Elementary School Teacher Day is celebrated on the third Monday in January to appreciate the people who work with children in their formative years. Elementary schools are part of primary education for students around the age of four to eleven, from pre-kindergarten or kindergarten to fifth grade. These schools teach us socialization and basic academic skills — fundamentals that will help students throughout their lives. Elementary teachers are often the first educators in our lives who kindle the knack of learning in us. Becoming one requires a bachelor’s or master’s degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education.
Elementary schools were once synonymous with primary schools. Schools up to grade eight were considered elementary schools. Following World War I, junior high schools came about, which educated students between their elementary and secondary school years, leaving elementary schools to educate students from kindergarten through to sixth grade. In the 1960s, a shift from junior high schools to middle schools began, now including sixth grade.
The elementary school curriculum helps students with the educational basics: reading, writing, arithmetic, an introduction to natural and social sciences, health, arts and crafts, and physical education. Elementary schools also help students socialize with their peers and create an identity within the community and nation. At the beginning of the 21st century, the elementary curriculum was shaped by an emphasis on subject-matter fluency in English, mathematics, and basic sciences. Later on, computer literacy, computer-assisted instruction, and other technologies were introduced into school programs to keep up with the high demand for technical knowledge.
The standards movement, which gained momentum in the late 1990s, advocated for more standardized testing in the American elementary education curriculum. Standards advocates argue that academic achievement can be best assessed through standardized tests. These tests help determine whether students are performing at prescribed levels in key areas such as reading and mathematics. Most of the states have established standards and require testing in these areas. Strongly endorsed by U.S. President George W. Bush, the standards approach was infused into the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
