Teaching middle school bio or researching

[jklee114]

while i'm taking a year or two off, i'm deciding on whether to research or accept a position to teach life sciences to 7th graders. I'm wondering what you guys would decide for your year or two off between the two.

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[LizardKing]

Which one would you like doing more? I'd say do the thing that you could write the best about in your essays, etc. If I were to choose, I'd do the teaching, but that's just me.

If you know you have a good shot at getting published, then either choice is good. But if it's just research without any progression, opt for the teaching. Look into how often your faculty mentor gets published, that sorta thing.

 

[jdub]

i was just wondering if you have taught 7th graders before? it can be really difficult and one needs to be prepared to deal with a lot of behavioral issues. from my experience, teaching younger kids is a lot more about keeping control of the classroom than teaching about biology or anything else. for what ever reason, which there are many, it is really hard to get little 11 to 12 year olds to focus . . . and behave. when the kids are good, it can be pretty cool, but when they are bad, they can give you grey hairs.

anyhow, if you haven't already had some teaching experience, i would make sure you get some before commiting a whole year to it. it isn't an easy job and it takes a lot of dedication.

i personally think that it comes down to what you would like to do more, both will offer unique opportunities and experiences and will look fine on an application.
best of luck.