A elementary school is the main point of delivery of basic education in the United States, for children between the ages of 4-11 years and coming between pre-kindergarten and secondary education.
In 2001, there were 92,858 public primary schools (68,173 public, 24,685 private) in the United States, a figure that includes all schools that teach students from grade one to eight. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in the fall of 2017 nearly 35.6 million students attend public primary schools. Usually from kindergarten to fifth grade.
Video Elementary school (United States)
Curriculum
Basic education tends to focus on basic academic learning and socialization skills, introducing children to the various knowledge, skills and behavioral adjustments they need to succeed in life - and, in particular, in high school. In general, a student learns basic arithmetic and sometimes basic algebra in mathematics, English proficiency (such as basic grammar, spelling, and vocabulary), and the basics of other subjects. Learning standards are identified for all curriculum areas by individual countries, including for mathematics, social studies, science, physical development, art, and reading. While the concept of state learning standards has been around for some time, the No Child Left Behind Act has mandated that standards exist at the state level.
Basic subjects are taught in primary schools, and students often live in one class throughout the school day (until starting different blocks), except for physical education classes, libraries, music, and art.
Typically, the basic education curriculum of the country is determined by each school district. The school district chooses curriculum and textbook guides that reflect the country's learning standards and benchmarks for a particular class level.
Extensive topics of social studies may include major events, documents, understandings, and concepts in American history, and geography, and in some programs, state or local history and geography. Topics included in the wider sciences vary from physics to physics and chemistry, through biological sciences such as biology, ecology, and physiology.
There has been much discussion among educationists about the justification and impact of having a curriculum that places greater emphasis on those topics (reading, writing and math) that are specifically tested for improvement.
The teaching of social science and science is often poorly developed in elementary school programs. Some attribute this to the fact that elementary school teachers are trained as generalists; however, the teacher attributes this to the priorities placed on developing reading, writing, and math skills in the base class and with the enormous amount of time it takes to do so. The ability to read, write, and math greatly affect performance in the field of social science, science, and other content areas.
Most, if not most, teachers are held accountable for testing the score towards the end of the academic year. Because of this pressure, it interferes with the teacher's pedagogy and the extent to which other subjects teach. In addition, it was reported that the accountability that teachers face contradicts their pedagogy which results in teaching students in ways they deem unprofessional, conducive, and successful. Unwanted new adjustments in this pedagogy, while narrowing the extent to which teachers teach other subjects, leads them to emphasize certain test-worthy information that may appear in standard multiple choice tests. As a result, a large amount of information is needed and memorized by students, to memorize these multiple-choice tests, ignoring them from material that involves critical thinking and problem-solving skills. In American writers, educators, and activists, Jonathan Kozol's book, "Shame of the Nation: Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America", he reinforces this when he describes this type of pedagogy as having "not theatrical"; thus, many times teachers choose the subject of their interests. Although standardized testing allows for comparison in terms of student achievement across diverse schools, the pressure that teachers gain for high test accountability scores negatively affects students and their future lifetime skills.
Maps Elementary school (United States)
Teach
Primary School Teachers are trained with an emphasis on human cognitive and psychological development as well as principles of curriculum development and teaching. Teachers usually earn a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Early and Basic Education.
Certification standards for teachers are determined by each state, with each college and university determining the accuracy of the college education provided for prospective teachers. Some states require content area tests, as well as instructional skills tests for teacher certification in the state.
General elementary school teachers usually instruct between twenty and thirty students of varying learning needs. Typical classrooms will include children with different needs or learning abilities, of those identified as having special needs of the types listed in the Individuals with IDE Disabilities Act for those who are cognitively, athletically or artistically gifted.
Teachers use different ways to teach, focusing on attracting students' attention. Humor is sometimes used. Cartoons, for example, can capture an idea in a single image.
A study of seven industrialized countries found that in 2006, the average initial salary of an American primary school teacher with a minimum qualification was $ 34,900. In this case, the United States is second only to Germany (non-US salaries converted to US dollars at purchasing power parity).
A 2007 survey by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) reported that the average salary for an American teacher was $ 51,009; this is also recorded as the first time in history, the average payoff for teachers has exceeded $ 50,000.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are about 1.4 million primary school teachers working in the United States, with an average income of $ 55,270, and an average income of $ 52,840.
Government
The authority to regulate education is constitutionally with each country, with direct authority from the US Congress and the federal US Department of Education limited to federal constitutional rights and enforcement. However, large indirect authorities are implemented through federal funding for national programs and block grants although there is no obligation for any country to receive these funds. The US government may also propose, but it can not enforce national goals, targets, and standards, which generally fall outside of its jurisdiction.
