I initially chose to teach 6th grade English, because I thought I would relate better to older students. I've since learned that this assumption is far too simple, and often flat-out wrong. Within my first week here, I learned that I would also be teaching 4th grade science and 1st grade P.E. Seeing such a range of ages each day keeps me on my feet as a teacher, and I've learned to use very different styles with each grade.
I feel like our obsession with our students fluctuates by grade on a given day. Annie, Lin, Rachel and I spend most dinners chatting about our students and all of the adorable and ridiculous things they say. Our conversations usually go something like this, "My sixth graders were really getting on my nerves today." "Why? I was loving the sixth graders, it was the second graders who were driving me nuts." Sometimes our off days with certain grades overlap, but so much of it depends on our moods on a given day. This is something probably every teacher deals with, but it's nonetheless hard to get used to the extreme highs and lows throughout each day.
When I'm feeling like a rock star, first grade is my favorite. As I approach the classroom, the kids slowly start to realize it's time for P.E. class, and you can hear it with their high-pitched calls "Miss Gabi!" or "P.E. class!" (体育课!). I've tried several times to teach them to sit quietly just as they would with any Chinese teacher, but nothing can get them to settle down. If I'm not in the mood for this, their greetings sound even louder and higher-pitched than usual (kind of like having a hangover). When giving instructions, I circle around the room very quickly, pretending that the most routine activities are mysterious and exciting. For example, every day the kids run three laps, and every day I act like it will be the most magical adventure of their lives. "First! We're going to…suspense…suspense…so much suspense...RUN LAPS!!!!! Who can run laps the best?!!?!"
If I were to teach my 6th graders the way I teach my 1st graders, they would think I was insane. Once, a few of my 6th graders were outside watching as I taught the first graders, and I actually felt embarrassed. I felt like Big Bird caught wearing sweat pants at the grocery store. I didn't want my 6th graders to think I was some sort of phony. With English, I get down to business quickly. My kids help run the class, from collecting homework to helping set up and keeping track of team points. I definitely have goofy moments, but at 12 and 13 years old, a few of my 6th graders act too cool for that. As the students get older, they respond much better to responsibilities and being taken seriously. I recently implemented an incentive that if students turn in 10 consecutive assignments, they get to spend time in the computer room. Today they used the computer to respond to their pen pals. Since I started this system, I haven't had more than two students fail to turn in an assignment.
We teachers recently started a tutoring program, in which several of my best English students tutor both 4th graders and some lower-performing 6th graders. Once we've paired them up, the students quiz each other on vocabulary words, and help them work through English problems. I can't help but smile watching the students help each other succeed. In those moments, I imagine myself as a teacher from one of those inspiring teacher movies, leading the kids down the path of knowledge and cooperation—that or Barney, I guess.
I won't go into detail on the 4th graders (I aim for Miss Frizzle, naturally), but they're somewhere in between. Not quite angsty yet, but old enough to be given real responsibilities. Put simply, if I'm in the mood to dance "Yongfeng Style," the 4th graders take the lead (see my video below for details).
