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

This chapter addresses a new method of communicating with parents that almost completely eliminates the effort from the teachers. You can have a website with e-mails, all assignments posted using an online syllabus, and pretty much any other technological tool, that will keep parents involved with their child’s education. It is no longer necessary to send notes home or make phone calls, while still useful, there is a magic land of “the Internet” that allows that interaction to take place easier. A quick e-mail will make it to the targeted parent instantly instead of waiting for the student to remember to hand their parent a note, and a phone call requires coordination of common times to have a conversation. Have the world of electronic social media at our disposal we as teachers should have no trouble keeping parents up to date with their children’s progress and it might even make some otherwise absent parents more involved.

Chapter 8: Effective Assessment

The key ideas from this chapter that I will implement into my future classroom are clear expectations, focus on essential knowledge, and valid indicator of students knowledge. The first idea is so easy that it is embarrassing that it has to be written about. It is not the job of a teacher to try and trick students. We should always let them know where we want them to get. Outlining the goal will allow them to worry about material rather than the process it will take to show what they know. The second and third ideas go hand in hand, focusing on essential knowledge and a valid indicator of students knowledge are near and dear to my heart as a future math teacher. I make English teachers mad because I will not count spelling or grammar on anything written, I will note the papers so the student can self correct if they want to but at no time will writing rules take points away from the math concepts the student is trying to demonstrate. Teaching is a team effort I agree, but receiving a poor math grade because you struggle in English class is the most backward idea, and a great way to squash any remaining confidence a student may have.

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

The main idea of this chapter that I will take into my classroom is that there is not just one way to differentiate instruction. In order to actually cater to the individual student’s needs a teacher must be flexible and resourceful. We are aware that children learn differently so it is our job to not try to box them into our lesson plans. This gets me on a rant about the standards again but that is a different chapter. We should be constantly evaluating where our students stand and find ways to bring them further into the material so they are learning at their maximum capacity. Creating lesson plans with differentiation in them is a great start but the teacher needs to be able to formatively assess the situation and adjust on the fly if a student needs additional instruction or differentiation. I truly think that individualized instruction is the most powerful way to get all the students to gain the most from their time in school.

Chapter 6: Accountability for High Standards

The idea of accountability to standards determined by administrators really makes me angry. Students are expected to perform well on tests designed to be multiple choice or maybe an essay and the subject of the tests are only broadly identified as math, or science. This makes no sense in relation to the clear expectations that we are taught to give students. The book identifies the short comings of the system nicely but the idea still makes me angry. I thought the book went a little far into “idealand” when it imagined a world where academics are thought of as highly as athletics, people watch sports for entertainment. I don’t feel the academic achievements should be brought into that conversation even with a sarcastic tone. There is too much pressure for the students to meet somebody’s expectations instead of just letting the learning take place. Go through school, learn what you can, enter the real world and continue to learn what is important to your life.

Chapter 3: Brain Research Applied to Middle School

This chapter focuses on an idea that students should be taught how to think. Not in a forceful, “you will have this view” type of way, but rather students are capable of thinking about situations and make conclusions based on what they know. The time needed to think is talked about in terms of giving students time to think when you ask a question and as a teacher also allowing yourself time to respond to their answer before you respond. That is an important idea to grasp, people are often worried about what they are going to say next that they are not listening to the people they are talking with. This type of interaction requires very little thought. The chapter also looks at some logical fallacies that middle school students should be aware of. You will encounter these types of fallacies everyday so creating a population of people that can decipher the information and take the truth from it would do wonders for the sensationalism out there. I hope to teach students how to think, this chapter will come in handy when I am dealing with students that are living in an information age, maybe it will help me help them see through the garbage.

Chapter 13: Outdoor Adventures

This chapter talks about bigger or more time consuming activities that can be done with students. While the ideas are solid and it is easy to incorporate content into the outdoor activities, it would be more demanding on the administration to accommodate this type of learning. Bigger hiking trips or outdoor activities will take more time than one class period so the ideas of this chapter differ from the active learning chapter based on time needed. A lot of the examples in this chapter would be great to do as an advisory group, that way the content can still be touched on but there is not a feeling of complete academic purposes to the students.

