Said It Here

How do I choose what grade level to teach?

Deciding on an age group forces you to choose between focusing on a specific academic subject or the developmental stage of the students. This uncertainty makes it difficult to commit to an education program or figure out where you will actually find job satisfaction.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

  1. 1
    Doing classroom observations at different grade levels
  2. 2
    Narrowing down specific subjects of interest
  3. 3
    Picking grade bands like 4-8 to avoid managing specific age groups like high schoolers
  4. 4
    Choosing based on personal confidence in classroom management
  5. 5
    checking with a program advisor regarding state certification coverage
  6. 6
    subbing or shadowing for a day to experience different grade levels
  7. 7
    teaching 9th grade as a middle-to-high school bridge

In their words

Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.

“Should I pick a grade based on what grade I would like to teach or what subject I would like?”source ↗

“Which influences your job satisfaction more: the educational content itself or the grade that you teach? And which should I do?”source ↗

flirtybirdie888 · r/Teachers · 2 upvotes

“Right now, I am in the process of deciding whether I want to teach middle or high school.”source ↗

“What if I end up disliking middle school? My next best bet would be teaching high school. How difficult is it to become a high school teacher coming from middle school? Are there any certifications you need that middle doesn’t require?”source ↗

ballaalert · r/Teachers · 1 upvotes

“I’m applying for a credentials/masters program this week but I need to decide if I want to teach grades 3-5, 6-8 or 9-12.”source ↗

Dismal-Simple-2766 · r/Teachers

Where this came up

r/Teacherscareer choiceeducationteacher certificationteaching

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