I do not think upgrading the fifth grade to middle school is required. Education is not restricted to reading course books and taking tests to proceed to the next grade. The right mix of knowledge, creativity, and physical development promotes the best education. The points listed below will support my belief.
Basic education
Our education system has set up the right milestones for every age group. There is a reason why primary classes till grade five are easy on the children. Primary classes are designed to introduce children to the concept of language and numerical skills. These skills form the basis of their mental development in middle school, where they delve deeper into ideas, and when they choose to specialise in a stream in high school.
Social role and interaction
Primary schooling is also about getting children to explore their creative and social side. We are a part of a societal order. Just like children are not introduced to the importance of language or calculations, they do not understand the concept of social roles and etiquettes. Primary school allows them to make friends and understand the value of social interactions. Their holistic development gets side-tracked if we haste their initiation into structured learning.
Creative thinking
Also, creativity is a critical aspect of grooming a child to become a better human being. This too, like developing social skills, demands time. A fifth-grader is around 10 or 11 years of age. The children of this age group need a protected, friendly and secure environment to learn. Their minds are fluid and focus is difficult to come by. If children are pushed too hard into accomplishing academic goals early, their mental health and social skills are at stake.
Safeguarding them from undue pressure
The pressure of studies these days is immense. The alliance of the internet and smartphones have resulted in an information glut. The young minds of children are already processing a flood of information. On top of that, parents enrol them in multiple classes outside school for development of additional skill sets. Expectation of insanely good grades in high school has ended up claiming the lives of several unfortunate students. It is, therefore, not advisable to hasten the process of learning in fifth grade by promoting it to middle school. It is always better to groom children in the beginning than working on just one aspect of their education that might lead to a deficit in their creative, social and physical development.
