9 Reasons Why 2nd Grade is the Best (for Teaching)

Second graders are at a pivotal time in their young lives and an exciting place educationally.

They are working hard to do well in school and make more sense of the greater world around them. Many teachers love to teach 2nd grade for various reasons.

Here are our nine reasons why 2nd grade is the best!

1. 2nd-graders are beginning to understand just how big and confusing the world can be. It’s like they suddenly became sentient beings overnight! Unlike first graders, second graders understand that there is a world out there; for many students, it becomes their mission to understand as much of it as possible.
2. There are a lot of similarities between students, but each has its unique personality. Second grade is one of those periods where many of the students will be going through similar developmental milestones at the same time. These similarities often serve to bring their unique personalities into even starker relief! It becomes a joy to watch these students discover more about themselves daily.
3. You will witness many changes in your students in a semester and throughout the school year. This is an exciting time in your student’s lives, and the changes will be plentiful! There may even be periods when you feel like you can see them changing daily.
4. Their memories and recall abilities can be nothing short of amazing. You will learn about this firsthand if you ever forget a detail or skip over something you think is important. Nothing will get by this group of students!
5. Facts matter to 2nd-graders. Don’t try to speak in generalities or put off the questions of a second-grader, and it’s a losing battle. Similar to their strong memories, their love of facts and repeating them will sometimes amaze you.
6. This is when many personality traits, such as a sense of humor and a preference to be alone or within a group, are formed. This is when they will start trying to “do their own thing” while sticking fairly close to the group. They may try on different personas from day to day to see what feels best. It’s a fascinating period of self-discovery.
7. Learning, homework, and doing well in school are now important aspects of their lives. First graders may have somewhat of an idea of what school and homework are all about, but the change from first to second grade is astounding. Don’t be surprised if your students continue to amaze you daily.
8. 2nd graders are working hard to understand and define themselves. They’re just beginning to grasp the concept of autonomy and will have many ups and downs. This may be a difficult year in many respects, but it will likely also be exhilarating!
9. You will be amused by the quirks that your students adopt to feel safe and secure. This is when pupils may latch on to perfectionism to feel more secure as they learn about the world. You will find that students need to have the classroom library alphabetized and organized by size, for example.