Most countries have set the number of minutes to be taught within the given content area. Since Law No Left Child Behind focuses on reading and math as the main target for improvement, other instructional areas are less attention.
Learning Standards are the objectives in which state and school districts should meet an adequate annual progress (AYP) as mandated by the No Child Disabled Act (NCLB). The explanation of school governance is very simple, and the school system varies greatly not only in the way curricular decisions are made but also in the way teaching and learning takes place. Some states and/or school districts impose more top-down mandates than others. In others, teachers play an important role in curriculum design and there are several top-down credentials. The curricular decisions in private schools are made different from decisions made in public schools, and in many cases without considering NCLB directives.
Sometimes, individual school districts identify areas of need within the curriculum. Teachers and advisory administrators form a committee to develop additional materials to support learning for diverse learners and to identify enrichment for textbooks. Many school districts post information about the curriculum and additional materials on the website for public access.
Under the No Child Disadvantaged Act of 2001, public schools receiving government funds are required to test and assess student progress each year. Each state and not a federal government is required to develop their own set of standards by which they measure student progress. Although standardized testing is seen as a valid way of measuring content knowledge and progress in areas such as mathematics and basic level reading, there are many disputes in the scientific community about how to measure the progress of scientific knowledge.
In 1996, the National Research Council (NRC) and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) joined other scientific organizations to develop the "National Science Education Standard". In the past only the study and presentation of core content knowledge for such areas as: physical, life, earth, and space science; seen as sufficient. After the development of new "Science Standards" attention has shifted from its own teaching content to science learning "discipline in the context of investigation, technology, personal [and] social perspectives".
History
Initially, primary school is identical to primary education, taking children from kindergarten to grade 8; and high school is fully coexist with grades 9-12. This system was the norm in the United States until the years after World War I, as most children in most of what was then most of the rural United States could go no further than the 8th grade. Even when the high schools available, they are often inaccessible.
As the population grew and became more urban and suburban instead of rural, a one-room school gave way to a multi-school school, which became several schools. This resulted in a third genre of junior high schools - designed to provide transition preparation from primary to secondary school, thus serving as a bridge between primary and secondary schools. Primary schools typically operate Kindergarten classes up to 6; junior high school, often placed in the same building with high school, then closed classes 7 to 9; and high schools operate classes 10 to 12. At the same time, a value of 9 marks the beginning of secondary school for the purpose of calculating the GPA.
It was typical during this period for state departments of education to certify (in California, "credential") teachers to work in primary or secondary education. The Elementary School Certificate qualifies the holder to teach any subject in class K to 8, and his or her primary and minor subjects are in grade 9. The Qualified Secondary Certificate qualifies the holder to teach any subject in grades 7 and 8, and his/her subjects primary and small classes in grades 9 through 12. Certain subjects, such as music, arts, physical, and special education or may be awarded as K through 12 Teaching Certificates.
In the late 1960s, the transition line between primary and secondary education began to blur, and junior high schools were being replaced by secondary schools. This change usually sees the reassignment of grade 9 to senior high school, with a grade of 6 occasionally including in secondary schools with grades 7 and 8. Decades later in many countries have also seen a recalculation of teacher certification, with level 6 now often included on secondary teaching certificates. Thus, while 20th century American education begins by completing primary school in grade 8, the 21st century begins by completing an American primary school in the 5th grade in many jurisdictions.
However, older systems remain in many jurisdictions. While they are in the minority today, there is still a school district that, instead of adopting "high school", still distinguishes between junior and senior high school. Thus, secondary school can be 9-12, the most common, or 10-12.
Transformation of basic education is evident. With a constant and steady increase in diversity across thousands of elementary schools across the country, teacher education approaches must adapt. While 21st century students take elementary classes in elementary schools (Social Studies, Science, Language Arts, Mathematics, etc.), many schools today are changing their curriculum and incorporating classes such as Chinese Mandarin education. Although regular education classes are still in practice, different approaches are being met by administrators and teachers to effectively teach all students, and keep abreast of changing and developing societies.
Over the last few decades, schools in the United States have tested a variety of settings that split from one teacher, a one-class model. Multi-age programs, where children in different classes (eg, kindergarten through second grade) share the same classes and teachers, is one of the more popular alternatives to traditional basic teaching. Another alternative is that children may have a major class and go to another teacher's room for one subject, such as science, while the main class of science teachers will go to another teacher's room for other subjects, such as social studies. This can be called as two teachers, or a rotation. This is similar to the team concept in junior high school. Another method is to have the children have a set of class teachers in the first half of the year, and a set of different classroom teachers in the second half of the year.
See also
- School blab
- Environmental groups and resources serving K-12 schools
- K-12 (education)
- Primary education in the United States
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia