Boys and Girls Learn Differently

I really liked the activity that we had to do at the beginning of the book talk presentation. While you did this as a example of finding if more guys and one girl, or more girls and one guy, and all girls working together to see how it worked, I would personally use it as a team building activity in my classroom. Sometimes, as it was shown in class it doesn't work out as expected. However, with this activity you could use it to see who the leaders are in your classroom, and who are okay with listening to others. The little quiz thing that we did after the activity was pretty cool, but I wasn't really sure exactly how it tied into everything. Kyle and Sarah, I really liked your topics about the sports and the counseling. I really agree with the new types of counselings, and they make complete sense with the way that boys and girls personalities are. The segregation in the classroom piece was definitely interesting to think about. However, I do not like the idea of segregated schools. I think that after all that this country has worked for with equality in every aspect, many people could see this as a step backwards. The idea of school uniforms also seems rather old school. I can see how it could be convenient for some who have an issue of getting ready in the morning. This book seems like it has a lot of radical ideas in it, that might be hard to imply at this time in the schools.

Chapter 15: Parents as Partners in Twenty-First-Century Learning

This chapter focuses on having effective communication with parents. Be it about how their child is doing in the classroom, or just what that night’s homework is. I like the different resources that he gives with ways to post homework online. When I was in school, we had the homework hotline. This was convenient for the time, however, now that most families have internet at home now putting it online is even easier. Also, if the family doesn’t have internet at home, most parents work somewhere where they will have access to the internet. However, Wormeli doesn’t just stick to doing everything electronically, he also has newsletters, and surveys sent home as well. I especially liked his idea with the postcards, that when he and his collegues are in a meeting, and when they think that a parent deserves the recognition, they will send a postcard home, saying how great their student has been doing in school lately. The index card inquiries is another thing that I might actually apply in the classroom. Because, what better person to ask about your future students than the parents who have raised their child, and know how they tick. All in all, I really liked this chapter on how to keep in touch with parents and have them be involved a lot better than the TP2000 chapter.

Chapter 9: Involving Parents and Communities

This chapter focused on the involvement of parents with the schools, and the community support for the schools. I found this chapter to come at a perfect time for what my school district back home has been experiencing lately. The superintendent has started a four year process to combine the two districts that have been told to consolidate into a union. From an outsider perspective this is really great. It’s what we have been talking about, with saving money and cutting costs on things. Politically and economically he has the right idea, however, he is getting no support from the parents or the community at all. So, while this chapter focuses on how great it is to have parent involvement, I would like to know what can you do when the parent’s involvement actually doesn’t help the situation, but actually hinders it. Turning points writes “Parents on school-wide governance committees who work effectively and cooperatively with school staff become models of such behavior for their young adolescents and other students” (p 208). What if they are doing the exact opposite? That is completely ineffective for the district, teachers, and students. I guess right now, in my pessimistic view of parents and the community, their involvement can only really end up being a pain. Especially in a rural town in Maine.

Chapter 8: A Safe and Healthy School Environment

This chapter focuses on creating a safe and healthy environment in your school. One important thing that the chapter talked about was that by having good school/classroom rules. While we always think of rules as a way to make our lives easier, they also act as a way to make students feel safe and secure in the classroom. I had never thought of it that way before. The chapter continues to talk about how creating a safe environment in the classroom is by making students of other races feel comfortable. It talks about the issue that we only teach about other races once a month, or when there is a holiday. As a future social studies educator, I am going to make sure that other races are talked about, and that they are not made as a special case. That it is just part of the history, especially since they are a very special part of history. Health and physical education is talked about in this chapter as well. Having gym in schools has proven to show that students do better academically. They also are more apt to stay away from drugs and alcohol when they know how it affects their bodies. All in all promoting a safe and healthy environment in the school is a very important thing that needs to be done more often.

Chapter 4: Designing Instruction to Improve Teaching and Learing

This chapter really focused on differentiated instruction in the classroom. It talked about the WHERE (WHERETOS in Practicum). One thing that I really pulled from this chapter however, was when it talked about tracking in the schools. In our education classes we have been talking about tracking and discussing why it is not a good thing to have in the classroom anymore. However, this chapter was the first time I have seen in writing about why it is not a good concept to have in the schools anymore. The line “schools are not factories” is so true. When we do tracking in the schools chances are social status is going to determine where you are placed in class level. While tracking may be easy for the teachers, it is not beneficial to the students. When you have students of all levels in the same class, then those who are advanced will become better students, and those who are lower levels will be able to improve as students and not be stuck at the lower level they would have been forever had there been tracking. The rest of the chapter continues to talk about how to teach to the whole classroom, a lot of which we have heard about during practicum. However, it was nice review to have.

