Two Very
important Things Middle School Students would tell you about themselves, if
they knew themselves.
Over the years, when people ask me about my occupation the
conversation has typically gone like this:
Other
Person: So, what do you do for a living?
Me: I’m a
teacher.
Other
Person: Wow, my hat goes off to you.
What grade do you teacher?
Me. It varies between 7th and 8th
grade.
Other
Person: I don’t know how you do it. What
subject do you teacher?
Me: Math
Other
Person: Oh, I feel so sorry for you!
Most of the
time, I find these responses funny, but when it’s a little sad when it comes
from a former teacher.
Middle
School is difficult, because it’s a time of transition. Students are going from the eager eyes of
elementary school to the heavy headloads of high school. At the same time they are changing classes
their minds and bodies are changing as well.
There are hormonal changes in the brain that are signaling the body to
all sorts of things from questioning authority to blooming body parts and it
all happens relatively rapidly. It’s a
time when students are too big to be called little, but also to childish to be
considered adults. Balancing all the
changes can be difficult for educators, parents, and students alike.
The
balancing act is particularly difficult in urban school settings where
diversity of culture, poverty and lack of resources, social media, and other
factors complicate that natural struggles.
In the face of so many daunting obstacles many educators are tempted
When asked, “Why
did you do that?” The typical Middle
School Students responds, “I don’t know.”
It can be so frustrating to hear, but the truth is they don’t. (Helpful
tip: I have learned that that a better question to ask is “When you did that,
what did you want to happen?) After
reading, “Welcome to Your Child’s brain?” and studying other texts, I have
learned two key points to educating middle school students that they would tell
you if they were aware and articulate enough themselves.
Understanding adolescence is critical.
The key to going from surviving to
thriving in Middle Schools is understanding adolescence. Adolescence is a critical time in a child’s
life where they are developing both mentally and physically. There is no better
place to observe these changes than in Middle School. I have always enjoyed teaching Middle School
because it gives me the opportunity to see kids grow and mature significantly
while under my influence. My favorite
part of eight grade promotion ceremonies are the flashback photos of students
in 6th and 7th grade.
The transformation over the course of three years is phenomenal. During this time there are some very natural
changes that occur that educators need to be aware of in order to give effective
instruction.
The period of adolescences contains a host of paradoxes in
the brain which make natural behaviors seem completely irrational and
bizarre. At this time, the frontal
cortex of the brain which is responsible for executive functions such as
predicting outcomes and controlling impulses is not fully developed, but the
subcortical areas responsible for emotions is more mature. This explains why adolescents are more likely
to be impulsive, they have all the brain power needed to understand the
rewards, but not enough to completely examine the risks. Even further their brain is busy releasing
hormones, dopamine, and oxytocin which explains their moodiness and unpredictability.
Gender matters.
At the age of three, most all children reach important
milestones in their gender identity. By
age three the vast majority of children are able to identify themselves as
being either a boy or a girl. They are
also most likely to develop preferences based distinctively on gender. Regardless of their environmental conditions boys
tend to choose boy-typical toys to play with such as cars and guns, and girls tend
to choose girl-typical toys to play with such as dolls and tea sets. At this age children are also most likely to
prefer playing with children of their own sex.
These facts do not tell us that male and female are destined
to a particular lifestyle based on gender, but rather clue us in on the fact
that there are a few distinct differences between the minds of males and
females.
In school, there are a few of these differences that are
likely to present themselves and impact the kind of education a student should receive. Girls on average are less active and
physically aggressive than boys and studies have shown that these differences
are more likely to be from differences in hormones than differences in
culture. Girls also have better verbal
and written language skills than boys on average. Boys, however, tend to have stronger
mathematical skills, probably due to the fact that males are better at
visualizing object rotation better than girls.
The fact of the matter is that males and females have small,
but significant differences in their brain structure. Obviously this has some impact on the way
that they learn. Therefore, it also has
impact on the best practices for how they should be taught. This is not argument for same sex education,
but rather a plea for consideration of gender during instruction, especially
when problems arise.
How to use what you know
How can we use this information so that it improves learning
for our students? The key to effective
instruction at any grade level is planning.
In terms of behavior management, expect the unexpected. Know that unpredictable and seemingly
irrational behavior is a natural part of the middle school students’ growth and
development. Have an effective system of
positive and negative consequences that encourage students to predict the
consequences of their behavior and understand the risks they are taking. Expect that when given choices, they may not
make the best ones and as previously stated they may not fully understand why.
In terms of instruction, be mindful. Girls may need more help visualizing that
geometry problem. Boys may need more time
with that hand written essay. Both
genders will benefit from lessons that engage them in the world around them and
allow them to ask lots of questions about themselves and their
environments.
Above all, remember Middle School is not just a period of transition, it is a period of transformation.
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