There is no set way to teach a group of children. Each teacher has to develop their own style and technique for teaching. Teachers also have to develop their own strategies for classroom management.
Each year the group of children is different. Teachers must adjust to the new personalities that have arrived in their class. They must also adjust to meet the academic needs of the group.
However teachers do not only need to be flexible from year to year but also from month to month and from stage to stage.
Children change as they develop more skills and mature. This can greatly be seen in lower grades, especially kindergarten.
Children enter kindergarten as a clean slate. Many begin without the knowledge of letters and numbers. They are very immature and uncertain about how to handle themselves at school. Teachers must work very slowly and on a low scale. There are many different routines and procedures that the teachers must teach to the children.
However as the children adjust to school and learn more information, the teacher must also grow in the way that he/she teaches the children. They now know enough information and school procedures to begin building background knowledge for the future.
Some teachers find it hard to get out of the habits that were established at the beginning of the year. They get stuck in one frame of mind. In some cases the students out grow the early methods of the teacher. However things were important at the beginning may not necessarily be what is important to the students’ education now.
An effective teacher continuously monitors the students’ progress and adjusts to meet their needs. Meeting the needs of the students may mean more work for the teacher or changing the way that one teaches. However, it is much better for the teacher to make the sacrifice rather than the students.
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