The Importance of Elementary School

     One of the major things that impacted me this week is the realization of how important elementary school is for children. I already knew any level of school was critical for a child, but I did not understand the significant role elementary school teachers have. Dr. Clark and Dr. Parker informed us on Monday that one bad teacher sets a student back three years in their academic learning. Once students reach middle school, if they do not understand the basic ideas of reading, writing, and simple mathematics, they will most likely never catch up. This makes the elementary school years crucial for building a good foundation.

     "The fundamental finding is that good teachers have an extraordinarily powerful impact on the future lives of their students"(link at bottom). The role that a teacher has in a child's life is incredibly powerful. Having a good and caring teacher could change a student for the better, especially when children do not have the care and attention they desire from their home. Children need a teacher to encourage them and use the best possible methods for them to learn in order to build their self esteem and make them feel as if they are capable of learning. The difference you are able to make, the chance to make a child feel smart, encouraged, and even loved, this is the reason I want to teach. I want to build a learning foundation for the children in my future kindergarten class that they will build on for the rest of their lives, while also showing compassion to these children as they go through life. Teaching is a profession where you make an impact, no matter what. The problem is, each teacher has to decide what kind of impact they want to make. "Symmetrically, research shows the lasting damage that poor teachers have on the lives of their students" (link at bottom). As a teacher, you cannot choose whether you want to make an impact or not, this is inevitable. "Do the effects of good teachers (or bad teachers) quickly fade away? the answer is no. Even as these students leave school and enter into adult careers in their late 20s, the significant trace of their early schooling is quite discernible" (link at bottom). You can choose to make a positive difference in the lives of children, and that will be the goal of my teaching when I have a classroom of my own. 

     Standard one of the NCTCS says that "teachers demonstrate leadership." I think this is a huge part of teaching and making a positive difference for children. Elementary age students are with their teacher longer than they are with their parents on a day to day basis. This means that the children will gain some of their characteristics from watching their teachers. Every move a teacher makes matters. Whether this is a positive or negative attribute in teaching, that is a decision every teacher makes themselves. 

Links: http://hanushek.stanford.edu/publications/low-performing-teachers-have-high-costs