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Question: I have been teaching for 3 years and recently I was placed (unwillingly) at a new school in a new area of town. Needless to say I hate the kids, the staff and my administrator. The kids keep complaining about my teaching and since I’m used to teaching seniors (now I have 9th graders) I’m lost at what to do. Help!
Answer: As cliché as it may sound, you must make the best of your situation. I know how it feels to be placed in a school unwillingly. I do not know the reasons why you were transferred, but now that you’re there, do what you know how to do best! The students can sense the fact that you’re unhappy there, and they are using your own unhappiness against you; don’t let them win that battle. Instead go in Monday morning with an attitude that exudes your love of freshmen! Yes, freshmen are another species, but they, too, are trying to find their place in a new school/environment, and your unease isn’t helping them. Here are a few quick tips that I used when I was placed in a middle school, after all of my training was geared toward high school students:
1. Seniors and freshmen do a lot of the same work. You can use the same basic lessons and activities, but for freshmen, you may need to break-up the activity into a few more steps; add more collaborative learning groups and projects. This will also mean less time you are up teaching, and more time they are actively learning.
2. Be honest. Again, your students sense you are unhappy. Share your feelings with your students (within reason—maintain your professionalism). Then, make a pact with your classes that you’ll try your best to adjust to their learning needs, as long as they are honest with you and are patient with you as you learn a new demographic. Consider having a lock box where students place their concerns, and have a “Discussion Day” every so often to discuss what’s going on in your classroom community.
3. Sponsor an extracurricular activity. This will help you find your niche in the school and to learn more about the new area of town, as well as help you form an alliance with some students who will spread the word that you’re “Ok”, which can help you win them over in the classroom. It will also show your colleagues and administrator that you are working hard to become a part of the school community.
4. And lastly, laugh, laugh, laugh. Humor brings everyone together. Find ways you can work in humor into the classroom. If you teach math, find some funny math cartoons to project as students enter the room to begin their warm-up.
Hang in there. Change is hard, but we all know change can be good. Freshmen are people, too, and they simply want to know their teacher cares about them. Take it one class period at a time, and this might just be your best year ever! Good luck, and keep The Educator’s Room updated on your progress!
These are some great tips.
I would disagree with sharing your feelings with the kids – there is no way you can be professional and do this. There is a big difference between grade 12 and grade 9, but focus on positive differences. 9th graders have more energy, they tend to be more enthusiastic about school. You can ask them to do silly things, like break up into teams to answer questions and race to the board to move their game pieces and they will DO them. Try getting a 12th grader to stop being cool for long enough to do that – it will not happen. 9th grade is an important year and you are a part of it – take lots of time to turn these big 8th graders into students with high school habits. If you haven’t done it before, go through procedure training with them – they truly need to be taught how to be high school students, how to organize themselves, how to set priorities in studying, how to study at all. It’s a different way of life than teaching seniors, but once you decide to do your job properly instead of being miserable about it, you may find you actually enjoy it. And I’m speaking as a 20 year veteran who has taught all levels 7 – 12.
Grade 9s — and Grade 12s — are not just different: they are almost a different species!
The advice to share feelings is HORRIBLE ADVICE. Grade 9s by and large will EAT YOU ALIVE if you take this advice.
I'm a 20 year veteran, and I mostly deal with grade 8-9 students now (by choice). Many lesson plans might work from your senior files, but here is my advice for dealing with younger students:
Grade 9s may be 'bigger in body', but they still (often) have the heart of a younger child. Some of them still (secretly) play with toys, though they will NEVER admit this to anyone but their closest friends.
Most will still happily do 'coloring' activities in class, if it is appropriate. Grade 12s would look at you cross-eyed if you asked them to do that. Further, they are more likely to enjoy ANY art-based activity if you give them the chance. In my French classes, grade 9s will turn in amazing artwork surrounding the day's lesson on, say, the Avoir verb.
The advice from Marla (above) is also great. The kids, if you can get them onside, will often do MORE for you than any grade 12 would, because of their boundless enthusiasm. This is why I CHOOSE to work with grade 8-9 students now.
Best of luck to you younger teachers. More than EVER, this is one of the HARDEST PROFESSIONS in the Western World, and more than ever it is one of the most DEVALUED professions in the Western World.