Chapter 4: Active Learning

The fourth chapter of Meet Me in the Middle is an important one; it addresses the idea of actively engaging students with the content. Physically the middle school student is going through changes that make them uncomfortable in a typical school seating arrangement, thus causing fidgeting and behavior problems. The book offers a number of example activities that will get the students moving around while they learn. I think this is a very strong method. If I can get math students moving and using math they are way more likely to have it “click”. I like the small section about having a brainstorming session with your peers to find new ways to teach the same old stuff. I hope I am lucky enough to teach in a department that welcomes new ideas and encourages active learning.

Chapter 9: Planning for Block Scheduling

This chapter seemed to be a reiteration of practicum. I understand that with longer period times I can take different approaches to my content area. I also know that variety is the spice of life, so it is not enough to simply have the time to use, rather I must be properly prepared to utilize the time that keeps the students actively engaged. I have not seen many schools that have block periods for math classes but I hope to change that when I get to my job location (Two years in of course…). There are perfect examples of long class periods being wasted to poor teacher preparation right here on campus. It is not enough to simply babble on for an hour and a half. Teachers should use the time to actually allow the students to learn and use the material.

Chapter 12: Teacher Advisories- A Proposal for Change

The need for change in middle schools includes a new approach to the advisory groups. When I was in middle school we did not have any type of advisor groups. The schools I have subbed in have a daily STAT period that is supposed to be an advisory period but turns in to an unstructured study hall. The idea, that advisory groups should meet less frequently and for longer periods of time makes perfect sense to me. It takes the daily grind of academics out of the equation and allows students an opportunity to develop a healthy relationship with an adult that cares about their well being. I would fully enjoy being a part of a middle school that took this approach. Kids do not need a study hall everyday to take the place of a relationship with a positive role model. If the groups met with hours to spend together, they really could develop community involvement with the students.

Chapter 11: Teaming

This chapter discusses important aspects to teams that teach young adolescents however I could not get past one line in the core values section. In a bulleted list of a school teams core values the very first one stated: All students belong to all of us” (pg 139). I think that is a major part of what is wrong with the education system, teachers and administrators too often think with a “me first” mentality. The teachers should think about what is best for the students. It should read “we belong to all students”. It is way too easy and common place now to only worry about what affects you, but as teachers we need to be able to put ourselves away and really focus on what the students need.

Chapter 17: The Truth About Middle School Students

The final chapter in this book is a reminder that I am becoming a teacher for a reason. I realize that children are the future of the country. We need to realize that the students in schools today will be responsible to advance America to the next steps of growth. I think it is hugely important to motivate some students enough to make that happen. We should not focus on the bad apples and say all of the students are like that. We should embrace the achievers and allow them to grow even taller. When the schools focus on that demographic we will see a great increase in the path of America. Hopefully I can be a part of that by motivating some students along the way.

Chapter 2: Motivating Young Adolescents

The second chapter in this book gave some great ideas of ways to make a middle school classroom that breeds success. To me the most important aspect, which also ties directly into some of the other ideas, is to be enthusiastic about your subject. The line about your enthusiasm allows other people to be enthusiastic is so true. People will play off your emotions so as a teacher it is paramount to be at the front of the class with some enthusiasm. The other ideas of using suspense, stories, or random objects that tie in later, all of that stuff is second nature if you are truly engaged and enthusiastic about your subject.

Chapter 1: Stoking the Fires Within

This chapter immediately put me on edge because the author was talking about the little sarcastic ways that people make fun of school and teaching as a bad thing. I do not want to read another book about education that takes itself way too serious. Later in the chapter I saw some things I agreed with and for the most part the overall message from the chapter of being a good professional I agree with. You should approach your career with some enthusiasm and make sure you are helping the students. It is easy to become the teacher that hinders the student’s progress. I want to be the teacher that the students know as the guy who is always in a good mood. It doesn’t matter what the task is, I want to maintain an outlook that welcomes children to try and fail, or try and succeed in my class.