Pages 1-8: This chapter stresses the importance of helping our students to learn and practice good habits. While they are theoretically getting this advice from parents as well, students are likely to be influenced by friends rather than adults during the middle level years of schooling. While there are ever present peer distractions in schools, teachers can help students by modeling positive behaviors and helping to set the standards for a healthy lifestyle. By showing students the value of a healthy life, they are more likely to recognize the daily necessities of living a healthy lifestyle. This goes beyond teaching students to eat healthy food and to exercise, and includes teaching healthy habits in terms of teaching about the realities of alcohol, tobacco, and other potentially harmful situations.
Another interesting aspect of this chapter was the notion that while there are many positive aspects of middle level education, they must be combined in order to be effective. While teams, exploratory opportunity, and advisory programs are always necessary, they hold no effect without a pairing of the three. I found the list of criteria for effective teachers to be very helpful, especially in terms of students and teachers who work together in active learning and the idea of each student having a teacher as an advocate. I feel that teachers must demonstrate a motivation and dedication to the content they teach, but also to the students asked to consider and engage in this content. While this may seem like an obvious statement, it seems that many teachers become far too goal oriented at times, thus placing standards above individuals. This chapter provides a nice reminder of the true value that we as teachers should constantly work to achieve and maintain.
Pages 9-19: This chapter discusses the attitudes that middle level teachers must employee in order to successfully reach students. As a middle school teacher, it is necessary to believe that students are capable of infinite success and creative expansion. By acting as engaged, positive role models, middle level teachers create a positive and welcoming environment. Students are encouraged to commit to their work as it is evident that all work is done for the benefit of the learner, not the teacher or the standard. The training to become a middle level educator is extensive and on-going, yet this training constantly challenges teachers to examine lessons and teaching methods. Through extensive content knowledge as well as training opportunities, teachers are able to become more capable of helping students in various academic methods. A very interesting aspect that this chapter continues to reinforce is the necessity of building parents and community members into the classroom. While this is clearly essential to the positive growth of students, I believe that it is generally more difficult for teachers to build this aspect of learning into our teaching experience on a frequent basis. However, through consistent e-mails and notes to parents, this connection will remain open and will hopefully encourage parents to become more involved in this aspect of their child's schooling. Another interesting aspect that this chapter discussed was the principals role within the learning environment. The principal must be an active participant in order to foster continuous learning opportunities for both teachers and students. Rather than relying upon one person to act as leader within the school, the principal must instead recognize that each individual is essential to student learning.
I really love the idea of adult advocacy in each student's life. I feel that there is no better way to meet the needs of students than to provide them with a caring adult who will remain aware of various situations in the life of the student. As much as I attempted to shrink away from any teacher awareness while in middle school, I absolutely remember the teachers who reached out to me or commended my work. In providing students with a teacher who will listen and be aware of the student's individual needs, we are far more likely to assist each student through a successful educational career. Similarly, we must never forget the role of the parent within the student's experiences. If students feel comfortable including parents within various activities and school engagements, hopefully they will take more pride in the work they create both in school and out.
Pages 19-34: This section of the book begins with an interesting statement, reinforcing the idea that coverage is not teaching. While we as teachers have countless topics to cover throughout the course of the school year, this information means little to nothing if students are not receiving lasting comprehension. Rather than relying entirely upon standards based learning, it is also extremely important that we recognize the interests of our students and build curriculum based upon real life interests and experiences. A wonderful aspect of the middle school learning experience is that learning truly can be molded around students, and all teachers can work together to build a comfortable atmosphere for students. Rather than each teacher attempting to build lessons primarily upon individual content, teachers can work together to integrate multiple content areas.
An especially challenging aspect of integration of varied learning styles at this age is that every student is developing at a different rate, and thus at a different place in their understanding. However, by focusing upon each learning style, we will work to reach each of our students in an engaging manner. I loved the focus upon creating exploratory learning experiences. While this is most evident within science classrooms, I think that I will be able to fulfill the exploratory role within my English classroom through role plays and reenactments. In doing this, we will help our students to actively engage within their learning while at the same time helping our hands on students.
Teaming must be done with the intention of building communities between teachers and students, thus specific grouping is necessary. The group should be comprised of two to four teachers, with a number of students. By pairing effectively, students will hopefully feel comfortable and confident around peers and teachers, and will become far more likely to seek help when necessary. I enjoyed the suggestion that team teachers meet either daily or very regularly to plan for the benefit of the team. Without these meetings, I think it would be very difficult to set and follow specific goals for the team and its students.
Pages 35-51: In terms of expectations for teachers, "This We Believe" calls teachers to evaluate their own teaching strategies, while at the same time asking colleagues to enter the classroom and observe teaching methods. A large focus of this section is upon strategies in team teaching, such as clearly stating expectations in order to be clear of the rest of the teams expectations and to ensure that any differing opinions are clear. Advise for principals includes rating your school based upon the fourteen characteristics of this guide, meeting with school administrators and parents, and organizing principals in your area to ensure that everyone is on the same page. For involved parents, they are advised to attend all meetings involved within policy making, research the age group, and create parent groups to ensure that the correct work is being done to help students. A big role for the superintendent is the ability to reference and recommend school policies. The superintendent should be able to recommend this policy and help schools to implement it. Teacher educators must work to make education students aware of various policies, and help them to understand how best to implement these policies.
In order to teach middle school, we must be aware of the varying challenges that students face. In terms of physical development, adolescents experience rapid, irregular physical growth, uncoordinated movements due to bodily changes, varying maturity rates, restlessness and fatigued, and a need for medical information to ensure safe actions. Cognitively, students begin to develop an ability to think both concretely and abstractly. They are faced with many more choices which require emotional awareness and well being. A great aspect of middle level learning is that these students learn better through experience as opposed to observation, allowing teachers to tailor lessons to these interests and offer a wide range of activities. Morally, students begin to see faults in others that they do not recognize in their own actions. Students at the this age require guidance and advice from adults. Teachers must also be aware of psychological development, causing students to see themselves as priority over others while at the same time believing that personal experiences are unique to them. Students at this age are also very anxious for approval, and those overly reactive to rejection. This is due to social-emotional development.
