TEACHING HIGH SCHOOL VS. MIDDLE SCHOOL

who would want to go back to their high school to become a teacher this girl [Music] hi everyone happy sunday if you are watching this i am wishing you well thoughts as always during this time i recently have expressed how heavy the world feels right now so i just want you to know first off that i love you i'm thinking of you and that you are so strong for making it this far so a little bit about me i went to school for english education which certifies me 6th through 12th grade now i knew i wanted to teach older students meaning i didn't want to teach elementary school i think they are adorable and i cannot wait to be a mother one day but there was just something about teaching secondary that i was very drawn to and i always say it's just where they are in their lives and after going to high school and being at my high school and watching my teachers teach while knowing that i wanted to be a teacher one day i was pretty certain i knew that i wanted to go back to my high school and be a teacher there which i know sounds crazy like who would want to go back to their high school to become a teacher this girl i didn't even think twice about it i did have an opportunity in college to intern in a middle school room and a high school room so i really got to see both sides and i was just so positive that i wanted to be in a high school classroom and then like i said just knowing that i could go home to my high school just gave me chills i remember over winter break i would come home and go on runs and pass the school and that's where i wanted to be and i now see in my life that there truly is a plan for everything because i know i was supposed to be there and i believe that we were placed in each other's lives for a reason that is just so much bigger that than we could ever even put into words but i am so grateful for my time there because i believe it has taught me so much as an educator it taught me the true meaning of teaching and to me that is being with the students it's building relationships and helping them grow not only as learners but individuals as well to go on and be good people in this world and that to me is what teaching is all about it's so much more than grammar and don't forget to put a period here i mean that stuff is important but i also think just helping these kids know that they are capable of doing incredible things is just everything so yes i went back to my old high school and i'm going to link these videos that i'm kind of referencing down below for those of you who are new but ultimately after surviving the tragedy and developing very very very severe ptsd which i still live with today i made the decision to take a step back from my high school that i graduated from and that i was teaching at because it's really hard to go back to a place that hurt you for me personally it was too hard to go back to that place to pass my building every day to pass my old room i constantly felt like i couldn't breathe in a way like the anxiety just filled my chest every single morning and to me i want to be a teacher and i want to be able to give everything that i can to my students so that is ultimately why i chose to take some time off that year because i felt like i was going through so much from a medical perspective that year that i wasn't able to just give myself to my students because i was so concentrated on what hurt me if that makes sense it might not make sense i think healing is different for everyone and there's no right way to heal but this is just what was good for me so i took that year off and i was working on the unbreakable organization i still am that's my non-profit and i love it so much i'm so excited for you all to see all the changes that are coming we have a new website coming new instagram branding new stuff coming out new missions for the for next year just so many incredible things mr locke was my seventh grade english teacher and we stayed in touch and he was a huge part of the reason why i believe i'm back in the classroom today but he really believes in me and he said you know what why don't you come to my classroom and do a guest lesson and he teaches middle school so i was like okay sure so i went in this was my first time teaching since leaving um douglas and i taught a guest lesson and i got to interact with the middle schoolers and talk to them and i was like you know what i really like this they are adorable they are smart they have conversations they are real people like just because it's not high school doesn't mean they aren't capable of doing that and i'm so happy my mind was really open to that because i had such a great day and it really gave me the strength that i needed to keep going so i kind of let that sit with me throughout the rest of the year then an opportunity came about from actually another english teacher that i had she told me about an opening and connected me to the right person this was like all right before covet started to i want to say this was back in february i had a big interview process i had to teach in front of students i got to eat lunch with the middle school students this was for a middle school position and i actually got the phone call that i was hired when we were doing a mission for another school or a project for unbreakable i just thought that was so full circle to get hired when i was doing something for another school and it was with britney superhero teacher who came to my school so if you know you know but it's very very full circle so long story short that is how i started teaching middle school this is my first year in a middle school classroom full-time and it is so so different but there are a lot of things that i do the same so this video is for people who might be curious as to what the differences are maybe you're in college and you're deciding on high school versus middle school and hopefully i can help so a lot of people ask me why i switched to middle school there really isn't a reason why i told you i always wanted to teach high school and it kind of just happened and i am a big believer in trusting the process so when things are given to you and it makes sense and it feels right you know go for it that's what i believe in and i i went with it and i'm so happy that i did because i do i will tell you that when i come