How do classes differ by grade level and how much freedom do teachers have over the curriculum?

[u/Ok-Marzipan6847]

I moved here from Quebec in grade 10. I am thinking of doing a Bachelor of Education to be a teacher so I am trying to understand more about what being a teacher is like in New Brunswick.

In my past schools in Quebec, until 6th grade, students were all in the same classroom and taught by the same teacher except for gym, music/art, and english courses. In those other classes, we were with the same students, just with a different teacher. In 7th grade and above, we had a different teacher for each class. There, schools were separated in primary and secondary. In New Brunswick though, they are separated by elementary, middle school, and high school. Looking at Bachelor of Education programs, there are two streams: elementary and secondary. I am essentially wonder how teaching differs between school types and grade levels (like, which grade levels include teaching multiple subjects? or having different groups of kids?).

I am also wondering about the teacher's level of freedom over the curriculum. From what I understand, certain competencies need to be met, but the way that the teacher gets the students to reach those competencies (like assignments) depends on the teacher? Or are they given the assignments and learning plans that they have to give and teach to students? I am also wondering if teachers get a say on certain topics that are taught. For example, if a class is ahead in history or science, can the teacher decide to teach an additional topic and decide what that topic is as long as its appropriate for the grade level?

[u/mardbar]

Hi there, I’ve been a teacher for about 20 years and have taught just about every single class except for high school English. So for the most part, if you are a k-5 classroom teacher, you will have your class for the majority of the day. It really depends on the school though. Some schools will have either the teacher or class move, and one teacher may teach just math and another will do literacy. We have French immersion and English prime. I teach grade 2 FI and I have them all day except for the half hour a day that they do music or PE. If the school doesn’t have music, PE or art specialists, the homeroom teacher may teach those. Once they get up to middle school, again depending on the school, the classes may get mixed up again. They probably stay together for math and language arts, but their exploratory classes may be mixed up with other students.

With regards to freedom over the curriculum, there was a big change to a holistic curriculum last year. You can google NB Holistic Curriculum and see what is expected to be covered. There are things that I am expected to covered. How I get there can vary a bit, but there are best practices that I need to follow. For example, I can’t just get my students to memorize all the words on my word wall and expect them to be able to read. However, during exploration time we can follow the students’ interests and my interests a bit more. We’re currently participating in a March madness type music contest featuring French musicians from all over the world.

I’m not sure if those are the answers you’re looking for. It’s quite a big question and hard to put it down in a response like this. If you are in post secondary now you may be able to get a local permit and try some supply teaching to see what it’s like.

[u/DKwins → u/mardbar]

I have lived here my whole life, and I remember it working as described. In the younger grades, there is not much moving around. By grade 8, at least the school I went to, our class would have a handful of teachers for various subjects. With some teachers having a "main" subject where one teacher would teach a few classes of the same subject.

High school was much more specialized, and students were not were not grouped by class and had individual schedules. the English teacher taught mostly English and would potentially fill holes if they were able. One of the English teachers also taught some cooking classes.

Keep in mind this is one experience from school in the moncton area. I would suspect all this stuff can and does change with school size, district area, etc...

I would consider reaching out to one of the districts you are interested in working in. We need the teachers, so I'm thinking they will pretty open to questions. 🤣

[u/Ok-Marzipan6847 → u/DKwins]

Thank you very much!

[u/Ok-Marzipan6847 → u/mardbar]

Thank you very much for your response! I am currently in post-secondary but not for a bachelor of education yet as I am finishing up a bachelor of Psychology. I will look into the local permit :) also that March madness contest sounds very interesting!

[u/pugzilla124_]

I’m not a teacher but a recent grad from an NB high school. In elementary (K-5), it was much like your elementary experience in Quebec, with one teacher for the whole day, and the same group of students (and as a class we would go to the gym and be taught by the gym teacher).

 In middle school (6-8), we were the same group, but would go different classes for different subjects (some teachers taught more than one subject). 

In high school (9-12), we would generally have our own individual schedule, and to different classes for different subjects, largely with a different group in each class. Teachers there were often specialist in their subjects (like there were math teachers who just taught math to all grade levels in the school).

Teachers at all levels had huge control over the curriculum and what they taught, even two teachers teaching the same course would do so wildly different. Hope this helps!

[u/Ok-Marzipan6847 → u/pugzilla124_]

Thank you! This is very helpful :)

[u/i-have-aquestion2024]

Side note to all these wonderful comments. NB is the Wild West … not like other provinces. Meaning if you major in 6-12 you can still teach elementary. What’s that , your a biology/math major, here’s social studies and music. Wouldn’t change career but don’t expect the same experiences you may have lived elsewhere.