Mama Kat Thursday: What Grade Would I Teach?

The Mama Kat prompt I chose today was, "If I had to become a teacher, what grade would I choose?"

This is speculative, since I never got into that profession.

Thinking it over, I decided if I had to be a teacher and pick a grade, I'd pick 5th grade.

That's a good age group because it's still an interested and inquisitive age. Hormones haven't kicked in quite yet, so the opposite sex is still regarded as having "cooties." Plus they can carry on a conversation and can work independently or in groups on projects. 

Looking from the perspective of the age I am now and things going on in the world around me, there a things I'd want to squeeze in among the standard Math, English and Social Studies if I were teaching 5th grade, which are a tech savvy generation.

1)  Reaffirming Social Graces: Please, thank you, acts of kindness, treating others as you wish to be treated, how to act on social media and so on.
(Government employees have to go through training on how to conduct themselves on social media---why not start early?)

2)  Social Communication Skills: 

How to listen and converse. In particular, how to listen to someone who has a differing opinion and converse respectfully (I imagine discussing reasons for preferring either smooth or crunchy peanut butter); how to debate an issue calmly, how to handle a disagreement or argument constructively plus constructive and positive ways of dealing with personal feelings of frustration and anger, so it doesn't build up.

(I say this since there is a preponderance of people in these modern  times lacking any of those skills. So why not retrain the next generation to be better?

3)  Economic Life Skills:

A simplified how-to on setting up a basic budget and based on that budget: making choices on expenses, iphone plans, how to save, how interest and credit cards work and so on. 

(I say this because I saw a 10 year old on program who didn't seem  to know any expenses were involved in having a cell phone.)

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