NYT Middle School Article

This article presents the issue of removing middle schools from school districts, not having a separate school for the 6-8 or 7-8 years. The two positions described in this article are a K-8 school and a 6-12 school. The K-8 school is argued as positive because it allows students to be "nurtured" for a few more years, in the same school, with the same teachers they once had and are comfortable with. The 6-12 school is discussed positively in that by getting students in 6th grade, that gives 3 more years to prepare them for college, therefore many more students will be likely to go to college. The students who attend the 6-12 school are thought to mature more and teachers enjoy working with them toward college-prep earlier than the usual 9th grade.

I don't think I'm really in favor of either of these schools. In my school district there was a middle school for 7th & 8th grade. I think that is best because the students need a break from the nuturing and get prepared for high school, and they can achieve that in a typical middle school. The K-8 school does not appeal to me because that just seems so long for these students who are continually growing, to be in the same building. They need new experiences and being in the same school as an eighth grader as you were in Kindergarten does just not seem right. The 6-12 school does not appeal to me either because I think it is important that kids have their time in the "middle school" to prepare for high school. In the article a teacher explained how he spent more time dealing with 170 middle school students than 300 high school students. That shows that the students really do need their own individual time in a middle school all on their own.

If I had to pick one of these sides to go with, it would probably be the 6-12 school because students will have more time for college prep and will hopefully mature faster and earlier since they will be roaming the same hallways as high school students. The K-8 school just seems like you'd be extending their childhood and not allowing the students to mature or experience new and exciting opportunities that will allow them to grow and thrive. In a middle school whether it be 6-8 or just 7 & 8, students will be able to have their own time, their own experiences, get to know each other better, and then move on to high school together.

Afterword

“Good teaching entails far more than just basic intelligence and knowledge.” That statement I found to be most significant in this chapter. All educators should realize that teaching involves not simply knowing and teaching the material to the students, but to understand and deal with all of the other aspects and issues that will arise in the classroom. All of the topics that were touched on in this book will be topics that every teacher will most likely have to deal with and they will be a successful teacher if they know how to handle each situation and can handle it professionally.

Chapter 10

The topic of this chapter overall was what I found most significant in this chapter. I completely agree that the typical classroom environment and routine can get old and can lack stimulation for students. Getting them out of the traditional classroom as much as possible will only benefit their learning. My mentor teacher has already demonstrated this as we took our classes to the wrestling room for a lesson we were teaching. We figured it was a relaxing room with the padding and no desks to be confined to. I remember at the end of one of the periods we asked the class why they enjoyed that lesson and most students expressed their delight of getting out of the classroom, simply going somewhere else.

Chapter 9

The simple statement “learning involves failure” caught my attention the most in this chapter. I think that statement should be explained and discussed with students on day one of the school year. Help them realize that they are going to struggle along the way, and so may their teacher, but to always stay confident and try their hardest, and they should succeed. I feel it’s extremely important for students to hear that statement because it may change their mentality if they enter a class thinking they’ll breeze through it with an “easy A”. When the time comes that they begin to struggle, they’ll relate back to the statement and recognize that they will overcome this and gain something from it.

Chapter 8

What jumped out at me the most in this chapter is the statistic of “one in every six adolescents going to school in the United States comes from a family in which English is not the main language.” That seems so bizarre and inaccurate because at Mt. Blue there are maybe six students in the whole school who would fall into that statistic. I know down in Portland the high schools are very diverse with many different languages, and that is something you just don’t see up here in Franklin County. I suppose in certain parts of California and big cities throughout the United States there are many students who are learning English as a second language, so that therefore makes up for the gap of diversity we have here in Maine.

Chapter 7

The few statements in this chapter about not focusing on using textbooks jumped out at me the most because I completely agree with this idea. I think textbooks should be used as a reference if needed, to help with certain topics or terms, but should not be read from cover to cover, especially if the reading is not going to be discussed or related to in class. My mentor teacher has a stack of health books in the corner of his classroom and I asked him one day about them, he said they’re pointless and not needed. I can’t agree with him more. The classroom discussions and activities he does with his classes definitely surpass any generic reading he would make the students do in those books.

Chapter 6

The emphasis on reading and writing in any and all subjects caught my attention the most in this chapter. “Kids learn more in every academic area when they are highly motivated to read and write.” Before reading this section, I figured reading and writing was only important in English class. Now, however, it makes sense to make the students read and write in order to grasp the subject area as best they can. Reading about different topics of the subject can be helpful, especially if it is something they chose on their own. Reflections and free writes can be ideal and very effective for students as well. I would probably use a combination of searching for current health news and reflecting on it in writing as a way for my students to read and write more often in my class.

Chapter 5

The emphasis of asking open-ended questions so students won’t worry about getting the answer right or wrong impacted me the most with this chapter because I never truly realized that before. I guess it is indeed true that when you ask a question that has a distinct answer, the students are going to be more hesitant to raise their hand because of the worry of getting it wrong. Open-answered questions and discussions are much more ideal because it lessens the worry for the students, and it will seem to them that they are contributing and are correct. I can relate to a specific example of this as I was leading a class discussion about goals & wishes with my mentor teacher. We asked for someone to give us a wish, any wish in the world they had. No one raised their hand, and for a moment I was standing there struggling, so my mentor teacher spoke up, saying “write one goal and one wish on your papers right now.” Students were worried to simply raise their hand to give a goal or wish. When we had them write, their pencils were moving immediately, they had some in their minds, they were just afraid to speak up and share.

Chapter 4

What jumped out at me most in this chapter were the few comments from students stating that if a teacher doesn’t think you’re smart, they will not call on you or encourage you to do your best work. I’m sure that unfortunately is the case with some teachers, but personally, I strongly disagree with statements such as those. I guess it’s the coach in me that would definitely motivate and encourage students who are not the smartest to do their best. Their poor performance would give me the incentive to push them to work hard to show improvement. Also, if there are students who I am not particularly fond of, I wouldn’t ignore them by any means, I would acknowledge them just as much as any other student because I would not want there to be any bad feelings, I want to be a teacher whom all students like.

Chapter 3

A comment from the common mistakes and helpful hints in this chapter jumped out at me; don’t call on people just to make them pay attention. This stood out to me because I’ve always seen teachers call on kids who are not paying attention, and that seems to rope them in, so I have never even considered not calling on them when they are off task. From my observations, calling on them regains their attention, busts them for being off task or not completely focusing, and engages them back into the current classroom environment. I don’t totally disagree with the statement to not call on someone to make them pay attention, I just had never considered that because I’ve seen it used so much with always a positive outcome, it seems. The students’ comments are important though, so perhaps now I will take into consideration the fact that calling on someone who is not paying attention could make that person feel bad or may not be as effective as another way to regain their attention.