Elementary Education - Just What Is This Kind Of Education?
Elementary education, or primary education as it is known in some
countries, usually begins when a child is 4 or 5 years old, lasts for
between four and eight years, and is often the first full time
organized education for a child. By the time the child reaches 11 or
12, s/he usually moves on to secondary education.In the elementary
school classroom, the basics of literacy and numeracy are taught,
using differing methods in different school districts, with varying
success. We will cover some of these approaches here.
Although elementary education concentrates on the basics of
reading, writing and arithmetic, otherwise known as the three r's
(reading, riting and rithmetic!), the foundation for other topics is
established at this level too. Consequently science is introduced at
the elementary school level, along with geography and history, and
other social sciences. Having all these options open to an elementary
school teacher means that classes need never be boring, since there is
a wealth of information to convey to all these little eager minds.
Obviously it is important to aim the level of the information to the
age of the children, and this is a very important aspect of a
teacher's planning.
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The methods used to teach elementary school children vary with
school district, country, and with the latest educational ideas out
there. The first elementary class sometimes called Kindergarten is not
always full time, and because of this it may be a morning class, or an
afternoon class, but not usually both. Some schools have their
kindergarten classes in family groupings, which means that there are
mixed ages in every class. The idea here is that children are not
naturally separated by age - you very rarely see a group of children
of the same age playing together outside of the school environment. It
is supposed to teach leadership and responsibility to the older
children in the group, while helping the younger ones by having the
influence of the older children.
Besides family groups, there are open classrooms, where there are
fewer walls, and a much freer environment. When it comes to open
classrooms, it can be very distracting to have the voices of others
intermingled with your group, but on the other hand, this is what
happens in the real world, and we all have to learn to adjust to the
situation. However, for the younger students, or those with attention
disorders, this can be particularly challenging, especially if they
can watch other children and age groups, possibly misbehaving! Often
in this situation, there is team teaching, where the class will
perhaps go to another teacher for, say, a science lesson, while that
teacher's class goes to the first teacher, for say math instruction.
This can help some children who do not respond well to a particular
teacher, as they will not be with them all the time. The success
of family groupings and open plan classrooms depends a great deal on
the teachers working there, and of course the support they receive
from their principals. With all kinds of education, it is important to
keep accurate records of a student's progress, so that problems can be
dealt with immediately, but this can be extremely challenging for the
elementary school teacher. If a class has children of approximately
the same age, it can be assumed that the ability of these children is
not as varied as a class with children of 4 or 5 different ages. It is
therefore easier to plan lessons if children are of similar ability,
rather than having 5 very different lesson plans on the go at any one
time. If you have a child that is ready for elementary
education, do your research of possible elementary schools carefully,
if you have a choice in which school they attend, so that your child's
education begins with a style with which you are completely
comfortable. Otherwise, you may find the elementary years of schooling
are not only taxing for your child, but for you too!
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