There are still some things I miss about middle school (besides of course my students who I miss every day). I miss the early dismissal time most of all, and I miss watching my students grow in 7th and 8th grade. I also miss sponsoring clubs because the connection you build with those students is great, but I also am enjoying the time I have to focus on improving my instruction. Sometimes I miss having only one lesson plan to design, but the variety in my day in 5th grade definitely outweighs that idea. I would much rather teach more content and have more lesson plans! I was definitely in a "rut" for a while at the middle school level, and I am definitely one of those teachers that wants to keep improving and get better! Moving to elementary has helped tremendously! I couldn't be happier!
Recently, I had lunch with a friend who asked me the question, "What is the best thing about switching to elementary?" It got me thinking about all of the things I love about teaching elementary, and also some of the things I still miss about middle school. Here is what I've come up with: Border downloaded from Krista Walden on TpT here: I am SO HAPPY I made the switch to elementary! #1 on my list is definitely the main reason I wanted to move down a grade, and what a difference teaching more than just science has done for my teaching! I have grown so much as an educator just by expanding my content! There are still some things I miss about middle school (besides of course my students who I miss every day). I miss the early dismissal time most of all, and I miss watching my students grow in 7th and 8th grade. I also miss sponsoring clubs because the connection you build with those students is great, but I also am enjoying the time I have to focus on improving my instruction. Sometimes I miss having only one lesson plan to design, but the variety in my day in 5th grade definitely outweighs that idea. I would much rather teach more content and have more lesson plans! I was definitely in a "rut" for a while at the middle school level, and I am definitely one of those teachers that wants to keep improving and get better! Moving to elementary has helped tremendously! I couldn't be happier! If any of you have switched grades or levels, what differences did you love and miss?
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To say that switching schools was difficult is an understatement. It was incredibly hard to leave the only school I ever knew behind. I left my students, my colleagues, and my first classroom behind. (I know it seems weird to include the classroom, but there is something about that first classroom that is irreplaceable).
I have gone back to visit some of my old colleagues and students a few times since making the switch. Each time, it was a very out-of-body experience. Walking through my old hallways, past my old classroom was so surreal. It even made me feel a little sick to my stomach and guilty for leaving my old students behind. In many ways, it still felt more like "my school" than my current school, since it was the only school I knew for so very long. About a month ago I had a very real reminder of one of the reasons why I left, besides for my desire to go back to elementary school. It was a tremendously heart-wrenching experience. I realized after that moment even more how thankful I am to be working in the building I am now, and working with such incredible teachers and kids every day. Then, about a week ago, I had to head back to my old school to drop off some thank you letters from my students for an old student who volunteered to come to my class and speak. When I dropped the letters off and headed back to my car, I was shocked to realize that this was the first time that my old school didn't feel like "home" anymore. It was strangely unfamiliar to me all of a sudden. I was sad, yet relieved. I couldn't wait to head to my new school home, the home I belonged to now. When I walked through my doors, greeted by my wonderful morning custodian as I am every morning at 7:00 AM, I found myself grinning a little bigger than usual. Sure, it was hard to leave everything I once knew. It was hard to leave the only school home I knew behind. But, in the end, I have a new home now. I have new adventures and endeavors (see what I did there?) to conquer. My old school and kids will always hold a special place in my heart, and I will always, always, always be there for my former kids, since they will always be my students. But I now realize that it's okay to leave my old school behind. My new school is my home now, and boy, is it pretty spectacular. :) To say my life has changed a lot since switching to elementary would be the understatement of the year. I sometimes feel as if my life has changed more in the last few months than in the last several years. My schedule is different, the way I feel about teaching is different, and it is all for the better. :) Here are several of the major ways life has changed since the switch. 1. I stay up later...and sleep later! Since my start time for school is now 8:50 instead of 7:15, I find that I am staying up later (usually watching Netflix while grading) and sleeping in until at least 5:30 on most days. I usually arrive at school between 7:00-7:10 and try to get all of the "teacher stuff" finished before my kiddos arrive. It's really nice having all of that morning time to accomplish things! My morning breakfast every day: oatmeal and a banana (with coffee of course)! 