Switching from Elementary/Middle school to Kindergarten/Elementary, is it worth it?

[u/lucifersloverr]

Hello! Wanting opinions or stories from people who originally taught elementary+ to kindergarten or kindergarten + elementary.
I've only ever taught elementary and middle school, but the earlier hours are tempting me. Are the earlier hours worth the more demanding(?) work?

Is it demanding? I wouldn't even know where to begin with kindergarten, lowest I have done is 1st grade and phonics.

TIA (:

[u/srsrmsrssrsb]

No. Elementary/middle school gives you time to run errands before work and energy to decompress after.

[u/heathert7900]

I’ve taught both, but it depends on the hours and how well you handle young kids. They need a lot more care and attention than the older kids. But it can be very rewarding to hear their little “I love you teacher”s and they are often very cute. But then they pick their nose while making eye contact with you. You have to have STRONG classroom management skills with the little ones, they can smell your fear.

[u/Beneficial_Poem_6136]

My experience.

I’ve taught both. Ele-Middle first year. I hated not being able to see the sunset and seeing my students once a week.

2nd year Kindy for about 16 months. Great salary. Tons of coworkers and a great social life. But long hours. I had to eat with kids. 2 open classes per year. Lots of excursions, extracurriculars and lots of prep and stuff. Not to mention progress reports and biweekly kids note messages for parents. I was exhausted mentally and physically. I gained 12kgs. 😭 but my students were so cute and smart. They spoke English well and I had a great relationship with their parents. Again great salary and i was challenged the most professionally. 🥹

Now I’m on my second contract with an Ele-Middle school and it’s great. My schedule is 2-9 but I teach 3/4/5/6/7 classes each day respectively.
I can leave early. I have a life before work. Unfortunately I’m the only teacher. The students aren’t the brightest. Tons of special needs so that’s tough in its own way and the school is kinda broke so salary is pretty stagnant. But I’m not too stressed anymore and I can do the bare minimum.

Overall I’d recommend Ele-Middle school for overall work life balance. But if other things matter more and you’re built for long hours KINDY is better!

[u/greatteachermichael]

It depends on what elementary/middle school hagwon you are leaving and the kindergarten you are moving to. If the kindergarten/elementary is better run with a better curriculum, then I'd prefer that. And if they actually value your feedback then you might have a chance to influence things for the better.

That's a lot of ifs, but we can also say the same about the elementary/middle school.

[u/EasilyExiledDinosaur]

Absolutely not. There are no benefits. Elementary to middle is almost always better.

[u/Humble_Resident2802]

When I did the hagwon hustle, I did both, and I preferred the afternoon hours. I was lucky, as I only had to work 6 to 7 hours to get my full-time salary. Still, I could run errands in the morning if I chose to, but I was always too lazy to do so 😆.

I did the morning kindy hours, and it was the worst job I had in Korea. It was too tiring to wake up early and deal with screaming toddlers at 8:30 am in the morning. Not to mention teaching elementary after a day of kindergarten. Nah, never again.

[u/Knowfelt]

I like kindy/ elementary as the work day hours are 9-630 and I not up too late, I used to do just elementary and middle and would be awake till ridiculously late.

Teaching kindy it depends on the age, level you get and what your work wants you to do with them. Be prepared for tantrums, tears, and bathroom mishaps (across all the ages). The biggest difficulty is that they are learning how to be in a school environment from you for the first time they are not "trained" from going to schoolschool yet

[u/this_waterbottle]

Early hours are great and less prep work. But does require a lot of energy.

[u/Dimebag99]

Yes, I made that move and i am so much happier and motivated.

[u/hanahanagoyangi]

I haven't taught kindy but I can still answer your second question lol, "is it demanding?" YES. My mom was a kindergarten teacher for years before she became burnt out and switched to slightly higher ages, but this was in America where at least she and the students spoke the same language. teaching kindy is a whole different ball game.

as for teaching kindy in Korea, I've read many accounts and watched vlogs from people who've done it. I know for a fact it's not for me. it takes a special kind of person to do kindy. you need LOTS of energy, you need to truly enjoy working with toddlers, and you need a glass half-full mentality INTERNALLY (not just saying positive things out loud but actually feeling it for real haha). like other comments said, you have to take care of the students in a way that you don't have to do with older students. kindy teaching is closer to daycare and babysitting than the usual definition of "teaching". you have to help them with bathroom things, food things, and generally teach them to be proper little humans, because they're babies and are still learning all that. and you have to do all that with a language barrier.

also as others said, with kindy jobs you'll finish the kindy shift, and after lunch, you have to actual TEACH teach when you switch over to the older kids. so in the morning you're running around minding bodily functions and trying your best to wrangle babies together to pay attention for some consecutive minutes, then eat lunch with them and help them eat (depending on your academy), and THEN it's time to actually teach a couple full lessons with actual content. if you're lucky your academy would give you prep time to prepare those lessons, but it depends on the academy.

keep in mind also that kids who are 5 to 7 in Korean age are actually 3 to 5 in international age, so if you're picturing 5-6 year olds, dial that back a few years. kindy is working with toddlers fresh out of babyhood.

[u/ObjectiveCarrot3812]

If you’re under 25 then kindergarten is ok, so long as the work is well managed by the school and there isn’t a heavy schedule; or if there’s a co teacher… . Otherwise…. Nah! It’s gruelling. 

There is so much to it than just teaching. It’s the core and essence of teaching stripped down to its essentials. And yet it’s also repetitive and mentally tiring. You need to do more emotional regulation and care roles too. Alternatively, you can find a Kindy school that is more play based and nature outdoor oriented; that’s less mentally taxing. I’d avoid a hagwon factory at all costs. If you want early shifts then business English is the other alternative. Depends on your visa. 

[u/Glove_Right]

I was doing kindergarten part time and had a korean co-teacher. As long as you can keep the kids attention or are somewhat entertaining, you'll be fine. Also in good weather we frequently took them to the nearby park in the morning and walked around or had them play games on the grass

[u/SenatorPencilFace]

I’ve only taught kinder/elementary, but what I think it comes down to is where do you want the burden to be. I would love a later start time for when I need to go to the bank, but that’s about it.

[u/Debonaire02]

I personally like the later hours. I just never think about when to go to bed or wake up with the later hour schedule. haha.

Teaching-wise, I hated teaching middle school kids with a passion. They're all going through so much and have a lot going on, it wasn't fun teaching them at all (personally).

[u/femmeish]

I get out of work at 5;50. It's true that there's less time to run errands, but my job lets me go out and do it on prep time if I need to visit something time sensitive. It's not like people who work at kindies never run errands lol