For those focused on becoming a future educator, one of the most common, initial questions with regard to this subject involves the query of which grade is the easiest grade to teach. This is a natural and understandable question as each age group and grade level provides its own unique challenges and simplicities. Here, we take a closer look at providing some perspective on this age-old question.
“Easiest:” Matter of Differing Opinion
First, it must be prefaced that there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. What is easy and straightforward for one may be difficult and cumbersome work for another. This is true in all areas of life as it is in teaching.
Therefore, rather than general proclamation of an “easiest” grade to teach, we may better serve our readers by simply highlighting some of the most notable, widely known attributes of the four, primary grade groups: early childhood education, elementary education, middle school, and high school. With this information, you may then decide for yourself what may be easiest or the most burdensome for your particular preferences and style.
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Early Childhood Education
Early childhood education involves the teaching of the youngest of pupils, typically ranging from five to seven years old. This group is eager to learn in many areas, driven by play and the most basic of rewards. On the other hand, they are quite sensitive to emotional stress and have not yet developed the communication or maturity that make supreme concentration and academic delivery possible.
Elementary Education
Elementary school children are those that attend grades one through five. These children have aged beyond the early childhood group and are just starting to experiment with the deeper aspects of personality, decision-making, honesty, relationships, and more. This group could accurately be described as lingering somewhere between young, immature babes and prepubescent teenagers with a general temperament to match.
Middle School
Middle school is where puberty, complex matters of personality formation, and other psychological transitions take place for many. School subjects become more advanced, covering areas such as geometry, advanced algebra, geography, foreign languages, and even sexual education. If being an understanding teacher and advocate for those in an often awkward stage of life sounds difficult or uncomfortable to you, perhaps the middle school grade levels are not your ideal concentration.
High School
Like middle school, high school can also be filled with some awkward teenage hormones and less than conventional moments. Then too, teaching at this grade level can have a profoundly rewarding impact on the student and a unique opportunity to serve as a guide to the budding, young adult. School subjects here are increasingly complex and thus require an increased level of insight and attention to detail within all subject matter being taught and handled.
According to research, “teacher preparation/knowledge of teaching and learning, subject matter knowledge, experience, and the combined set of qualifications measured by teacher licensure are all leading factors in teacher effectiveness.” A big part of such effectiveness as a teacher no doubt includes some in-depth awareness as to the different grade levels and a subsequently educated choice as to the grade level one finds easiest and most advantageous to teach. In conclusion, this piece is meant to shine a little light on the different grade levels and their associated attributes for the purpose of you determining which is the most advantageous and easiest grade to teach.
