Classification and division - Essay Example

Stages of School Schools are places in which a child starts his formal learning process. The foundations of learning are laid in schools and the future of the child depends on how strong these foundations would be. Based on the growth of a child, the learning requirements and methods can also undergo changes. For example, the learning methods and the requirements of a child of five years old, 10 years old and 15 years old are entirely different. Because of these diversity in learning methods and requirements, it is impossible to give adequate education to children of all ages in a particular school.

Thus schools are classified mainly into three broad categories; Elementary school, middle school and high school, for educating the children of different ages in a proper manner. Elementary schools are institutions in which children get their initial education. It is also referred as primary schools in some parts of the world. Elementary education includes kindergarten education or pre-primary education and primary education. Children within the age group of 3-11 are usually admitted in the elementary schools.

Story telling methods are usually adopted in elementary teaching because of the interests of elementary school children in hearing stories. Problem solving or analytical methods cannot be applied in elementary school stages because of the difficulty of small aged children in grasping topics through such methods. Elementary education usually ends in the fifth standard. At the end of elementary education, middle school education starts. Middle schools are institutions in which the children of 11 to 14 years old undergo the learning process.

Usually, education from grade sixth to eighth is included in middle schools. “Young people undergo more rapid and profound personal changes between the ages 10 and 15 than at any other time in their lives. Early adolescence is a period of tremendous variability among youngsters of the same gender and chronological age” (The Importance of Middle Level Education, p.1). Children in elementary school undergo rapid changes in their physical appearances and emotional developments. Sex hormones may start to influence them more at this stage.

Teachers should recognize all such changes and formulate their teaching or class management strategies accordingly. Changes in thinking pattern and development of ideas may take place among middle school children. So, the story telling methods of teaching adopted in the elementary schools may not be that much successful in middle classes. Teaching methods which provoke the thinking process should be adopted in middle classes. High school education begins in the ninth grade and ends in the twelfth grade.

Children in the age group of 14-18 are usually studying in high schools. Students in high schools are usually referred as adolescents. Sex hormones will be hyperactive during the adolescent period. Moreover, the children in this particular age group may have more abilities in problem solving and analysis. So, the educational methods at this stage should give more focus to problem solving methods rather than the lecture methods. To conclude, school education can be classified as elementary, middle and high school education.

Children at various stages of their development, need specific education to cater their needs and that is why schools were classified and divided as elementary, middle and high schools. Works Cited 1. “The Importance of Middle Level Education”. Web. 12 May 2011. http://www.nmsa.org/portals/0/pdf/publications/On_Target/middle_or_high/middle_or_high_8.pdf