How Hard Is It Being an Elementary School Teacher?

It’s tempting to think that elementary school teachers have it easy. You may even believe that all a person needs to be an elementary teacher is to know the basic arithmetic, reading, and writing skills to teach kids. If that’s all there is to it, anyone can become an elementary school teacher. So how hard can it really be to teach in an elementary school?

Being an elementary school teacher is not an easy or quick process. Elementary teachers must obtain a bachelor’s degree, attend a teachers’ training program, and finally get certified nationally or by the state. Once this is completed, they have to capably observe and instruct their students to build their learning foundations.

Keep reading this article to find out the full details of the requirements to be an elementary school teacher, the duties, and the challenges that come with the job.

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Requirements for Becoming an Elementary School Teacher

In the US, along with many leading countries worldwide, a bachelor’s degree is the minimum educational requirement to become an elementary school teacher. However, if you want to work out of state or at a public school, you will likely need more education under your belt.

According to the National Council on Teacher Quality, about 25 US states require elementary teachers in public schools to take an additional content licensure test that separately grades each core area of their knowledge.

Aspiring elementary teachers with degrees in other disciplines have to undergo a teacher training program, which usually takes 1 to 2 years. However, a degree in Elementary Education could have you fully set to become a teacher without any separate training courses.

So, just because you have a hard-earned bachelor’s degree in English, that doesn’t mean you can teach the subject to young children. You’ll still have to spend more time at college and qualify for licensure.

The requirements vary between states, but most states have a minimum GPA requirement for entry into their training programs. Around 15 states also require applicants to pass a basic skills test before starting a teacher training program.

Any potential teachers also have to pass through background checks before being certified as elementary school teachers. Since the introduction of the national criminal registry, an employer can see convictions for crimes committed by applicants in any state.

Elementary school teachers must undergo these requirements since their jobs are so critical. Teachers work with children very early in their lives and educational paths, helping the kids develop a firm basis for the rest of their school careers.

In addition, children mimic the adults around them at elementary-school ages to develop behavior patterns, communication skills, and habits. Without a proper and kind role model, elementary school children may not be able to create positive relationships with their teachers in middle, high, or secondary schools.

Considering the amount of time elementary teachers spend in positions of authority over their students, their influence becomes very impactful to the children. Elementary school teachers are responsible for a significant part of their students’ mental and emotional development.

It is widely accepted that teachers play an essential role in developing non-cognitive skills that test scores may not easily measure but will be crucial to their students’ ability to excel in life. Elementary school teachers aren’t just training kids to spell or add numbers. They teach children how to learn and conduct themselves in various spheres of life.

Duties of an Elementary School Teacher

Becoming a trained and qualified elementary school teacher complete; now the hard work really starts! Here are some of the tasks on a teacher’s to-do list:

Creating Lesson Plans

A lesson plan is an organized guideline for teaching a topic. It entails what the students need to understand in a subject, how the information should be taught or presented to them, and how the teacher can measure their understanding.

Lesson plans usually correspond with a course’s state-specified objectives, and they must build upon each other so that the students can pass standardized tests and move on to the next grade level.

In addition, lesson plans have to fit within the time given for a particular subject in school. Because school is over when the bell rings, students who do not master the topic in the lesson plan at the end of the day may fall behind without extra help. So, teachers need to keep pace while working with students and not overestimate their learning abilities.

Creating a lesson plan can be a long, intricate process, but it’s extra important for elementary school teachers. Of course, children of elementary-school ages think and behave differently from that of older age groups (including adults). Therefore they need to have information presented to them in carefully prepared ways to maximize their ability to learn, apply, and retain a concept.

For most teachers, including myself, it is safe to say that creating lesson plans consumes the biggest chunk of time and effort, especially in the early stages of a teacher’s career.