Becoming a Wiz at Brain-Based Teaching

This was a really great presentation. I like how you guys had the classroom set up like a casino with the lights, music, tablecloths, lounge area, and food. This definitely changed the mood of the room, and really got you to want to know what this book was all about. Eric, your section at the lounge was really cool. I liked doing the quote part, and talking about the arrangement and moods of rooms. Something that we talk about in class a lot, but it was cool to see it actually put to good use. Susanna, your game was awesome, (even though Dr. Grace beat me), I liked getting the horseshoes and reading all of those facts about the brain. A lot of these things really related to the part of my book that I read. Josh, thanks for teaching me how to play blackjack! I like how you related three different assessment levels to the blackjack game. It really gave us a visual to link this to. Lyzz, that big game of memory with the facts was really cool. If we hadn't run out of time, I'm sure we would have been able to tell in our group who had a good spatial memory. All in all this presentation was awesome, and I really liked how you guys made the feel of the book really come alive.

Chapter 8: Effective Assessment

This chapter is about effective assessment in the classroom. “Jay McTighe says that assessment should promote learning, not just measure it” (p 89). The chapter then proceeds to talk about different ways to assess students effectively. One of the things that Wormeli talks about is making your goals for the unit clear. He talks about how he sometimes gives his students the test to the unit before beginning the unit. Therefore they know what they’re going to be getting at the end of the unit, and there will be no surprises for them. Making sure that the assessments that the students receive are rigorous and motivating is another key part of effective assessments. However, this type of assessment shouldn’t be tied down to just tests. This is where other forms of activities and assessments come into play. Group projects, or individual projects are a good ways to effectively assess students, without giving tests. Overall this chapter has really good ideas on how to properly assess students without always giving them tests.

Chapter 7: Differentiated Instruction – Fitting the Lesson to the Learner

This chapter on differentiated instruction is a lot different than all of the other books and chapters that I have read on differentiated instruction. Right off the bat in this chapter it talks about why differentiated instruction is useful. However, Wormeli is blunt and to the point saying “teachers looking for the one right way to differentiate instruction will be disappointed. It doesn’t exist” (p 69). This can be perceived in two ways, one as a way of discourage, or as a way to use it as an opportunity to try and make their form of differentiated instruction as best as they can. I like how the book is split up between features of differentiated instruction, and characteristics of successful teachers of differentiated instruction. I liked how Wormeli says “Differentiated instruction means we match the challenge to the student, finding varied ways to help each child stretch intellectually” (p 71). This is one of the best definitions of differentiated instruction that I have heard. It really states it clearly. The list of characteristics on successful teachers of differentiated instruction I thought was very helpful. I will use this as a list for myself when I am in the classroom, because this list has some key points that are really important.

Chapter 6: Accountability for High Standards

This chapter had three major categories. Holding students accountable, holding ourselves as educators responsible and responding to standards. There are many tips on how to hold students accountable for their work. Some things that I thought were really good was stating to the classroom that their work is going to be on display for the school. This makes the students take pride in their work, because they know that others are going to see the work that they produce. Another suggestion that I thought was really good for holding students accountable was not offering extra credit for students. Instead, if they want to better a project, or paper, they can take the time to correct the things that they were docked points on. Wormeli said that his students eventually just gave 100% on their papers and projects the first time around, so they didn’t even need to fix anything and they had good grades. Holding ourselves as educators accountable is something that shouldn’t be a problem, but as he states, and as we saw in “Waiting for Superman”, many teachers just place blame on all of the things working against them, and stop teaching the way that they should. So Wormeli suggest that we need to become better teachers despite this, and really teach the students well. His view on standards is very positive. I really like how he states “I’m waiting for the moment when all the countries of the world can find common ground through intellectual achievement”. In order for this to happen we do need to have standards, and instead of looking down on them, we need to respond to them in a positive light.

