What type of people choose to be elementary school teachers?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the experiences and challenges of teaching in elementary or primary schools, with a focus on the stress levels compared to other educational settings and the types of individuals who choose this profession. It touches on various aspects of teaching, including discipline methods and the emotional complexities involved in dealing with students.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question the stress levels of teaching in elementary schools compared to high schools and universities.
  • One participant shares personal experience of teaching for 10 years, mentioning the use of physical discipline, which raises ethical concerns among others.
  • Another participant describes the challenges of managing a classroom with diverse learning abilities and emotional issues, highlighting the need for teachers to handle disruptive behavior calmly.
  • There is a debate on the appropriateness of corporal punishment in schools, with some arguing it is a necessary form of discipline while others strongly oppose it.
  • A participant expresses curiosity about the personal qualities and characteristics of individuals who choose to teach in elementary education despite the stress involved.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the use of corporal punishment and its implications for teaching. There is no consensus on the appropriateness of physical discipline, and the discussion remains unresolved regarding the qualities that attract individuals to this profession.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes varying definitions of discipline and punishment, and the legal implications of corporal punishment in different regions, which may influence participants' perspectives.

ILEW
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What's it like teaching in an elementary or primary school? How streesful is it? Probably not as much as teaching in a high school but more so than a University?
 
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Whats with these questions, are you doing a report?

I taught elementary school for 10 years and hit my students all 10 years when they misbehaved.
 
ILEW said:
What's it like teaching in an elementary or primary school? How streesful is it? Probably not as much as teaching in a high school but more so than a University?
My wife is a teaching assistant at a local elementary school. It can be very stressful, especially when there is a mix of children with different learning abilities, or when one or more children act disruptively. Teachers have to deal with children and their emotional problems, which result things like ADD/ADHD, disrupted families (e.g. husband and/or wife act violently to each other or the children), child abuse (i.e. children who are violently or sexually abused by a parent, sibling or other family member), . . . .

Occasionally one encounters a child who lashes out violently against other students or the teacher. The teacher is expected to calmly deal with it.
 
cyrusabdollahi said:
Whats with these questions, are you doing a report?

I taught elementary school for 10 years and hit my students all 10 years when they misbehaved.

Why are you asking? It's just for curioisty sake. You should have been prosecuted long ago for doing that.
 
ILEW said:
You should have been prosecuted long ago for doing that.

If you mean hitting the children, I disagree. Part of teaching in school should be discipline and morals. That will no doubt vary from teacher to teacher, but I think giving a child who shouted out a bad word a small spanking would do him/her some good.
 
ILEW said:
Why are you asking? It's just for curioisty sake. You should have been prosecuted long ago for doing that.

Because those are odd questions to be asking. Why, kids need to be disciplined.
 


And the teacher of the year goes to...(its the maestro from seinfeld!).
 
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My wife made the point that 'hitting' is punishment (usually referred to as corporal punishment), not discipline. In NY, and perhaps the NE US, a teacher would be suspended for striking or hitting a child. A child who acts out will be sent to the principal and the parents will be summoned to the school.
 
Even though it's streeful, some people still do it. I wonder what kind or type of people (as in what type of personal qualities, characteristics etc) choose to teach in elementary school and have it as their career?
 

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