How does being a primary school teacher compare to being a highschool teacher?

Question

Personal experiences would be appreciated.

Do you form closer bonds with your students at highschool because they are more mature? Are teenagers harder to control? etc etc

Answer 1

I teach elementary school and I would think that elementary teachers have more to do....(just fun banter coach k)

Just because our guys are little doesn't mean there isn't a LOT of work. In fact I would argue that in some instances there is more work to do because we are responsible for all aspects of their education....from the minute they walk in the door until they are getting on the bus, or into their parents cars.
Lesson planning, classroom management, grading endless amounts of work, dealing with issues that result from kids spending the entire day together, arranging schedules for students who are leaving for special ed, gifted, ell, speech, making sure we are meeting all 6 reading groups so many times each week, making sure each lesson we teach meets the pages and pages of state standards that we are by law required to teach. The list is endless.

Yes, 3rd graders don't write 5-8 page papers, and I don't see 120 students a day, but I do have 30 students for 6-7 subjects a day. I think that equals out.

I am on a soap box I didn't intend to get on. (sorry!) Making an argument for a topic that was brought up by a high school teacher I know.

I think teaching in general is a lot of work. If you're in it for the right reasons, all the things I listed above become inconsequential.

But on a side note, summers off is not a benefit of teaching...it's a necessity for our sanity! =)

Answer 2

From experience, in general (and I know there are many exceptions)primary students bring bookbags full of supplies while some high school students are lucky to bring a pencil to class. Typically, if parents of primary students are a problem it is usually being over-protective; for high school, there will probably be more confrontations with the student rather than parent (unless it is over sports). The bonds you form are based on your personality, likes and dislikes -- all students want to be noticed.Young students may crawl under a table, or cry, or need more individual help while many high school students want to fit in and not be embarrased. Forming bonds with students can be misinterpreted perhaps more at the high school level. Authentic, life-long relationships between a favorite teacher and former students are special and worth the investment.

Answer 3

I think a good teacher will form a bond no matter what. I was actually discussing this the other way with our special ed teacher who has taught both elementary and high school (which is what I teach). She said it doesn't matter. When they are young, you want to protect them and you love them and want to be their mother. And then in high school, guess what? You sometimes want to do the same thing! But it's a different sort of bond because teenagers can watch the same movies as you and listen to the same music and carry on a conversation about religion or philosophy or whatever (well, some of them!).

All kids are hard to control. haha I think each age set has it's own complications and rewards.

Answer 4

As a former substitute and current 6th grade teacher, I can honestly tell you that being a primary school teacher or a high school teacher is much better than being a 6th grade teacher. When students are in the primary grades, students are still young and willing to be guided in the right direction. Most of them listen to instruction and follow directions. Even the behavioral problem children can be molded in the right direction. When students are in high school, they are trying to graduate. They will not act horrible and endanger their chances of graduation. Even the behavioral problems are more mature and they already know what direction their life is going in. They are willing to change because adulthood is just around the corner. 6th graders just don't care. Most of them don't take academics seriously. And they thing they are grown at the age of 12 and you can tell them nothing. I formed closer bonds with high school students and primary students than 6th graders.

Answer 5

Whoever said that teaching high school is more work is NUTS!

The person who works the hardest teaches Kindergarten! No questions asked!

I work as a reading specialist in a school that goes pre-k through grade 8. Over the course of the last 20 years I've taught as a classroom teacher in grades K through 3 and as some form of literacy teacher in grades pre-k through 8.

In my time, I've seen what people have to do! The kindergarten teacher has to label every item in her room, put up all kinds of interactive stuff in the room, MAKE all kinds of hands on materials. Put every child's name on a million things! The constant clean up alone is soooo time consuming!

Plus, while she's teaching the academics, she also has to tie shoes, blow noses, dry tears, teach manners, teach social skills, sing, and get stepped on frequently (you should have seen my shoes at the end of a day teaching kindergarten.) Not to mention the energy level it takes to keep up with a class of 26 kindergarteners!!!

No, high school teachers have no idea what the early grades are like! When I was a classroom teacher, the amount of work I had to do lessened for every grade I went up in teaching school. (So first grade was easier than kindergarten, second grade was easier than first, third grade was easier than second, and so on, and so on.)

Do you know why the work got easier as I went up in the grades? Because, as the kids got older, and got more independent, they needed me to do less for them and they did more for themselves. They could even help out!

I suggest that anyone who thinks otherwise spend a day in the kindergarten. Ever seen Kindergarten Cop????

Answer 6

I have never taught primary school but I do teach high school. I would have to imagine that high school teachers have a bit more to do. (grading papers, discipline, lesson preparation, etc.)

I teach high school chemistry and physics.