What are the advantages/disadvantages in teaching elementary?
I’ve taught at all grade levels – from the youngest to the oldest. My ultimate preference is elementary. It’s where you make the most fundamental difference in a child’s education. Give them a good foundation and you can always win them back, but if they have nothing to begin with… But beware, you need to know WHERE in elementary you want to be. The younger the students, the larger the developmental leap is (firsts, milestones, socialization). Many people go into elementary because they like little kids, or they think they’re cute. (It’s not cute when you have 22 small, whiny children who don’t know how to read ard you have to teach them.) You really NEED to understand developmental pyschology to work in elementary – it relaxes as they get older. Young children are extremely needy. (I do well with needy.) Ultimately, I am still in touch with students I taught in 3rd and 5th grades. I had a 18 year old student share with me, the summer before she died, that the words I gave her in 5th
