Meet Me in the Middle Chapter 12

I had to really stress my brain to recall my memories of an advisory type class in my junior high experience. Turns out, we had a homeroom. We met there for roughly ten to fifteen minutes a day for attendance, announcements, and the pledge of allegiance. I had every class, except for the elective type classes, with my homeroom peers. Unlike most advisory or homerooms, I really got to know all my classmates, at least in an educational setting, because I spent almost all day, every day with them. However, I would have definitely learned more information about my peers if we had done the all day advisory programs like this chapter mentioned.

The pros of all day advisory programs are pretty vast. Students get out of the classroom, can help out the community, learn a new fact, get some exercise, get to really know their classmates, and lots more. However, I am curious as to how to make them work effectively. The chapter talked about all these great ideas, like hiking trips and community service clean up days, but how do we know that those will actually foster positive feelings? I know that when I participated in those types of days, my peers thought they were lame and a waste of time. A lot of my peers convinced their parents to sign them out of school so they did not even have to go! I wish the chapter gave me hints as to how to make these days effective and a good experience for all.

Meet Me in the Middle Chapter 11

During my practicum experience at Mt. Blue Middle School, I got to experience the community type teaching. I did notice that the students tended to be able to ask for help from each other much easier because they knew for sure that other students in their community were doing the same assignments as they were because they had the same teacher. However, some of the other benefits that this chapter mentioned I did not get to witness first hand.

I would have loved to see the integration piece of community teaching. I think it would be great to be able to do a unit combining English, social studies, science, and math concepts that are interconnected some how. I feel this way the teachers are bound to find a subject that students like. If a student does not necessarily like math, he or she may be more likely to learn, and like, the math content if it applies to his or her favorite subject of social studies. Teaching is all about making the content fun for students and if that means applying math to a history idea or some science material, I am all for it. In eighth grade, my teachers kind of did something like this. It was a special year in my town’s history so all the students had to pick a building on Main St. and make a scale model of it, find out what the building was used for when the town was first established, and write a paper describing the history of the building. This involved using mathematics concepts of scalars, history facts and research techniques, English paper writing strategies, and art skills to complete the final project. My peers and I enjoyed this project more than we would a research paper and math exercises and we learned a lot about our town in the process! If done correctly, this integration idea can really spark students’ interests and help them learn more effectively.

This We Believe p. 27-33

“…for improvement cannot depend on any single person,” (pg 29). This quote sums up this entire section of reading. In order to have a middle school benefit its students to its fullest potential, every single person in that school needs to work collaboratively. Teachers, administration, parents, and students need to all be looking out for the best interest of the students. In order for this to be done effectively, the school officials should have a mission statement so that parents and students know what to expect from the school. The mission statement process should be revised on a fairly regular basis to keep up with new practices and parents and students should be involved in that process to make sure their thoughts are heard too.

Other ways to ensure that middle schools benefit the students is to make sure administration and teachers are up to date on the latest teaching practices and ideas that are out there. Just because something worked twenty years ago does not mean it is still the best out there now. It is up to the administration to set up effective teacher workshops so their staff is well informed. The tricky part is ensuring that educators actually get something out of the workshops. Programs focused on school improvement or discussions among teacher communities about some of the newest ideas are just two of the ways in which principals and administrators can aid in the professional development of their teachers.

This We Believe p. 1-26

I do not know if it is because this is a newer book, or if a lot of education books say similar things, but I thought that a majority of the information in this section is almost exactly what I have been hearing in my education classes for the last three years. I know that this was applying it to middle school students, but the teaching strategies they told us to use are ones that I have been practicing in lesson plans in both practicum and methods. All last semester we worked on having exploratory learning in our lessons, integrating as many multiple intelligences as possible, and using a variety of formative and summative assessments. The only difference between what I have been practicing and what this book says I should do is take into account the developmental changes that middle school aged children are going through compared to their high school counterparts. This is an age where students make decisions that determine future behaviors and decisions. It is up to teachers, coaches, parents, and other relatives to help guide students into making healthy choices. Everything from academic goals to decisions about drugs and alcohol need to be modeled and guided so we end up with well-rounded students at the end of their schooling.

The other main concern that needs to be kept in mind is that no student will develop at the same rate. Every single child goes through puberty at a different time and it affects him or her in a different way. Middle school teachers need to keep this in mind when setting bench marks and deciding on the curriculum.