to school there are very few days where i feel that like i can't breathe feeling in my chest it's a safe feeling and that's something i really hoped for and prayed for for a really really really long time so to be able to just go to school and mostly concentrate on teaching just means a lot to me so the first and like the biggest question i got was about classroom management how did my classroom management differentiate between middle school and high school and i will tell you it has changed a lot with high school i was able to just put the message on the board and you know tell them on the first day of school hey when you all come in make sure you read it and then take everything out and when the bell rings i would like your desk to be ready um like you know put everything away what not and they they really did a good job just just knowing that was their task i gave them like that freedom to kind of come in you know catch up with your friends but when that bell rings just be ready to go like it's a job you know but with middle school sometimes you have to just remind them a little bit more it's not that they don't see the message on the board but it's just those little reminders like hey don't forget to read that on the board or hey everyone come on in and read that message on the board next day hey there read the message on the board have you seen that message on the board so i am repeating myself a little bit more but that's okay i think eventually it will become more routine so that's the first thing i've noticed with classroom management the second thing is in high school they barely ask me do we have homework tonight because they they usually know if there's homework i'll bring it up at the beginning but with middle school it's like their most eager question they're like do we have homework tonight is there homework do we have homework and i tell them you know if there's homework i will let you know so it's just little things like that and i think when you have a group of students who are more curious the more information you can give them up front the better so you know i have a little website for my classes that we use through the school so i'll post a lot of information on there i also post on the whiteboard i also post on the digital board when they come in so that way students from zoom can see that digital board they also can see the website and then students coming in can see all three i try to create as many opportunities i guess as possible for my students to see the schedule the homework because they definitely are really curious whereas in high school i wouldn't say that they don't care but they're like oh like if she doesn't say it there's no homework so i'm not even going to ask with high school if i told them like hey you can talk during this assignment or work together and collaborate they'll talk and then if i need to get their attention i'll be like hey guys and they'll just immediately listen but with middle school it's a little bit harder so that's when those songs come in like the shark bait uh-uh and if your hair my voice got fun that kind of thing so we're working on creating some fun calling responses and i've never really done that in high school so that's that's different to have a call-in response with your students because yeah i didn't really do that in high school maybe it was just because my room was super small and like we were just right in front of each other but yeah that's the difference so another question was about the maturity levels and this is what i have to say about that when it comes to thinking about what grade level you want to teach i always tell people to think about where they are in their lives in kindergarten that's like the first class they're really taking other than preschool where they get to learn all these different subjects and be with kids and it's an exciting time in their life and then sixth grade of course is like when you're entering middle school for the first time and you're preparing them for high school and then of course in high school that's like that final stage that final push to whatever their new beginning is and that's what i was really really drawn to i loved the high school experience and now i'm getting used to the middle school experience i will be teaching all grade levels in middle school i'm currently doing six and eight i'll eventually get seventh and i will tell you there is a huge difference between sixth grade and eighth grade my sixth graders come in and they are absolutely hilarious they come into my room i would have like i don't know ugly plug-in or something that smells good you know in high school they'd be like oh your room smells good thanks every single day and i feel like they're doing this on purpose they're hilarious but my sixth graders come in every day and they're like it smells so good in here it smells like apples in here it smells like vanilla in here and every day i hear what my room smells like so i joke around with them and i'm like no way have you ever have you ever said that to me before and they're like i told you that yesterday and i'm like i know so they're hilarious but my eighth graders they never do that so i my eighth graders remind me a lot of my freshmen and it's like a very familiar feeling it's a feeling of a home and i absolutely love them i love sixth graders too but it's just so funny how different they are there is such an excitement and a special energy about sixth graders they just came from elementary school they're in middle school now and you can just tell they are excited they are eager that's why they ask questions like is their homework tonight and whatnot because they want to know and they want to stay on top of it and then i think it'll be really cool to watch them grow over the years very excited to report this at my high school no matter how long these people have known me for since when like i was in high school visiting in college and then a teacher there i would always get stopped and by security new security guards they'd be like are you a student you have your past but at middle school no one stops me so i guess i'm blending in so the next difference would have to be in my lesson plans and classroom structure i would say the structure is actually the same that i did in high school my classroom management