I have no idea. I know that now even grade school teachers are having to deal with frequent outbursts from some children and other negative behaviors. I believe it may be linked to autism that hasn’t been diagnosed yet in many cases. Students are fighting in high schools and maybe even middle schools a lot more too. Even in class.
I have found that I have knack for instructing high schoolers. I try to make lessons interesting, bend the rules now and then, and win them over, (well most of them anyway.) I try to make learning fun and not just lecture them. I actually have had many of my students telling other students to request me. I guess they think I'm cool...lol
I feel like by the time you get to high school, particularly juniors and seniors, it becomes too late to reach a lot of kids. They're either going to wind up failures or they're already on track to succeeding. Not much of a difference I can make.
At least in middle school, it's a transition period between childhood and adolescence and there is much more of a chance to instill good habits and impart crucial lessons. They're definitely still learning about the world instead of feeling like they know everything
When I used to tell stories in schools, grades 4-6 (ages around 9-11) were the best listeners and most interesting audiences. Smart and mature and not yet struggling with puberty. So probably that age range.
@ThePatientAnarchist I like people like you. What a great thing to do. You sound like a really great person and thoughtful. I know they really loved your stories. I'm sure you're a great storyteller and it was very rewarding. What was your favorite story to tell them?
@LadyGrace Thank you. People do tell me I am a good storyteller :) I used to do a program of folktales from different countries that involve some kind of transformation of humans into other animals or vice versa. It's been years since I focused on that repertoire so I'm not sure of a favourite story at this distance, but I enjoyed a particular feeling of lifting off from the everyday world into a magical one.
I had lots of people tell me when I was younger to be a teacher. After being miserable for most of the time in grade school, the thought of teaching never crossed my mind. It's probably 100 times worse now with student behavior being out of control.