2. However, I have way less time in the afternoons now. I finish teaching around 4:10 and usually don't leave until 4:45 or 5:00. I was used to staying after school for the musical at the middle school until 3:30/4:00, but not getting home until 5:30 is definitely new to me. My husband and I have had to plan better for dinners since we are usually starving when he gets home at 6:00, so we now are much better grocery shoppers and meal makers than before! 3. I have a fever...for...you know...little baby Tacketts now more than ever. Being around little kids is so different than middle schoolers. Watching the kindergarteners and preschool tots toddle around the hallway makes me even more excited about having kids of my own! They are so precious! I don't know if I could teach kids that young just yet (after all, I'm still adjusting my sense of humor to match elementary darlings) but seeing their cute art on the walls, seeing how excited they are just to wave at you, and hearing them ask the sweetest questions like, "Do you like snow Mrs. Tackett?" for no reason at all makes my heart melt. 4. I have a new love for teaching and a new respect for the profession. Teaching all subjects gives you such a broader perspective on so many things, and makes me wish I had had that opportunity with many of my middle school kids. I have such a deeper understanding of my students' strengths and weaknesses. I also have a new appreciation for elementary school teachers and how many hats we have to wear during the day. Having the same kids all day long changes you as a teacher. You are a counselor more often than not, and you have to be a master at not just one subject, but many! My day FLIES by and is never monotonous or dull now! T-shirt gift from a student! How awesome is that? 5. I'm rediscovering my cutesy side. Being an elementary school teacher allows me to be more cutesy than before. I can get excited about stickers and bulletin boards and smelly bookmarks and holiday themed sunglasses and socks from the Dollar Spot and no one makes fun of me. Making anchor charts, decorating my classroom, all of that cute stuff gives me a rush! :) Yesterday I came home from Target with Christmas Tree sunglasses and stickers and my husband just laughed and smiled. I'm right where I belong. :) 6. I have more time for more of everything at school! Having an entire day with my students gives me more freedom for character education and technology-two of my deepest passions in education. My school is doing a book study on "Leader in Me," and I definitely feel that my class is helping lead that movement. I also started implementing Edmodo this week and found that I could use it way more than before at the middle school level. I even linked poems to Edmodo and had my students electronically respond to the poem using Edmodo! It was AMAZING! 7. I'm more tired...haha! Being a first year teacher all over again has been the most tiring and humbling experience. It's so great to have mentors and teachers I can look up to. I have less time to blog and cannot begin to tell you how glad I am that I finished my master's degree before making this switch! It's also exhausting to try and find that happy balance between work and home again...but I wouldn't trade it for anything! 8. I love holidays more than ever! Being in an elementary building makes you love everything cute and holiday themed. Halloween was so much fun, and I can't wait for more activities centered around Thanksgiving and Christmas! Well, the OCD in me really wishes this list could be an even ten, but those are the major ways life has changed! I'm so happy I made the switch!
Ever since I accepted my new position as a fifth grade teacher, I've been receiving numerous emails and texts from people who don't know me as well as my close friends and family asking me the question: "Why would you give up teaching middle school to go to elementary?" Since I've been answering this question frequently, I thought I'd post an entry about how I came to this decision. I started contemplating going back to elementary last school year. I had just finished my fourth year of teaching sixth grade science, and I was getting "the itch" to try something new. I had been teaching my same curriculum for three years (the first year I actually taught general science instead of just earth science) and I was ready for a new challenge. I had previously always thought that I would stay in my former position for at least five years before tackling a new job somewhere else, so I decided that during my fifth year of teaching I would start looking at elementary openings. I also decided to apply at different school districts around my area. This decision was even harder for me, since I grew up in the district I taught in. I had graduated from that district and had even received that District's Teacher of the Year. But, I knew that other districts offered new professional development opportunities and other ways that would challenge me as an educator and help me grow, so I kept my options open. I forgot how tedious applying for jobs can be! I filled out numerous online applications, and when I received my first interview call (for a first grade opening in a different district) I was beyond nervous. I felt completely unprepared and unqualified, even though I had five years of teaching experience! However, once I walked into the interview and was shocked at how different interviewing felt than the first time I interviewed at schools five years ago! Having actual experience and stories made me feel a lot