Ever since our district made the decision to reconfigure our main campus from a grades 3-5 Elementary, a grades 6-8 Middle School, and a grades 9-12 High School to a grades 3-6 Elementary and a grades 7-12 Jr/Sr High School I have been thinking a lot about next year.
The reconfiguration forces me to choose between teaching 6th grade STEM or 8th grade Science and 7/8 Robotics. I cannot continue to teach all those courses because the 6th grade will be an elementary grade on a different schedule from the grades 7-12 Jr/Sr High School. My National Board Certification, Early Adolescent Generalist, makes my current teaching perfect! Children below 6th grade and above 8th grade are just pushing the boundaries of not only the Early Adolescent age range but also pushing the boundaries of the age ranges that I am most used to working with so I can easily work with 6th graders or with 7th and 8th graders. Since the developmental levels are within my expertise my preference is based solely on curriculum.
The choice for me would be between the 6th grade STEM Robotics 101 course that I am in the second year of teaching and the Environmental Stewardship Project that I have been teaching for the past 16 years versus the 8th grade IQWST Science Curriculum that I am in my second year teaching and the 7/8 STEM Robotics 102 course that I just started teaching this year.
Tough choice! Now I know change is good and keeps you on your toes but the
Environmental Stewardship Project is really good and a favorite of 6th graders. It’s the program that past students ask me about and remark about positively the most when they come back to visit. So I have put in a request to have me stay with the 6th grade and move to the elementary. I have been part of the elementary transition team planning for next year’s addition of the 6th grade. Nothing is certain but I am hopeful that I will be able to continue working with the
As can be expected, students have been asking me what next year will look like and some are wondering if I’ll be teaching 8th grade Science next year. When I tell students that I might be moving to the elementary to teach 6th grade they wonder who will teach 8th grade Science. If I do teach 6th grade next year, they will need to hire a new 8th grade Science teacher (and if I teach 8th grade Science they will need to hire a new 6th grade teacher, so either way a new Science teacher will need to be hired). That would be the end of it for most students. One student in particular, one of my Robotics’ 7th grader said that I should move to the high school and continue teaching 8th grade. He said that he sees me working much better with 8th graders than with 6th graders.
That comment took me back and I’ve been thinking about it ever since he said it. He has the best perspective for his opinion because he was my student last year when he was in 6th grade and he knows I’m still teaching 6th grade STEM this year. I mean, I think I can teach 6th through 8th grade equally because I’ve been doing so for the past 22 years. And actually, I’ve taught 6th grade more than 7th and 8th, so I not only thought of myself as a good 6th grade teacher, I thought moving to elementary would be perfect for me. Then I hear a former 6th grade student of mine say that he thinks I’m better at working with 8th graders than working with 6th graders.
What? Why?! At first, I just smiled and thought to myself, “aw, how sweet.” Then it started to sneak up on me, “wait, did I not do a good job at teaching him last year??” What did I do that makes him think I’m better suited for working with 8th graders and not 6th graders?!? I know I’m not particularly nurturing but am I too cold for 6th graders?
I know it’s just one student’s impression of me but I’m still looking at what I do that would give one of my students that impression. Maybe I’ll ask him for more details if it comes up again. I hope I’m just overthinking this!
