Elementary Education

Elementary education is the building block for a child's future in the American society. Without a strong elementary education children will never succeed in life. A child is taught by a teacher for the first time and it is from their first teacher that they get the idea that learning is fun and school is something to look forward to. It is as Robert frost said "I am not a teacher but an awakener" (www.unc.edu/ucnbest/teacher.html).

In order to become an elementary teacher, one must first graduate from high school and have a diploma. Then it is necessary to pick a college and attend for four years to get a masters or bachelors degree. The cost of college depends upon whether it is private or public. If you go to a private college you are likely to pay about thirty-two thousand a year, and for a public college it is about thirteen thousand a year.

In college there are important classes which an elementary teacher is required to take. Such classes as Teaching mathematics in elementary school, Classroom management, Elementary science and social studies are just few a classes (www.carroll.edu/acedemics/eled/degree.com). Along with taking these classes one is required to do student teaching. But before pursuing upon a teaching degree, one must first apply to the Department of Education and be accepted. Upon being accepted one will be able to continue on with their degree (www.montana.edu/wwcat/programs/elem.html).

Before deciding to become an elementary teacher each person needs to have these skills and trait. Every teacher must be patient and having the ability to multitask. They must also be understanding and empathetic (Freistadt). Also a good trait for this career is to have passion for children." Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence" (Frost).

A great way to gain experience is to do volunteer work in a classroom and to do student teaching.

The standard beginning wage for a teacher depends on what district one is going to work in. At Central Elementary in Helena, MT is about fifteen thousand dollars a year (Freistadt), but for other places, say Washington is about forty-five thousand. The maximum salary for an elementary teacher is sixty-nine or seventy thousand dollars a year (Freistadt). There are, however, many factors that affect the salary range. For instance the amount of education that a person receives affects salary, whether you have a masters or bachelors degree, or if they have any specific minors such as special education degrees.

Once a teacher has a degree and attains a job it is the teachers responsibility to decorate their classroom. A school will give elementary teachers a certain amount of money to spend decorating the classroom, but most of the time teachers need more money than they are allotted (Freistadt). Also teachers need to spend money putting together a presentable wardrobe that is suitable for a classroom.

Some elementary schools have good benefits while others do not. The most any school would pay for health benefits is six hundred fifty dollars, and then the teacher pays five thousand dollars more. This is mostly for public schools, which have high amounts of kids and so more cold are spread around. Teachers say the first three to four years are when there is a high risk for getting bugs but after that many years one becomes almost immune. To most sickness other health hazards could include violent students. This would only be a problem if they became physical and harm the teacher. But one of the great benefits is that the teachers get summers, Easter and Christmas break off.

There is a high prospect for employment if one becomes an elementary teacher. Not only are schools looking for good, hardworking teachers, but a teacher could also

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