more comfortable once the interview got started, and even though I felt confident I didn't get "the right feeling" from that school that I was looking for. Skip ahead two weeks. I didn't have any additional interview calls, and on top of that, I found out I didn't get the first grade position. Even though I didn't want it to begin with, it felt like a huge letdown. I started to lack confidence in myself and even doubted if making the move to elementary was a good idea. Then, after a third week of no phone calls, I received four interview calls in a row. Two interviews were for two different school districts, and the other two were from two elementary buildings in my current school district. All of the interviews were the same week, right after one another. Gulp. I ended up going on all but one of the interviews (because I ended up accepting a position) and every single one of them went swimmingly. I can remember sitting on my bathroom floor one day when my husband came home from work crying because I didn't know what to do. I had a pretty good feeling that one of the schools in another district would offer me a position (which is the position I ended up taking), but at that moment I felt so many different emotions. I felt guilty for leaving my current school and students. I felt like I was abandoning the school and district that gave me so much, from my elementary, middle, and high school education to my first teaching position. I felt terrified to leave everything I knew and was comfortable doing. I felt overwhelmed with the amount of new information I would have to learn in order to be an effective elementary teacher again. I felt scared that I wouldn't "have what it takes" to teach elementary anymore since I had been out of the game for five years. I cried and cried and begged my husband to tell me what to do. He just looked at me and said, "I can't tell you what to do, but you know what to do-you're just scared to do it." He was right. I did know what I wanted, and the next day I accepted my position as a fifth grade teacher. It was the scariest and best decision I ever made, and when I told my students why I was leaving I explained to them that teaching elementary school was always my dream, and even when you are scared to take a risk or a chance, it's important to always follow your gut. Sometimes we have to take huge risks to grow, and I know I am going to grow so much as an educator in my new position and district. In the end, I am so happy (and still terrified) about my decision, but I know I made the right call. :) Plus, it's like Kid President said, "This is my time." :)
Last week one of my former colleagues (wow, that feels so strange to type) and I went to a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game. It was a PERFECT night for baseball and we were having a good time catching up when we noticed that our middle school's feeder high school kids were playing the national anthem on the jumbo tron! I immediately started freaking out as I spotted many of my former students (some of whom were from my very first year of teaching and will be juniors this year). I couldn't contain my excitement when they found where we were sitting and came over to say hello! One of the kids was actually not my former student, but a kid who had the lead in the first musical I directed. He was a grade ahead of my first group of kids, and is going into his senior year of high school this fall. He is, without a doubt, one of the coolest kids I've ever met. He does incredibly philanthropy work with Boy Scouts, assists with Relay for Life, tutors kids in French, is Drama Club President and the Drum Major for the band, straight A student, you name it. Basically, this kid could take over the world if he wanted to, and is smart and talented enough to do it!
When I asked him what he wanted to major in next year he told me, "I want to be a teacher." We then went on to discuss good teaching colleges (he wants to attend the college I attended) and what kinds of classes he will take, and I gave him some of my wisdom about which professors were effective and which classes I liked best. Later that night, my colleague and I were talking and I told her about the conversation I had with that student. I told her, "He wants to be a teacher-and he could be president! That kid could do anything!" After I got home, I thought about what I said to my friend, and was mad at myself. Why WOULDN'T I want one of the smartest and most well-rounded students I've met to become a teacher? Why would I say such a thing as, "He could be president and all he wants to do is teach!" That isn't my mentality about kids. I want all kids to believe in their dreams, no matter what! It got me thinking that the mindset about teaching needs to change. I would never want any other job except for teaching (and never have, except for a brief hiatus where I wanted to be a marine mammal trainer at Sea World). Teaching is the best and most rewarding job in the world, and we should encourage our brightest and smartest kids to pursue it if it's their dream. Even if they are smart enough to become a doctor or confident enough to become the president, we should always, always, always encourage our best and brightest to teach. After all...isn't that who you would want for your child's teacher? Or for your colleague? :) |
About MeTeacher of leaders. Life-long learner. Space geek. Lover of all things color-coordinated, organized, and cutesy. Categories
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