Chapter 3 Brain Research Applied to Middle School

This chapter of Meet in the Middle really connects to my groups book talk book of A Whole New Mind. It has a lot to do with the brain, and how we can format it to get it’s best memorization. Memory is a coherent process, and an easy tool that can be used in the classroom. In this chapter Wormeli gives some good ways to help students remember things from class discussion. He talks about a triad response, where you call on one person, and then you ask another to give a response to their classmates answer, and then a third classmate is able to respond, and the original student is able to have the last word on what was said based off his response. This causes students to not just shut off their brains when someone else in their class is responding, so they have to listen in case they might be asked to respond to their classmates answer or input. Wormeli continues that we remember things by a process called chunking. This is something I have already heard of, I believe it was in practicum. He also says a good way to get students to remember something is to add emotions to it. He says that “students respond well to emotional cues and retain information as a result”. The one thing that I found very interesting about this chapter was how important staying hydrated is for the brain and learning. It makes sense, but at the same time it’s not something that you think about.

Book Talks

Student Oriented Curriculum
I really enjoyed the way that this book was taught to our class. The form of splitting up into groups and being taught different sections of the book was cool. Being able to have small discussions with two or three other people was a great way to work. This way you are able to really get everything in that you want to say. I like how from the book we were told about the new way of doing an assessment. Because using portfolios and having student led conferences were a very good idea. All in all the presentation for this book was done very well. I really like the idea that this book presents, and I would really like to see it done in the real classroom. Witnessing it would be very cool. I hope to sometime I could work in a school that is in the advancement away from the old school way of teaching.

Chapter 13: Outdoor Adventures

This chapter talked about the benefits to taking an outdoor camping trip. The idea that whenever you have an outdoor experience, you are always going to learn something new. There are three things that Wormeli points out that people experience when they going on camping trips. They are, focusing on our physical, emotional, and intellectual selves, personal autonomy, and gender equity. Another thing that he mentioned was that boys learn how to become nurturers. The rest of the chapter focuses on certain ways in which you can incorporate learning and lesson into a camping trip with your classroom. The ideas for lessons ranged in all subjects. The ones that particularly stood out to me were the freedom trail hikes, and the civil war reenactment. These are two things that I could do with my students on a weekend camping trip. However, the idea of weekend camping trip with your students is somewhat daunting to think about. Maybe with time and experience as a teacher, I will become more accepting of this idea.

Chapter 4: Active Learning

This chapter focuses on the idea of active learning. To begin the chapter Wormeli talks about the benefit of physical movement for the brain. Saying that the brain functions best on high levels of oxygen, and that if we get middle school students up and moving throughout our lesson, chances are they will be more interested, focused, and engaged. One thing I found particularly (and it made sense), was that young adolescent students are constantly uncomfortable because they are growing so much. A simple task, such as sitting at a desk, can be painful for them. That is why it is our jobs as their teachers to provide them with as much opportunities as possible to get them up and moving around. I enjoyed his story about teaching ratios to his class, and how he actually brought them outside to visualize and walk around the school grounds and use ratios to find the heights of the trees. That brings the real world into the classroom, or in other words, outside of the classroom. The list that is presented in the end of the chapter with other ideas on how to get the students up and moving around will be a really good source for when I have a classroom of my own.

Waiting for Superman

The documentary film Waiting for Superman takes on a difficult role. To show the people just what is wrong with public education. The scary thing is, there isn't just one thing wrong with public education, there are many things. All affecting the other. There were two key things that I really took from this film. The first was that the education unions, and tenure are two really bogus things that are, believe it or not, holding back public education. Because the two things allow the teachers to kind of just lay back, and not teach, the kids are no longer being educated fully. A second thing that I liked how the film portrayed it was by showing how tracking is ineffective in this current time. I agree with them on this. When it was first created it was a really good idea, but students definitely should all be allowed to have equal opportunity to go to college. Taking away the tracking aspect of it will let this happen. Overall I really enjoyed this film, and I hope that it starts a trend for other research and action for the education system, where students will leave school a very good learner.

