The role of the elementary school is primarily education before learning. It administratively belongs to the Ministry of Education, where the teacher is the first mentor for the children of the nation. The teacher bears the responsibility of guiding entire successive generations, a responsibility that involves nurturing those innocent souls, as stated by the ancient Roman philosopher. This is done by instilling good morals, proper conduct, and a pure heart in those young spirits, who the community expects to contribute positively.
Based on my experience in the educational field, education (The Education), beyond its academic definitions by thinkers like Kant, Plato, Al-Ghazali, and even John Dewey, is the process of molding and refining the learner's behavior and actions through various methods, received in the form of lessons and teachings. It is a psychological accompaniment that elevates the individual from a purely human (animalistic-instinctive) state to a human (mental-spiritual) state. Based on this, education is one of the noblest professions in the world.
A person's education begins the moment his mother is chosen by his father to be his wife and the caretaker of his children. The first phase of education starts during pregnancy, as proven by Western studies. The fetus responds to the music that the mother listens to while pregnant, recognizes her voice, and absorbs some internal aspects of her subconscious mind. After birth, the infant's life revolves entirely around the mother during the first few months. She is the center of his world, and he knows no other comfort. Later, the child becomes acquainted with other family members, yet the mother remains the center of all truths for him, without any diminishment (Note: this topic is elaborated on in the book "My killer trains in Chicago").
Raising a child, whether a boy or a girl, does not merely mean providing food, drink, shelter, and clothing, along with other basic needs and luxuries. While these necessities are indispensable, education—specifically for humans—goes beyond these physical needs. The learner, the child, is not just an animal of a brutish nature; they also have spiritual needs that must be fulfilled, such as love, affection, companionship, emotional development, expression of feelings, and other essential aspects of the soul and its needs.
In educating the learner— the child—the mother should spend several hours daily with them, embrace them, and share in their unique world, which may seem naïve to us adults but is, for the child, the essence of life in all its dimensions. Anyone who mocks these "naïve" ideas is disrespecting the child's very existence.
The responsibility is not limited to the mother in her role as a nurturer. The father also must be fully present as a father, spending time with the child, listening to their innocent thoughts, engaging with them, playing the role of a friend, companion, protector, and even a guarantor in life. According to Freud, the father represents the totem of strength for the child, meant to face the external world to protect the child from any dangers.
After the mother, father, immediate family, extended family, neighbors, and loved ones, comes the role of the teacher. The teacher is tasked with guiding and supporting the learner. In school, the teacher is the source of truth for the students. I clearly remember how one of my colleagues, a teacher, accidentally wrote a mistake on the board when writing the Surah Al-Humazah, omitting the word "Lamzah" from the verse. A mother discovered the error when reviewing the Surah with her child before a test, but the student denied the mother's correction, rejected the Quran, and refused to accept the correction from anyone else, still clinging to what his teacher had said. Had the teacher not acknowledged the mistake and corrected it in front of everyone, the error would have persisted in the minds of these students as an unchangeable truth. Indeed, education starts and ends with the parents, but the primary school teacher, especially the first-grade teacher, plays a crucial role in both directions—positive and negative. Therefore, teachers must be respected in all circumstances and under all conditions.