This morning, I had the opportunity to attend my school's 5th grade graduation ceremony. Now, when our school does an event, we do it up BIG! We have an awesome student body, teachers, administrators and parents. The multi-purpose room (schools are no longer building auditoriums anymore) was filled with many proud parents, siblings, grandparents, teachers, etc...Needless to say, it was standing room only. It was a time to celebrate. Think of all these students have accomplished since they entered kindergarten. They began with learning concepts of print, the alphabet letters/sounds, number recognition, counting...In first grade, the children then began to learn to read, write sentences (paragraphs and stories came next), reading simple books with 2-3 word sentences (level 1-2) to reading more complex books progressing to levels 15-16. These levels may not mean much to people that aren't in education but these are major benchmarks for students, teachers, parents, administrators, etc...By second grade, they are learning grammar, reading narrative/expository books, retelling with detail, creative writing, science and social study units, multiplying, telling time, etc...Holy cow, by the time they get to the end of 5th grade, it's hard to even imagine the wealth of knowledge these kids have acquired!
I think you get the jest of the academics of elementary school. These children learn a wealth of information that lays the foundation for their continued educational careers. Being successful in elementary curriculum will help the children be successful in middle school and hopefully, the domino effect with go forth into their high school and college education making them life-long learners.
Teachers in elementary school not only teach the 3 Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic), we are responsible for teaching social skills like sharing, cooperating, and helping them learn to make good choices like following rules to stay safe and be considerate of others. We teach character education traits like perseverance, kindness, integrity, respect and responsibility.
My hat is off to the educators of elementary school students. What an awesome responsibility we have to influence the structure of a child's educational experience. It is a pleasure to have that ability. I have been teaching for 26 years. I love watching a child make gains in his/her learning. I love seeing the "light bulb" come on when a concept is mastered (oh, the smile of a child that has finally got it)! I love being able to see a struggling reader in first grade awarded an exceptional reading certificate for 5th grade graduation! I swell with pride because I see the result of hard work and diligence. My eyes swell with tears of joy that I had influence in a child's life to be successful!
Days like today make me happy that I choose to be an "educator of many."
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