TP2000 Chapter 3 Abstract and Synthesis

Abstract:
This chapter in the Turning points was very focused on how Standards, The Backwards Design Model, and Assessment are all linked together. The standards are put into place to be able to provide the ability for teachers to see excellence and equity among all of their students. The chapter continues to talk about how it’s hard as teachers to manage meeting the standards in the classroom. The backwards design model fits in with the standards, because you can take the standard and then build the lesson or unit around that standard. Assessment ties into the other two, because, if you are educating correctly, you should be able to tie your assessment right into the standards through the backwards design model. The major focus of this chapter is the use of backwards design, standards, and assessment, and how the three can be linked to be an effective way to educate.
Synthesis:
In this chapter, as a class we all seemed to talk about three things: Standards, The Backwards Design Model, and Assessments. We all seemed to be aware, and concerned about, the use of effective assessments. Many of us saw the use in The Backwards Design Model, especially in the middle school aspect. Because we’re aware of just how many levels of learning there are in the middle school. With backwards design all of the students can learn in a variety of ways, and still succeed, which is something that students in middle school need.

Chapter 3 Curriculum and Assessment to Improve Teaching and Learning

This chapter mainly focuses on standards and applying them to the backward design plan. They talk about how the standards provide the ability for excellence and equity for the students. Standards can be very overwhelming for teachers, however, this book talks about how teachers should “uncover” the standards and create ways in which you can use the standards to have informative and interesting lessons for your students. Since standards can be so daunting and overwhelming for teachers, sometimes we get caught up in the “treadmill effect” by going quicker through material, and end up leaving students behind in their crazy chase to reach all of the standards in the school year. So, hopefully focusing on the big ideas, and just creating life long learners can avoid the “treadmill effect”. Another thing that was talked about in this chapter was assessment and how it should tie directly to the curriculum based on standards, and putting their skills to practice. Backwards design is a great way to figure out in which way the standards will be taught, and just which standards will be taught.

Chapter 9: Planning for Block Scheduling

This chapter focuses on block scheduling, and just how beneficial it is to the teachers, and the students. Block scheduling gives longer class periods. So, instead of having every subject everyday for 55 minutes, the students will alternate which classes they have each day with 80 minute periods. I have been in both positions. When I was in middle school we had every class everyday for 55 minutes, and then when I went to high school we had a block schedule. I don’t know if it was maybe because I was older, but having the block scheduling was much more beneficial for me, rather than having every class everyday. Last semester, when I was in practicum, at Phillips middle, they had blue and gold days, but they still had every class everyday for 55 minutes. Some days they would have a “double period”, which wasn’t really a double period at all, because it wasn’t back to back. So, when it came time for me to do my formal lesson, planning for an effective 55 minute lesson was very difficult. I faced the problem that this teacher did in the beginning of this chapter. Having 80 minute periods are so much more helpful, for the teacher, and also for the students learning. I enjoyed how this book showed us how to plan a lesson for the 80 minute periods, however it is exactly what we learned in practicum. Yet, the list of 10 important points for planning for extended periods is nice to see. One thing that I really pulled from this chapter was that with the extended periods, as teachers we will be able to not just “cover” the material, we will be able to teach the material to the students so that they carry it with them for years. Not only will we be able to do that, we also will be able to take all of the grouping methods, and fantastic teaching techniques from practicum and apply them into our own classroom.

Chapter 12: Teacher Advisories – A Proposal for Change

This chapter talks about structured teacher advisory programs. These are basically when you take students and do hands on activities with them, as opposed to being in the classroom all of the time. When the first originated, they were seen as something of a nuisance. But, they are now seen as a good way for students and teachers to develop a good relationship with one another. It’s a different way to learn, and it is really becoming cutting edge, and a good way to provide an education to students. I’m not exactly sure how I feel about this new way to teacher. On the one hand I like the idea of getting out of the traditional classroom, but on the other hand it makes for sometimes more of a stressful class time. I like the end of the chapter, how it says that these advisory activities can help young adolescents to learn more about themselves and each other. Having these kind of experiences are really good to have, especially at the middle school level, when everyone is going through such a hard time.

Chapter 11: Teaming

This chapter focuses a lot on the idea of using teaming in the middle schools in order to provide a community for the middle school students, and to provide them with the help they need. One thing that was really cool about this was the subject integration. In the real world students will be faced with the overlapping of many different subjects all at once. With the use of teams in the middle school atmosphere, students have the ability link all of these different subjects, and put them to use in a way that they might in the real world. Another thing that I took away from this reading was the core values that should be presented to the team. Not only should these core values be present with the teachers, they should also be present with the students. That way the values apply all around. Teacher interactions are another key thing when having successful teams. One thing that I took from the end of this reading was that instead of always having one team leader, have leaders shift. Just like we will be doing in our middle education class.