Meet Me in the Middle Chapter 2

It is very difficult for educators to gain students’ attention and get them motivated to learn. Honestly, who wants to be forced to go sit at a desk for six hours and listen to adults talk about subjects that do not pertain to you? Some subjects in school were hard for me to get through because I did not see the point in them, and I was one of the “goody-goody” students. If I was struggling to stay motivated for classes, I can imagine the difficulty that every other student is facing. My job description says I need to help students succeed in my class and in order to do that to the best of my abilities, I am going to have to grab the attention of my students and get them to want to learn my material.

This chapter mentioned a lot of great ways to motivate students to learn. However, I feel students will want to learn if my classroom is a safe, encouraging, and fun place to be. If teachers make a point to apply the material to students real lives and make them feel comfortable with the material, themselves, and each other, they will make the learning process that much easier and enjoyable. I want my classroom to be a place where math is fun and making mistakes and not getting the “correct” answer are learning opportunities to see how the math is actually working. There are math problems every day in the real world and if my students can see these connections they will be more apt to enjoy it and actually want to learn it.

Meet Me in the Middle Chapter 1

In order to be the most effective teacher, I must look inside myself and know my philosophies, quirks, and even listening style. My job is to help my students succeed and do well in my classroom, but I cannot do that unless I know myself and have an idea on how others perceive me. One of the main points that this chapter talked about was that teachers need to be enthusiastic about their jobs. We cannot be under the impression that teaching is meant for those who cannot do anything else. This will not only make our jobs miserable, but it will also hurt the students we are responsible for teaching. Students are not going to learn effectively from someone who does not love what he or she is doing. This is not a problem for me since I have wanted to be a teacher since I was nine years old, but it is a shame that students are at the receiving end of teachers who hate what they are doing.

Another great aspect I got from this chapter was the “high” and “low” egos. I realized I am a “low” ego type person. I enjoy helping someone learn a concept and I try everything I can think of to make sure that they truly understand. I also am not afraid of not knowing the exact answer or making a mistake. On a variety of different occasions during tutoring I have been corrected by a student because I have rushed and made a silly mistake, or have had to read the text book or even ask for help because I simply did not feel certain I knew the right answer. My students felt more comfortable with me after seeing that I am a normal person too.

Turning Points 2000 Chapter 2

Like the first Turning Point recommendations, the Turning Points 2000 suggestions seem like obvious ways to help students succeed. Actually, they seem a lot like the 10 standards required for certification here at the University of Maine at Farmington. The wording is slightly different from the first set, but overall, I think teachers and schools should be doing most of this stuff anyway. The only idea that is not obvious is the learning communities one, but after doing my practicum in a middle school that used this recommendation, I can see the perks and the disadvantages to it. Simply changing this one thing does not solve the problem at hand, though. Like the chapter said, our classrooms need to be updated as well. I wish teachers were more open and receptive to these changes because they can really benefit the students’ success, which is what we are all about. However, if schools only change bits and pieces, not all the problems are being solved. Chapter 1 said that middle school is a big adjustment time for students. This means that if there are major gaps and issues with the curriculum and classroom practices are not addressed, students will be suffering not only academically, but also psychologically and emotionally as well.

There was one line in this chapter that summed up how we should look at schools; “Schools should be proactive, not reactive…” (p. 24). Obviously we know something is wrong and right now we are in the reactive stage. We are simply trying to fix what is broken. Instead, educators, administrators, parents, and students need to figure out what is going to work to ensure students success and implement it.

Turning Points 2000 Chapter 1

The original Turing Points ideas seem like common sense recommendations. It is obvious that we need to teach all students equally and get them to succeed. However, I am appalled that the schools are not applying these concepts. I know it can be tricky to get everything done at once, but without all the pieces the students are the ones that suffer. The disturbing test results from the text say it all. When schools use bits and pieces of the Turning Points ideas, they do improve, like from 1990 to 1998, but students are still lacking. One third and one quarter are not good numbers for those at or above the proficient mark in reading, writing, and mathematics. I wonder if all the recommendations are in play if the results would be better.

I do not think I have ever known how important middle school was to students until I read this chapter. I knew it was fairly significant, but I guess I forgot how nerve wracking my junior high experience was. It is true; middle school/ junior high school can be very intimidating to students. If teachers do not take this into account, or treat them like mini high school students, then they are not going to succeed. My education courses thus far have said that we need to know our students individually and know how to educate each one of them best. I feel that this would be a great starting point for middle school teachers in helping overcome the difficulties that seem to be facing our middle schools.