Monday, January 31, 2011
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”
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
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.
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.
Monday, January 24, 2011
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.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
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.
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