Elementary Teacher
An elementary teacher plays an important role in the educational development of a child between the grades kindergarten and 4th grade. It is this early education that the foundation that later education is built upon. These years are crucial in a child's development, both educationally and developmentally. It is where the basic rudiments of education are set down and there is first exposure to the critical subjects of reading, writing, mathematics and language arts.
Elementary education is the first exposure many children get to their peer group, and there is a lot of socialization that goes along with an elementary education. In addition to the subject matter that is taught in class, there is a lot of emphasis in working in groups and group learning activities which are designed to teach children to work together to accomplish goals. An elementary teacher facilitates these activities and helps children form bonds with their peers.
In elementary school, it is usually the case that the students are taught all subjects by one teacher. They remain in one classroom and study with the same teacher and students at all times. This allows for bonding to take place between the teacher and the students and also allows for some stability in the environment in which they are learning. While some schools will have different teachers for art, music and physical education, most elementary classes are taught by one teacher.
An elementary teacher has the skills and training as well as the education and certification required to do their job. They learn in college how to teach elementary school children and have usually gone through student teaching to give them some exposure to the classroom environment. In addition, their college education prepares them to teach the different subjects and goes into the different theories of education that prepares them to deal with the classroom environment and the developmental stages of children in elementary school environments.
There is a great demand for teachers in this country and becoming an elementary teacher can be a very rewarding career path. You get to take part in the early educational development of children and guide them as they begin the educational process. You get to teach children at different levels the basic rudiments of math, science, language, grammar, writing and social studies and take pride when you observe them learning something new everyday. Becoming a teacher is really a calling and you are doing a community service by teaching children at this level.