Elementary Education

Elementary education, also known as primary education, is the first six years of established and structured education that occurs from the ages of approximate five or six years old to approximately 12 years old. Most countries require that children receive elementary education and in many, it is acceptable for the parents to provide that education, based on an approved curriculum.

Normally, elementary education is given in schools that are placed within the neighborhoods of communities around the world. Elementary students usually begin in Kindergarten at the age of approximately five to six years old. This is the first stage of elementary education and is primarily the place where students learn to interact with their peers, begin to read and write, learn their ABC’s, and other cognitive learning skills. Many teachers, parents, and professionals agree that Kindergarten sets the stage for the remaining school years, while others see Kindergarten as nothing more than “play time” for the students.

Elementary education continues through to Grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. The courses offered in elementary education are escalating with each grade level, where the students expound upon previous learning from the grade before in their next grade level.

Elementary education grades are usually taught to the students by one teacher who teaches all the courses. There may be specialized teachers for more specific courses such as music, physical education, art, or computers. The students generally stay in one classroom, with the exception of physical education and other specific courses. This feature is one of the foundations of elementary education, teaching the student to gain close bonds with their teachers, earning a level of trust and respect, and creating close friendships with their classmates, which teaches them about social structure.

In the early 1600’s, education was born and was based on the “four R’s,” namely reading, writing, arithmetic, and religious studies. Students aged six to eight years old attended “dame schools.” The first formal school was formed in 1635 by Puritans for boys of a certain social status to achieve higher learning. In the dame schools, a teacher focused on reading—math and writing were not a high priority in elementary education at that time. After a child finished “dame school,” their parents had three simple options for their sons, Latin school for college preparation, training at home by their father, or learning with a craftsman.

In the late 1600’s and early 1700’s, elementary education began being influenced by religion. In 1642, Massachusetts passed a law stating that all children should learn how to read—the inability to read was seen as Satan’s attempt to keep people from reading the bible and scriptures and coming to God.

In 1839, the secretary of the first Board of Education convinced legislature in Massachusetts to create a six-month minimum school year, hoping that poverty and crime would decrease with the formalized education of students.

Compulsory attendance was established in approximately 1852. The government stepped in to control children’s participation in educational systems. Students had to attend a minimum of three months of school a year and six weeks had to be consecutive. Parents were penalized $20 if their children did not attend school. There were acceptable reasons for not sending children to school, namely disabilities and poverty. The law was ineffectual as there was no way for local school authorities to enforce the law. The law was revised in the late 1800’s, reducing the age limit to 12 years old and increasing the school term to a mandatory 20 weeks a year.

In the early 1900s, business and industry had a substantial impact on elementary education. Immigrant children who knew very little English and were unfamiliar with the customs of their new homeland flooded the educational system. It was thought that public elementary education would be efficient in “Americanizing” the new students in the way of America. The compulsory attendance laws were fully in effect to help protect these children from exploitation, particularly by their poverty-stricken families and industrial companies who were looking for a cheaper labor force.

The 1900’s brought a lot of change to the educational system, primarily through new legislation and controversial court cases, bringing the education system to what it is today.

Education has taken a full turn, from the original school system focusing on reading, and rural schools in the early 1900s focusing on writing to math and science taking the forefront when the first satellite was put into outer space and orbit, and back again to the current focus of schools—reading.

Of course, reading and writing often go hand in hand in today’s elementary schools; however, there is still a more prolific focus on these two subjects than on math, science, or history.

Students across the United States are taught a variety of subjects in elementary schools, but they all focus on the one basic knowledge, the ability to read and write. Literacy has once again come to the forefront of elementary education for being the primary basis of all learning in elementary school as well as further education, such as middle school, high school, and secondary schooling. Elementary education does indeed provide the basis for all further education, similar to a pyramid, with elementary education being the bottom, or foundation, of the pyramid.

Elementary education is the basis for the rest of our lives. It seems a little silly to say that the things you begin to learn when you are five years old will carry you through until you are a senior citizen, but it’s true.

Think of education as a whole like a pyramid. The bottom of the pyramid is elementary education, with the peak being high school and college. It is impossible to build a pyramid upside down, if that was the case, with the top being wide and heavier than the narrow, pointy bottom, the pyramid would collapse.

Elementary education is the foundation for the pyramid of learning. Without it, the education of a person collapses completely. The stronger the foundation, the more solid the pyramid is itself. If there are gaps and holes in the foundation, then the rest of the pyramid will also have gaps and holes and be all the less sturdy. Elementary education must be given its due course with students attending regularly and learning the basic skills that will carry them through the rest of their schooling and life.

The skills that are taught in elementary education are paramount for the rest of life. It is in elementary schools that children learn how to interact socially. They are taught not only academic courses, but also social behavior and what is acceptable to general society. Parental influences, as well as the teachers and school’s morals and principles, will have an everlasting effect on a student’s personality. Thusly, it is imperative that parents, teachers, and school divisions work closely together to ensure that skills are expounded upon both in school and in the home setting.

Elementary education is once again focused on reading and writing. Literacy, the ability to read and write, is the primary foundation for all education. In life, most people take literacy for granted, not realizing just how much it is used each and every day. We read recipes for cooking, signs on the roadway while driving, job application forms, and even while watching television. Reading and the ability to write are considered one of the most important aspects of education, with good cause.

