Tips for teaching teens when you've only taught elementary students
Transitioning from elementary to older students leaves teachers feeling unprepared for managing adolescents and dealing with bureaucratic burdens like administration and parents. This shift brings significant emotional stress and daily uncertainty, making it easy to feel overwhelmed and constantly think about quitting.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Volunteering in classrooms to observe pacing and routines
- 2Taking alternative route pathways to certification while taking classes concurrently
- 3Subbing to get a feel for schools, though opinions vary on its usefulness
- 4Retiring first from corporate work to secure financial stability before taking on teaching
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I started at 42 and I am 61 now and I think about quitting every 5 minutes.”source ↗
“It is very rewarding and at times draining too. Teaching is awesome, admin and parents less so. All the bureaucratic stuff sucks.”source ↗
“I never taught teens before and I'm kind of worried. Do you have any advices for me please?”source ↗
“I am in my 50s and have about 30 years of experience in corporate finance/technology. I really want to pivot into something that feels more meaningful to me.”source ↗
“It will be a substantial reduction in pay but money won’t be an issue for me. But I am not going to lie, I will struggle emotionally with the drop in income”source ↗
“I’ve been working from home for the last 6 years so the early mornings are going to be a challenge as well as being in person and in front of 20-30 humans.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2How to transition from teaching older students to elementary school
- 2Why are honors classes full of average students?
- 2Will a two-year career break hurt my chances of returning to teaching?
- 11Why can't I find a teaching job after graduating?
- 12What should I do on the first day of teaching?
- 4How do I choose what grade level to teach?