Luckily, there are plenty of tips and resources that can make the task of writing lesson plans easier. Check out this video to hear Ross McGill from TeacherToolkit explain ‘The 5-Minute Lesson Plan’:

Grading Students’ Academic Performance and Preparing Them for Standardized Tests

The question of how best to evaluate learning and examine academic performance has been under scrutiny over the past few decades. Even with the many differing opinions, there are generally accepted standards for grading students’ academic performance.

Elementary school teachers are responsible for grading the academic performance of their students through homework, presentations, class exercises, projects, and many other tools. The grading system must be objective and unbiased. Through grading, teachers can identify the students facing academic obstacles and subsequently offer more help.

Ultimately, the responsibility lies with the teacher to ensure that each student is prepared for the next grade, which can add immensely to the demands of being a teacher.

Observing Students and Evaluating Their Abilities

Elementary school teachers help to “discover” their students. Beyond determining their academic prowess, they are responsible for observing the students within and outside the classroom to assess their cognitive, psychomotor, and social skills.

For students who may be gifted or exceptionally talented in certain areas, the teacher is expected to play a vital role in first noticing such gifts, before helping to nurture and develop their students’ talents – all while ensuring that they still have well-rounded childhoods.

One example that highlights this point comes from the famous singer/songwriter John Legend, who credits his English teacher, Mrs. Bodey, as being “instrumental” to the success of his career. Quote:

“Until her class, I hadn’t believed in my ability as a writer. She recognized my potential and showed me that I could write with creativity, with clarity, with passion.”

Imagine the endless list of influential and high-achieving people whose talents were fostered by teachers like Mrs. Bodey.

Helping Students To Overcome Learning Challenges

While observing their students, elementary teachers may be one of the first people to detect a learning difficulty such as dyslexia or ADHD that may have gone unnoticed by parents. They are also responsible for following up on these observations by ensuring that the students can access learning specialists and classrooms with more accessibility.

For students who have learning disabilities, the elementary school teachers, alongside other professionals, can help them to understand their challenges. They can also help them adapt to their conditions and eventually find unique ways to learn more efficiently.

Teaching and Modeling Good Behavior

Besides being academic professionals, elementary school teachers are critical role models for their young, impressionable students. Children spend so much time with their teachers that they are bound to pick up behavioral traits from them.

So, elementary school teachers are also responsible for teaching appropriate behavior and correcting crude behavior on the fly while supervising their students. A teacher must model the behavior that they expect the students to exhibit. Due to this pressure, there’s never any time to let your guard down with elementary school students.

Communicating With Students’ Parents

According to research from Waterford, parent engagement can be one of the most important factors for students’ academic success.

Elementary school teachers are responsible for communicating their students’ progress to their parents or guardians. Beyond academic performance, it is also vital that both parties understand the child’s interests, challenges, and mannerisms.

A healthy parent-teacher relationship will considerably reduce the hassle and stress a teacher may endure, so building that positive relationship is the challenge.

Some ways that I find help to keep parents on side include providing them with regular updates on progress and learning, setting homework to the right level of challenge for their child, and always being respectful and courteous when interacting with them. These actions are feasible but, as you could imagine, add to teachers’ workload.

Conclusion

Being an elementary school teacher is a tasking job. A recent survey by National Education Association (NEA) found that 55% of educators are considering leaving the profession earlier than they had planned.

With that being said, teaching is also regarded by many as one of the most fulfilling professions one can be involved in, especially when you’re passionate about it. As Linda-Banks Santilli, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Boston University, states, “there is nothing more satisfying than watching a child understand something for the first time. Knowing that you had something to do with it can feel powerful and gratifying!”

If you’re considering a career in education but wondering if you’ll make a good elementary teacher, be sure to check out 7 Signs You’ll Be a Good Elementary Teacher.

If you still have questions and reservations about being a teacher, this video from Roadtrip Nation may shed more light on the art of elementary-school teaching:

Sources

NEA: Alarming Number of Educators May Soon Leave the Profession