Elementary education also focuses on basic mathematics. Math is another skill that many people take for granted, not realizing how often it is used. We use the basic mathematic skills, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, on a daily basis. We use it to cook, watch television, and tell time. Elementary education begins with basic math skills for students in Kindergarten and then progresses through more and more difficult levels of math until they go to middle school, where again, the skills are expounded and built upon.

History is bound to repeat itself if it is not learned. Lessons learned can be shared in elementary education by informing students of the history of their own country and other countries and hopefully prevent profound and often global mistakes from recurring. This concept is the basis for social studies and historical lessons in elementary education. Students are taught the foundation of their country’s belief system, the structure of government and law enforcement, to educate them essentially in what worked and what didn’t.

Science is now being given its due course as well. Since the launch of Sputnik, elementary education has taken a new direction with science in the classroom. Many things are learned by experimenting with the most basic of supplies. Students learn about their environment and why things happen the way they do.

Other courses that are taught in elementary school include physical education, art, music, computers, and health.

From the beginning of Kindergarten and all the way through the rest of a child’s elementary education, play is a big part of the learning process. Some parents scoff at the notion that children can learn while they are playing, however, many professionals have noted that children learn better and more efficiently when they are doing something physical.

Playtime during elementary education is very important for a lot of reasons. It gives the child a break in a long day of school and sitting at a desk. Children do get bored very easily and if they are not given educational materials that stimulate their brains and time to explore their own imaginations, then boredom will be reflected in their general behavior in school. Elementary education allows children two recess breaks, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, as well as a lunch break in many school systems across the country. These breaks divide up the day for the students, allowing them to interact socially with their friends, enjoy the outdoors, explore their own imaginations by creating new games, and physically exert themselves to burn off some of their pent-up energy.

Teachers everywhere include playtime in their daily educational teachings. Studies have shown that when children are allowed to "play,” they absorb knowledge more efficiently and quickly and without even realizing they are learning. It is this hands-on formula of teaching that teachers have found to be most effective in elementary education. As often as possible, teachers should, and do, allow the children to explore their hands-on world. It is when they can hold, touch, feel, and play with an article that they truly begin to learn and understand the concepts behind the education.

It is a sad fact that for many children their elementary education years are a horrible experience. For most children, the root cause of this bad experience is due to bullying. Bullying happens in many forms. It can happen from one child to another, which is the most typical bullying situation. This form of bullying is stealth bullying, often one child overpowering another with threats, threatening gestures, or name calling. Most often, no one else knows about this bullying. It will eventually present itself in the bullied child in a variety of different ways, including not wanting to attend school, faking illness, or coming up with new excuses about why they are acting the way they do, which is normally subdued and afraid.

Another form of bullying is a group of kids bullying one child or a group of children. The bullying is the same, often presenting with threats, threatening gestures, and name calling. The bullied child or group of children tends to withdraw, and bullied groups usually have a pact to stay silent for fear the bullying may get worse.

Unfortunately, there is another type of bullying—teachers bullying students. Even in this day and age where teachers are watched much more closely by administrators and parents, there are still teachers who employ bullying tactics in and out of their classrooms. While corporal punishment was abolished from elementary education and all schools in the 80’s, some teachers still employ some of the corporal punishment styles of discipline without actually striking a child in elementary education settings.

If you think your child is being bullied by another student or a teacher, talk to the principal, counselor, or associate principal to nip the problem in the bud. Reassure your children often that they can tell you or their teachers about bullies if they are the victim or if they know a student who is being bullied.

If your child is the bully, there is help available. This problem will not magically go away. With some help, their behavior can change in school and they will once again learn socially acceptable behaviors.

Proper nutrition is very important to your child’s elementary education. The food children eat is one of the foundations of their day. A proper breakfast starts their day off right. Children in elementary school require food as fuel for their brains every day. Breakfast does not have to be a full-course breakfast with meat, eggs, and toast. However, toast and peanut butter or jam and a glass of milk or orange juice will help fuel their brains until lunch time at school.

Your child’s lunch should be packed with energy building in mind. Quick snacks, such as granola bars and individual fruit or apple sauce cups are perfect for recess snacks. Keep your child’s lunch cool with a cold pack to avoid bacteria growth. Your child’s lunch should include a piece of fresh fruit or vegetable, a sandwich or hot lunch item such as spaghetti, milk, juice, or water to drink, and a few various quick snacks that help build energy.

Nutrition affects a child’s performance at school. If they do not eat properly throughout the day, their brains simply lack the fuel to function at their best. All brains need adequate fuel to function, and getting your child off to a good start in the morning and ensuring they have adequate snacks for their day at school will bolster their functioning at elementary school. Of course, a full and proper regular dinner will help your child sleep properly at night, which is another factor in their performance at school.

Sleep is the way your child’s brain rests and resets each day. A child in elementary school should have approximately 9 to 10 hours of sleep to properly function and have enough rest for the next day. Teenagers require between 8 and 9 hours to properly function. A good, quiet sleep will rest a child and have them ready for the next day. Food shouldn’t be given after one hour before bed—doing so may leave a child with a restless sleep which won’t refresh them for the next day.

After a child has finished their elementary education, Grade 6, they will move onto middle school. Just like elementary, middle school will build on the skills they learned throughout their elementary education. Middle school differs from elementary and the transition may be difficult for some children. Gone are the days of recesses and play time. Middle school is where the children start to put their noses to the grindstone in preparation for high school.