Chapter 6: Organizing Relationships for Learning

This chapter is really informative in how middle school teams work. Initially it talks about how student teacher relationships are key to successful students in the middle school. As you continued the reading, it talked about the ingredients that you need in order to have a successful team middle school. Two key things that really stood out to me were the team size, and the looping feature. The size of a team is something that is important if you want to have a successful team in the middle school. Because you want to be able to know all of the students in your classroom. The looping feature is a really good idea as well, because that way, you have students not for just one year. This allows you to be able to build trusting relationships with the students, and watch them grow. All in all this chapter was very informative, and will definitely help our team in middle education form a unit that will be successful for our “students”

This We Believe

pp. 1-26
In the first 26 pages that we had to read for “This We Believe; Keys to Educating Young Adolescents”, there was a lot of useful information for future middle school educators. In the beginning part of the book it talked about how important middle education is. Because kids that age are changing so much, they need to have a stable environment. It is the parents and educators jobs to be able to provide this environment stability, and help them with the changing world around them. As the reading continued it went on to talk about the curriculum that young adolescent students need to have. Four major parts of the curriculum that was discussed in the book were: challenging, exploratory, integrative, and relevant. The ways that it needs to be challenging for the different students is challenging itself, because you need to reach all levels of students. The exploratory part was pretty interesting to read, because it talks about the different ways in which to make learning about exploring rather than just sitting there and learning from the book. The integrative and relevant part is just about integrating different learning styles, and making the learning connect to their real world. Something we learned about in practicum. One major theme that I really took away form these pages was that to be an effective middle school teacher you need to continue to be a learner. We need to accept that students are going to teach us something new, and that we won’t always be the ones doing the educating.
pp. 27-33
This section of the reading discussed the necessity to have a strong leader in the middle school. Some major themes to having a strong community feel in the middle school are: a shared vision, committed leaders, courageous and collaborative leaders, professional development, and organizational skills. All of these are important things to have in order to create a stable middle school teaching team. When all of the teachers have the same vision for their teaching, then they will all be able to work collaboratively. Another thing that I really picked up from this reading was the professional development. Most teachers like to work towards their professional development. Personally, I will be one of those teachers who is always willing to work towards becoming a better teacher. Recently I’ve decided that I want to get my PhD at some point. So, by going to workshops and pursuing my education I hope to always be working on my professional development
pp. 33-42
This section of “This We Believe” talks about the Culture and Community of the school, and how important it is. One thing that I really picked up on was the “adult advocate” that they talked about. This basically is about having an advisor for the students. This advisor works to help the students with any problems they have, and is always making sure that what’s going on in school is running smoothly for them. A second thing that I picked up from this was the intertwining of school and home, so that they go hand in hand. This is something new for myself, because I was always one of those students who liked to keep school and home separate. I would always get my homework done at school, and all of my projects, and group work done at school. That way, when I went home I wouldn’t have to think about school at all, unless my parents asked me at the dinner table how school was. The family involvement part of this section is something that I definitely was part of. However, it wasn’t so much in middle school as it was in high school. Since I didn’t really have a specific advisor during middle school, my parents were never really sure of who to contact about my schooling to see how I was doing. However, when I hit high school, I did have a set advisor, who was always in constant contact with my mom, and vice versa. I think another factor to that as well, was that when I was in high school my mom was a part of the school district, and it was easy for her to contact my teachers to see how I was doing. She had the same resources in middle school, however, the teachers weren’t as good about getting back to her as my high school teachers were. So, hopefully future middle school teachers, and current ones are more involved with contacting their students parents then past middle school teachers.
pp. 43-62
To wrap up this position paper, the NMSA calls for all teachers who have read this book to spread the word about this document to other teachers, and to have discussions with colleagues about it as well. This is something that I really agree with. Not all middle schools are aware of this document, and I feel that it is a really good document to have on hand, just so you have something to look at when something happens in your class that you weren’t addressed with in your secondary education classes. Dr. Peter C. Scales part that is put into the book about the physical, cognitive, moral, psychological, and social-emotional dimensions of development of young adolescents was a very interesting part as well. It does a good job pin pointing the things that young adolescents are going through, thinking, and feeling. I can remembering feeling and thinking these things, but didn’t have teachers who were trained in helping middle schooler’s with what they were going through. This document, I feel is very helpful for future middle school teachers, and current middle school teachers. Knowing that I will have a document to refer to when something in my class arises is very comforting. I plan on keeping this position paper on my school bookcase at all times.

