Everybody told you that you’d be placed in an elementary school and that there are no positions for middle and high school, but then you find out you’re in a, what? A middle school!? You might be freaking out like I was back when I got a text from a friend telling me I was placed in a middle school (the document of placements leaked for our intake). I cried to my mom, asking her how the hell I’m going to teach a bunch of middle schoolers, the worst age group to teach, but obviously by the title, you can see that was not the case.

I might be biased, actually this is totally biased since I’ve never taught at an elementary school, but middle school is the superior placement. The students are old enough to be interested in learning English, unlike elementary school, but not old enough to be so stressed about it that there will be a lot of pressure on your lessons. It’s the best situation to be in, basically. I’m not at all saying it’s all perfect, but no situation is, ever.

What freaked me out the most about teaching middle school is that i heard co-teaching is like nonexistent, and yes that is completely true. You will obviously have a Korean teacher with you in the classroom, but no they will not help you make your lessons, and don’t expect them to or ask them to either; it’s just not their responsibility. Most of these teachers have A LOT of work already, if you’re a middle school teacher, you’re going to have to be independent, which could be scary for a lot of people, especially for people who came here expecting a free vacation where you get paid to do the bare minimum.

First of all, elementary school could have you doing just as much work; you could be doing a book club, a teacher after school class, and more. Second of all, if you’re just here for a free vacation then… good luck. If you took a proper TESOL course then you should be fine making your own lessons from a textbook. It was hard the first few weeks, but that’s only because you don’t really know what kind of environment you’ll have in your classrooms. After you figure that out, and have tried out a bunch of activities, lesson planning will be a breeze, and so much better doing on your own.

 Another thing, your English camps may be longer, and you will be teaching a wider range of levels. In elementary school, there are 6 grades. Some teachers are teaching students from every level. Some teach each level separately, some do it all together. 
In middle school you only have 3 grades you may have to deal with. In my experience, only 1st and 2nd graders take camp, so its super easy to make lessons that are not too easy or difficult for them. You also teach them all together in one go. After two weeks, you're free!

 Desk warming is also MUCH longer in elementary schools, since their summer vacation is longer. You may see this as a plus, since you get to plan one or two less lessons, but trust me, it is not. Desk warming is honestly the worst thing ever, the 8 hours go by slowly, and I'd honestly rather be having fun with my students then finding something to watch that i won't be judged for. 

I would tell you all the things I did to make my classes run smoothly, but there’s no point since every school you will be in will be different. There’s no point of overwhelming you, or you overwhelming yourself by looking up all the things other middle school teachers do. I know how stressed I was reading teachers complicated “reward systems”, I don’t even have a reward system other than a stamp my school gave me, and sometimes giving sugar candy if we’re going to play a team game. You don’t need any fancy crap you see everywhere, your co-teachers, hopefully, will be able to get your students on task and paying attention to you.

 Also, another thing from my experience talking with my friends, the ones who are in middle school have better co-workers. The things i've heard from my elementary school friends is sometimes really strange, like as if they don't follow proper HR rules. For example, commenting on your appearance, or criticizing your work more. Maybe it's because you have to work more closely with them, so you get into more issues. 

 Basically I wrote this so that anyone in my position will not be stressed or freaking out if they were placed in a middle school. I just wanted to say congratulations, you got the best group of students to teach. The amount of joy second grade middle schoolers have given me is unimaginable. They are hilarious to the point I’ve fallen on the floor a couple of times. I hope you have as much fun as I have teaching middle schoolers!