Part of what I used to detest and ow intimidates me about teaching
elementary school, is having to teach grammar and historical facts (that's
how I perceive _those_ subjects altough I know I shouldn't). As I see it,
people with a passion for a subject teach secondary so they can spend all
their time with that one subject; people with a passion for children teach
elementary.
A math specialist position would be ideal, but elementary schools are very
diverse in whether they have self-contained classrooms or multiple
teachers. I believe that self-contained is going overboard (in the nuturing
sense) for sixth-graders, but is appropriate for first- and second-grade.
I wouldn't try to begin to convince you to teach elementary school, Jason.
If you think you might be interested, go spend some time in a variety of
elementary classrooms; see what is going on, volunteer to teach a unit for
a teacher (s/he would love the help). I wouldn't enter the elementary side
of the profession cold turkey, with what I know about your background.
There's my two-cents on that matter!
Mary K. Hannigan
Austin Community College