"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing."
- Theodore Roosevelt
I believe that each middle grades student is a weird and wonderful package. Their bodies are developing at a rate that is faster than they are able to keep up with, and each one is developing differently. At different times, students at this age hit puberty. They get taller, their arms and legs get longer, and they get acne. All of these factors make them awkward and clumsy, yet, these are only the changes that they can see. Beyond the surface, their brains are going through an intense growth and pruning process. Just after puberty begins, the prefrontal cortex of the young adolescent brain hits a major growth spurt. This part of the brain controls working memory, organization, and mood, among other functions (Irvin, Wilson & Horch, 2002, p.58). All of these changes cause them to seem unorganized, forgetful, and moody. Cognitively, as they go from the concrete operational stage to the formal operational stage within Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development, their minds begin to work in completely different ways. Where they could once only process concrete ideas, they can now think through metaphors and abstract notions. This also causes them to be more cognizant of others and lends to greater socialization, as they drop the egocentric thinking of their earlier lives. On top of all of these changes that they cannot control, they feel more pressured than ever before to “fit in”, which takes a huge psychological toll. To them, being popular is a life-or-death dilemma, and they must do whatever it takes to reach that goal, often valuing it over their education. With all of their seemingly-cantankerous traits, it is our job as middle grades educators to open these weird and wonderful packages. In the brief time that we get to spend with each student, it should be our goal to pull out all of their best qualities and their hardest efforts on their quests to find themselves. After all, as Dr. Jay Geidd has found in research, if they do not use the knowledge and skills that they have, they are at risk to lose this knowledge (PBS, 2002). We should encourage and reward good behaviors and attitudes and discourage maladaptive behaviors that might surface in the brief time that we have with them. I believe that teachers have a greater impact on their students that we could ever imagine, so we must lead by example and show the students a positive model to follow. We never know the impact that we make at the time.
I believe every student, middle grades or otherwise, deserves the best possible education that a school can offer. There is a slight caveat here: teachers should treat all students equally, but they should not assume they are all the same. I believe that in a school, all students are equal, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, or who their parents are; they are equals and held in the highest possible regard. On the other side of that, teachers should not assume that all students at the middle grades level are the same due to the “tremendous diversity of this period” in their lives (Manning, 1995, p.99). In my field placement this semester, one child in particular stuck out to me. He was incredibly smart, but erred on the side of ADHD. He would begin to complete every assignment as planned, but the slightest things could distract him. At the end of the class period, he was reprimanded for not finishing his work. As teachers, we should cater to the needs of students like him; we should do everything in our power to ensure that the students are learning and working to their highest potential during every precious second of their time in our classrooms. As Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs suggests, the students need a safe and accepting environment to even have a chance to learn from day to day. Whether the student is ADHD, Autistic, gifted, in poverty, black, white, or of any other variety, it is our job to create a safe and positive learning environment that fosters growth and healthy development.
Overall, my beliefs about middle grades education and its students have not drastically changed; rather, they have become more informed and enlightened. Education in general, but middle grades specifically, is held by society as a job that most people would not want to do. Due to the struggles associated with prepubescent adolescents, the middle level route is looked down on even more. I believe that students in this awkward phase of life need good teacher more it seems. I see this occupation as a hefty challenge that comes with the substantial reward of touching and being a part of a child’s life. As this may seem like a naïve, romanticized view of middle school students, I believe it is important that we uphold such ideas in order to remember why we chose middle grades education as a profession. In the end, these ideas may bring light to the long, hard days of teaching when it would be easy to forget why have chosen such a challenging occupation.
References
Irvin, J.L., Wilson, L.M., & Horch, H.W. (Sept. 2002). Implications of brain research for teaching young adolescents. Middle School Journal, 34 (1), 57-61. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23043760
Manning, M.L. (1995). Addressing young adolescents’ cognitive development. The High School Journal, 78 (2), 98-104. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40660666
PBS: Frontline (2002) Inside the teenage brain: interview Jay Giedd. Retrieved from: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/interviews/giedd.html
I believe every student, middle grades or otherwise, deserves the best possible education that a school can offer. There is a slight caveat here: teachers should treat all students equally, but they should not assume they are all the same. I believe that in a school, all students are equal, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, or who their parents are; they are equals and held in the highest possible regard. On the other side of that, teachers should not assume that all students at the middle grades level are the same due to the “tremendous diversity of this period” in their lives (Manning, 1995, p.99). In my field placement this semester, one child in particular stuck out to me. He was incredibly smart, but erred on the side of ADHD. He would begin to complete every assignment as planned, but the slightest things could distract him. At the end of the class period, he was reprimanded for not finishing his work. As teachers, we should cater to the needs of students like him; we should do everything in our power to ensure that the students are learning and working to their highest potential during every precious second of their time in our classrooms. As Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs suggests, the students need a safe and accepting environment to even have a chance to learn from day to day. Whether the student is ADHD, Autistic, gifted, in poverty, black, white, or of any other variety, it is our job to create a safe and positive learning environment that fosters growth and healthy development.
Overall, my beliefs about middle grades education and its students have not drastically changed; rather, they have become more informed and enlightened. Education in general, but middle grades specifically, is held by society as a job that most people would not want to do. Due to the struggles associated with prepubescent adolescents, the middle level route is looked down on even more. I believe that students in this awkward phase of life need good teacher more it seems. I see this occupation as a hefty challenge that comes with the substantial reward of touching and being a part of a child’s life. As this may seem like a naïve, romanticized view of middle school students, I believe it is important that we uphold such ideas in order to remember why we chose middle grades education as a profession. In the end, these ideas may bring light to the long, hard days of teaching when it would be easy to forget why have chosen such a challenging occupation.
References
Irvin, J.L., Wilson, L.M., & Horch, H.W. (Sept. 2002). Implications of brain research for teaching young adolescents. Middle School Journal, 34 (1), 57-61. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23043760
Manning, M.L. (1995). Addressing young adolescents’ cognitive development. The High School Journal, 78 (2), 98-104. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40660666
PBS: Frontline (2002) Inside the teenage brain: interview Jay Giedd. Retrieved from: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/interviews/giedd.html