 50th place out of 50 states. Alaska is dead last in reading and 47th in science. Our local school is worse than the state average.

We figure scoring ten years above grade level is good for now, I mean compared to last place in the country. So there's no crisis necessitiating changes to our approach. Just lay back with a big Bob Marley Fattie, metaphorically.
 
I tutor college kids in finance. I could almost certainly qualify for some high school classes like Algebra and Civics, but I would really rather not deal with that age group. Too many of them are being forced by their parents to get a tutor, With the college kids you know they have opted in. They're not perfect of course; a lot of them want me to do the work for them and resist the Socratic method.
 
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