is very true to who i am i love when everyone feels comfortable in my classroom so to do that you know i shut the lights i have mood lights on they come in or they come through zoom and they still get to see that and experience that i play music there's that message on the board whether it is sixth grade or all the way up to seniors i will always stop and talk about what we are doing today first so i'll talk about the schedule i'll review my website and like show them the different due dates on there i'll answer any questions we'll also do check-ins to see how everyone is doing the more you can clarify something the better because sometimes it just goes in one ear and out the other so clarifying really helps and that has not changed let's do my eighth grade versus freshman for an example with both grade levels i'm actually i have taught persuasive writing at my high school that was just something that was required it was really it was called argumentative writing and they were doing state testing so it was a requirement and the way that i was teaching it was a lot more formal i would say i was definitely going by like state guidelines and what the school wanted but at middle school i have a little bit more flexibility because it's a creative writing class but the focus is persuasive writing and then expository writing so i've been able to have a little bit more fun which i really like they really do get so into it we did something called the great persuasive pizza challenge in my class we did this like last week and we're still kind of working on it we're moving into our final paper now can't believe the quarter is almost over they had to create their own pizza slice which was so fun they came out adorable actually paired them up so some people did a healthy pizza shop someone did like a taco bell pizza shop and they got to debate each other and they just had so much fun with it i'm sure high school students would too but i would probably differentiate it just a little bit here and there when i get to know these students that's how i can design the lessons for them i've always been about creating lessons based on who my students are because i think that's how they will buy into it that's how they will enjoy it and get something out of it a lot of questions about just the overall spirit you know this is a really different question for me because i think my first year before the tragedy you know of course like i was very high in spirits and it was the same school that i always knew and loved and it's definitely still an incredible school it's just changed so much for me so to be able to go to a new school is very refreshing because i don't have that reminder that physical reminder i would say every single day that i have to pass however we are in a time of cobaid and things are very different i'm so excited to be part of the leadership council at my new school where i get to work with some of the students and talk about things that we can do at school to like boost their spirits and their morale and we definitely need that i think we all need that because this is such a different year i will say looking into a classroom of students with mascon it really does break my heart because i didn't have to go through that when i was in middle school and for this generation of students to have to be wearing a mask every single day and constantly being told please spread apart spread apart six feet apart don't touch each other wash your hands you know it can be a lot on them and their mental health so you always just want to make sure you're checking in on them another thing that i want to mention when it comes to teaching middle school versus high school i don't think there is one that is better than the other i think it just depends on you and who you are and what makes you happy because if you are in a room that you feel inspired and excited and motivated your students are going to benefit from that and i would just try your best to choose an area that makes you feel good i know sometimes it's tough and we don't always get to decide and we just have to take the job that is available but if you do have some control and you can apply to different places try to choose a place that works best for you and that feels good for you because middle schoolers eventually become high schoolers and high schoolers go on into this world so regardless you are working with our future generation and i think you just need to pick the group that excites you and motivates you i could sit here and tell you how special it is that middle schoolers quite literally get excited about the way my room smells um if i'm wearing mascara that day and like all they see is my mask and mascara um if they hear me sing like they will become so excited and it's so special but then i also could sit here and tell you about how you will talk to your high school students for hours at lunch about college and big decisions and where they are at in their lives right now i think if you're struggling right now and you don't know what grade level you should teach or you just you aren't sure about it in general and you're in school and you want to figure this out just try to trust the process go in there and observe as much as you can think about the students and where they are in their lives and i promise it will all work out and i promise that it's okay to embrace change you know i thought i was gonna be at my high school forever and i wasn't and i'm learning to accept that that's okay and my new students remind me of that every single day i still miss my old students so much and i still get to communicate with them i'm writing recommendation letter letters i have a whole list that i need to get out regardless students will stay in your lives forever they truly do touch your heart and i'm just so excited for you if you're thinking about middle school or high school and i wish you the best of luck on your journey let me know what you want to see next and i will see you in the next video bye everyone mine

Channel: Five Foot One Teacher

Views: 19,719

Rating: 4.9686275 out of 5

Keywords: teacher, vlog, family channel, middle school, high school, high school teacher, middle school teacher, day in my life

Id: czUH_yzupRM

Length: 18min 2sec (1082 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 04 2020