I´ve been thinking about this for a while now, because I used to teach only high school students, and I used to think that was the only way to be happy... then, I got 6th and 5th grade students and I thought I would die next day.
The first weeks were really bumpy. I just could not get used to their voice pitch hahaha... it is that "special" tone that drives you nuts... And the yapping. The never ending, continuous, even unconscious yapping... all the time. And there's their size. Believe it or not, our brains get used to a set of "normal" features we associate with what we believe is standard. One of those things is the size. When you deal with high school students, they are usually your same size, and nowadays even taller and bigger. So the first thing you realize when you teach younger students is not the fact they speak all the time... it is not the fact that they really pay attention to everything you say and do at all times; it is not that they are ABSOLUTELY literal and they do not have a sense of sarcasm or figurative speech. It is their tiny little, small size. You feel like a giant. And I am not a particularly tall guy (5'8 in a good day)... but after 10 years of working with people that are taller than you... well, you really feel the difference. They really are small.
Oh, and about how literal they can be, let me give you an example: In a teenagers group, expressions like "gimme 2 minutes while I get this working..." while you try to set up your video feed are interpreted in a way any adult would do so (Ok, this is going to take some time, so no biggie. just lay back and relax while he gets that ready). In a 5th grade group, you really need to think what you say. If you say "gimme two minutes..." It is TWO minutes. They really think two minutes means 2 minutes, 120 seconds... and some of them will count. Some may even set their stopwatches! When a teen asks you about some topic, you just tell them to look for it on their books. If you don't tell a youngster in which part of the book, or in which chapter... well... that won't go.
But after about a year, I don't know what to believe anymore... now I think about going back to teenagers and... I am not really sure, hahaha... Teenagers can be really obnoxious. They don't care.. Kids think you are their hero. You touch a football and you are Messi. They see you driving around town and you think they will just jump from their parents car just to yell, top of their lungs "HEEEEYYYY TEACHEEER!!!"... teens will turn up their heads down and their music up just to avoid visual contact.
So... what do you think? better teaching little ones? better with teens? adults is what rocks your world?
just let me know about it on the comments section.
5 comentarios:
Well... I guess it's a hard decision but I'd rather chose teens. Maybe they are obnoxious (you're right) but you can control them with simple "negotiation", they can even become friendly when you get them through the right path and if they like the subject it will just be awesome, if they don't it's just about being a bit hard with them. With kids I think it's harder, at least even if a teen is more likely to be rude or stuff they kind of accept that what they're learning is useful and they'll take it more seriously, but for a kid it's more like "this guy here is just trying to bother my life... so I'll try to do the same". But anyway I think we shouldn't generalize, there are particular cases, it's more a personal opinion, what I'd prefer. You might remember that I was not a very loveable student when you were my teacher and... I was more a youngster than a teen
Nice to hear from you Eliecer. Thanks for your comment. And I actually liked your attitude most of the times. (note the "most" fragment hahahah). In fact, you were one of the well rounded students from my class. I guess you still remember how those clases went, right?
Have fun, kid!
What's the point of giving a class if students won't get your occasional jokes?! Long life to sarcasm, teens all the way! Obnoxious... sure. Uninterested... true. But not all of them *cough cough*, which is why I disagree on the "don't EVER expect appreciation", you of all people should know that's not true. I think teaching teens is a way to realize why certain method works, and why students like you as a teacher, why you should keep doing what you do, why you should change, etc... teens can give arguments. Whereas kids... they don't *really* dislike any subject nor they hate teacher, because it seems illogical when you think of them as gods, so there's no real basis as in how to improve.
Also, you can take teens to labs and laugh at their weak stomachs, or enjoy their disgusted faces when they touch dirt at a greenhouse. #PRICELESS
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