Agree to Disagree: Middle School Teachers are the BEST!

Middle school teachers are the best!

Teaching is such a wonderful career!  Teachers get to guide students on their paths to success.  Teachers get to help shape our future leaders.  In my opinion, there is nothing more rewarding than being a teacher!  But what grade should you teach?  Having taught elementary, middle, and high school myself, I came to the conclusion that MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS are the best!

Resources From Rachel

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links which means we may make a small commission at no cost to you if you click and purchase something we recommend. The suggested products are ones we have tried and love! For more information see our full disclosure policy. Thank you!

I took a survey and asked 25 middle school teachers, “Why is teaching middle school better than teaching any other grade?”

Here are the TOP 5 answers:

  • “Middle school teachers are much more relaxed”.

When you teach in elementary grades, it can be very fast paced.  Elementary teachers need to have so much energy to keep up with the little ones!  The students are constantly running around and their curiosity makes it hard to keep anything clean!  When you teach high school, you need to spend time and energy keeping up with new things such as: advancements in social media, the newest challenges and fads, and ways to prepare students for the real world.  When you teach middle school, teachers need energy but it’s a different kind of energy.

Middle school students are at an age where they observe, try things out, and search for who they are.  They are at an age of trying to become more independent but aren’t quite there yet.  Middle school teachers get to focus more of their energy on academics and teaching students how to get through the challenge of hormones.  Like the hormonal changes a middle school student experiences, anything in middle school can go from bad to great or great to bad, in an instant!

Middle school teachers are flexible and willing to understand when things change.  The relaxed nature of a middle school teacher demonstrates one key reason you should teach middle school.  I often use stress fidgets in the classroom to keep a consistent relaxing environment for both myself and the students!

**Classroom Management Ideas HERE**

  • “Middle school teachers get to relive middle school experiences and enhance the experiences for the kids”.

As we get older, we tend to remember either the truly great experiences we had when we were younger or the truly awful experiences we had when we were younger.  Memories of elementary school may consist of colorful classrooms and meeting new friends for the first time!  High school memories may consist of good or bad but still finding a group of kids similar to you.  Of the middle school teachers I surveyed, most said that their experiences from middle school were awful!

With a “tween” attitude and pimples, middle school did not turn out to be what most of the teachers had hoped.  Remember every hairstyle and piece of clothing you tried?  Do you remember every group you tried to join to be “cool”?  Remember the first time you wore bright blue glittery eye shadow?  Yikes!

Middle school teachers remember what it’s like to be in their shoes.  These teachers understand and want to change this generations middle school experiences for the better!  Middle school teachers are strong-willed and understanding.  This is another reason middle school teachers are amazing!

  • “Teaching middle school students can be wonderful because the students are old enough to understand but young enough to be innocent and teachable.

Middle school students may talk a “big talk” but in reality, do they know the meaning of what they are saying?  Middle school students want to be older.  They are finding themselves.  They want to appear grown up and independent.  However, they are at an age where they still rely on their parents!  Middle school students are filled with innocence. These students are not quite sure what they want so they listen, observe, and absorb all information that is given to them.

As middle school teachers, it feels amazing to know that your students are not only listening to you but they are learning from you!  Middle school students appear to mature so much during the middle school years.  Teachers often get to see the results of their teaching as the students move through grades 4-8.  Of course elementary and high school students learn from their teachers too!  However, with middle school, the results appear to be quicker.

Click HERE for Middle School BASELINE DATA Assessments for K-8

assessments-for-special-education

  • “Middle school students understand teacher sarcasm”.

Middle school students are fun to teach because they are at an age where humor is defined.  These students are developing a sense of humor and understanding that it’s okay to laugh!  Jokes and sarcasm begin in middle school.  Of course the joking and sarcasm is appropriate and light-hearted (no dark sarcasm here)!  Humor can be the bridge to building a good rapport with your students.   Since most middle school teachers love jokes and sarcasm, this makes it the perfect place for them to teach!

  • “Middle school students spend less time learning about behavior in a classroom and more time on learning academic content”.

Every type of teacher is responsible for teaching necessary skills for life.  Elementary teachers get to teach students how to be in a classroom.  They get to explain boundaries and expectations of what it’s like to be in a space with lots of other people.  High school teachers get to prepare students for the real world.  They get to demonstrate real-life scenarios and ensure their students have the skills to survive in the world after graduation.

Middle school teachers get to spend more time on teaching academics.  By the time a student hits middle school, their students already know the expectations of being in a classroom (whether they choose to follow it or not).  These students are not yet ready for the real world and need to build their skills.  Middle school teachers get to do just that!  Middle school teachers get to set up the foundation of academic success for their students.  It’s an important role.  Middle school teachers have the pleasure of finding their students strengths!

NEED to Teach Organization Skills?? Click HERE! 

CLICK on the picture to Access Middle School ResourcesMiddle School

Middle school can be one of the most challenging areas to teach.  This is why being a middle school teacher is the most rewarding!  Teachers of all grade levels are important and wonderful.

But overall….

…Middle School Teachers Rock!!

Need resources for middle school General Education or Special Education??? Click HERE to find a great place for resources.