Chapter 17: The Truth About Middle School Students

This chapter is pretty cool to read. It talks about how middle school students are changing, and sarcastic, and funny. The quote board that he has up in his classroom is really cool. I am one of those people who really like quotes, and use them to express how I’m really feeling. This is a really cool tool to have. Young adolescents need any form of release that they can get from all of the things that they are trying to handle. While they won’t always come right out and ask for the help, they appreciate the outlets. As future middle school educators it becomes our responsibility to just let them be the young adults that they choose, and help them with the different things they are going through.

Chapter 2: Motivating Young Adolescents

This chapter talked a lot about the different ways in which you can get your young adolescent students to be interested in the material that you are teaching them. The idea to make stories into the material is a really good idea. Especially for those students who like to hear things in the way of a story, it makes them create connections with characters, and gives them the ability to learn the material in a different way. I also like the idea of putting music into the classroom as much as possible. I am one of those learners who likes to have music playing constantly. It triggers my brain in a way that silence doesn’t. Some of my students may learn the same way. This chapter is a good tool to get all of the different ways to get the young adolescent attention for them to have a good learning experience while they are in middle school.

Chapter 1: Creating a Culture of Learning; Stoking the Fires Within

I really liked this first chapter of this book. I enjoy how the chapter is split up into two parts. The first with taking a look at ourselves, and the second about listening to the students. Both of these things are important when it comes to being a middle school teacher. In order to be an effective middle school teacher you need to be able to take a look at yourself as a person, and then a teacher. It talks about the ability to have a positive attitude about what’s going on. That if you are able to have a good attitude during times when it’s rough, then you will be effective when it comes to reaching your middle school students. Listening is also something that is vital when associating with middle school aged kids. I have worked with young adolescents before, and when they become upset, the only way to reach them when they are upset, is to just sit back and listen to them. If you can get to know yourself and become a good listener, then you will definitely be more capable of reaching those young adolescents that we will be teaching.

Chapter 2: Turning Points 2000: A Design for Improving Middle Grades Education

In this chapter the one thing that I really liked about it was the seven key things that should be present for teaching in middle school. Each point it really vital to teaching middle schoolers. The ones that really stood out to me were the ones that said that middle schools should hire teachers who have taken classes in how to teach middle schoolers, teaching in a democratic way, and a healthy environment in the middle school. I think that the hiring teachers who have a background in how to teach middle school aged kids is a really good idea. When you have professionals in the school who have the knowledge and skills to guide the young adolescent’s of the middle school. The democratic rule of the middle school is a really good thing to have going on as well. When the students have a say in the way that their day to day routine will be run, then they will have more responsibility for their actions, and work. A healthy environment is also important in a middle school. This is because, with it, the children will be able to have a good learning experience. A good learning experience is important for a good transition into high school.

Chapter 1 – Turning Points: A Decade Later

This chapter mainly focused on the comparison between the findings when the Task Force on Education of Young Adolescents first came together to research middle education in 1987, to the current edition of 2000. While the idea of middle education hasn’t really changed since the late 80’s, the stats about the nations early adolescents has changed from the 80’s to the 90’s. One thing that really stood out to me was the change in the percentage that 8th graders tried alcohol and tobacco products. It said that between the years 1991 and 1998 the percent moved from 29 to 38. While this isn’t really a great statistic to look at for middle school aged kids, there was an upside on their statistics. The percent of teen pregnancies in 1997 was at 48% while in 1991 it was reported to be at 58%. This may be linked to the change in the way that early adolescents are taught. I liked how this chapter talked about how educating the early adolescents needs to move from rigid structure to more of a comforting and safe environment for them. I agree with this, why must we have kids grow at the age of 10 or 11? There will be plenty of time in their future educational career where they will be faced with rigid structure that doesn’t allow them to have a comfortable learning community. Towards the end of the chapter it talks about how early adolescents are better equipped to make important decisions, but their lack of experience leaves them vulnerable. I believe that, as a future middle school educator, it is our job to provide them with the guidance they need to make the right decisions with their life.