How did you decide on who & what you'll teach?

[IcanTeach2]

I'm currently trying to plan my path of becoming a teacher. I was planning on teaching middle or high school. But after reading several posts here, I'm not so sure anymore. Now I'm thinking about teaching elementary school instead. So I have a few questions I need to ask.

How did you decide to teach elementary, middle school, or high school?

What were your reasons?

Do you enjoy teaching? Why?

Would you consider teaching other grades? Why?

IYHO, who makes better elementary teachers men or women?

Would being a man hinder my chances of getting a good job?

Thx, :)

[mopar]

To decide on the level you want to teach, you need to do many observations of the different levels. Volunteer to sub in a building, ask teachers to come in and observe, talk with kids in your neighborhood. See which age levels you bond with and which you think would be fun to teach.

I have moved around from many grades. I began with younger students (kindergarten age and younger). I loved the progress that they made, you always feel rewarded by the little things. However, there isn't much support at these levels and I felt that the parents wanted a lot from the teacher.
I then moved up to high school, where I found that I had great relationships with the students. It was a blast working with their sense of humor. But the gaps in learning were very difficult to manage within a classroom. I had students reading on a 1st grade level (if that) to students reading far beyond high school. And the late work....wow that was fun.
Then I tried my hand at the elementary school. I do love that age level but they just don't have the developed sense of humor for the most part. The projects we did were awesome and the parental support from some parents was great. Planning for all the classes wasn't as much fun and then the report cards took forever.
I am now at the middle school level. Some days you love the kids and some days the attitude. The late work is still a problem but only one or two preps is nice. There are a few over zealous parents in each class it seems but for the most part the parents aren't so bad.

Think about which grades you liked as a student and then try some observations. Look at the pros and cons and which you could handle and which you couldn't.

Being a man definitely helps in the job search. Many school districts want to hire men because there aren't many of them out there. However, schools only want to hire men that will put forth the effort. I have seen many a male teacher get hired and let go because they thought they didn't need to do anything because they were male.

[busbus]

Hi,

As an undergraduate, my major was Secondary English. This is the area that I wanted to teach. However, I never taught an English class except when I was subbing.

My first teaching appointment was that of Grade One. Wow! A far cry from my secondary certification! I truly was lost; but, fortunately, had a great support system in the school. I began enjoying the young ones; however, I really missed the "sophistication" of secondary students. I might have stayed with this assignment had my principal not asked me to take over the upper level special education class of learning support students. These students were closer in age to secondary level students. I found my niche with this assignment. In a way, it was the best of both worlds for me. Now I had to get my Special Education certification.

A little further down the pike, I was appointed to an in-school assignment outside of the classroom. In this position, I worked with small groups of at-risk students, their teachers and their parents. Now I had to get my Elementary certification.

So, you see, it's possible to start out in one area of certification, then move to other areas. Because of my involvement with my school district's Teaching American History grant program, I've even thought of becoming certified in Social Studies/History/Geography. All in all, expect change as your teaching career evolves. You never know where you might wind up.

I think that school districts need more male teachers at the elementary level. It would be good to see more men coming into the elementary schools. Many of our students, especially in the inner-city, come from female headed, single parent homes. They may have a positive male influence in their lives; but, it would be nice to see this influence in the schools in the primary grades. During my career, I have seen a few males teaching Kindergarten, Grade One and Grade Two. Their students simply loved them!

I wish you success in whatever direction you decide to take.

[MsCoffeeLover]

Teaching is my second career. My first was in health care, and I specifically remember being about the age of 21 or so in college stating that "you couldn't pay me to be a teacher" It was the last thing I would ever do.

After a little work experience, it is amazing what you find yourself doing. As for the grade level I chose, I don't think I chose it. The kids chose me. Every where I go, there are always middle school aged kids around. They just find me, and we just have that instant rapport. After about ten years, I just decided to stop fighting it because apparently I was meant to be doing something with this audience.

Then I chaperoned a field trip with my girlfriend's kids to Disney World. Upon the return of that trip was when I returned to school to be a teacher.

The observations, student reaching, and practicum experiences were helpful. Even though I wanted middle school, all of my practicums were assigned at the elementary level so I had that exposure. During the last practicum, I got another elementary school spot and got a little upset because I was one of the few people that really wanted to go to a middle school and kept getting elementary, and this was my last practicum experience before student teaching.

Lucky for me, the girl that sat next to me in class was one of the girls that scheduled the practicum experiences. I didn't know that, but she gave me a middle school spot right then and there.

It has been middle school for me ever since.

Now, if I can only teach the same prep two years in a row, that would be really nice.

[Chef Dave]

I'm a high school chef instructor of a culinary arts program. This is my 3rd career. I'm a former elementary teacher (17 years) turned chef (6 years in the food service industry), turned chef instructor.

With regards to your possible elementary teaching career, you should be aware that most teachers are women. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 79% of all teachers in grades K-8 are women ... so if you're a man contemplating a career as an elementary teacher, you should be aware that your gender may play an important role in terms of employment.

When I was an elementary teacher, I sometimes worked at schools where I was the only male classroom teacher. I have been told by employers that when push came to shove, I was hired because of my gender.

The administrators in question wanted a male role model. They wanted elementary students to have the experience of being in a man's classroom.

Although I have known a few male teachers who taught grades K or 1, the vast majority of men seem to teach grades 4 or 5.

[IcanTeach2]

Thx for all the great replies. They have helped me to narrow down my age group I'd liked to teach.

5th-8th grade seems to be the area I'd like to teach in. The main reason is the students are less dependent on personal needs, and are not too independent. Like many others my first strong male teacher wasn't until 5th grade. He was hard on the outside, but was a great teacher.
The only other male teachers in my elementary school were the gym teachers & music teacher.

I feel I'd be comfortable teaching children between the ages of 10-13. They would want to learn more, and be capable of understanding
what their being taught better. At the end of 8th grade they should be great children on their way to become great young adults.

As for a particular subject to specialize in, I have no clue. I wasn't a "great" student, but a good one. So grades 5-8 would be ok for me to teach. My weakest link would be math. But elementary &
middle school math wasn't too hard, so I'll be ok.

I thought being a man (possibly) teaching elementary school would be frowned upon. It seems I was wrong. So I will need to becareful in choosing a school to teach at. I don't like the idea of being taken advantage of.

If you have any other information you like to share, please do. I'm still in the deciding phase.

Remember the saying, look before you leap? I've always, looked, measured, and looked again before I leaped.

[Chef Dave]

If you have any other information you like to share, please do. I'm still in the deciding phase.


Take the time to visit one or more local schools. Talk to the building administrator. Get permission to observe a couple of classes.

Be aware that classroom management styles and instruction will vary from teacher to teacher - so try and visit a couple of 5th grade classes and a couple of 7th grade classes to get a feel for the age group.

You should also be aware that elementary teachers are generalists. Most elementary teachers teach all subject areas. Although many schools have art, PE, and music, I have worked in schools where I have been required to teach art, PE, and music due to budgetary cutbacks.

Middle school teachers tend to specialize in specific subject areas.