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[Susan Ray teaches middle grades math in suburban Louisville, KY. These
thoughts about teaching middle school students were offered in response
to a new teacher's plea to the Middle-L listserve for guidance.]
Teaching Middle Level Kids:
Remember Seventh Grade?
When I first began teaching middle level kids about 10+ years ago I realized
that this was an age group that many teachers did not want. And I knew why.
You see, I remember what it was like to be a seventh grader. I remember
going to school and realizing that what I thought was going to be the "in"
fashion was really the "out" fashion. I remember having a pimple
on my nose the size of Cleveland and knowing that everyone noticed it too.
I remember coming home and crying because I realized that I wasn't accepted
in the most popular crowd. I didn't make the cheerleading squad that year
either.
I was 5' 9 1/2" tall and there wasn't another person in my class as
tall as me and that included the center of the boy's basketball team.
These were the issues that I faced and that I remember well. And on top
of all these traumatic issues, I had teachers that wanted me to study and
learn and take tests and do homework.
When I tell this story to my 8th graders each year, I am told that things
haven't really changed much since then except that some of them deal with
issues of divorce, drugs, and neglect. As I share my story with my kids,
I see faces light up and heads nod. They know that I know what they are
going through.
To be an effective teacher of middle school kids, I've had to think like
a middle school kid.
Don't get me wrong. I don't let them off the hook when it comes to learning
and demanding excellence. I'm told by my kids that I am tough when it comes
to expectations and grading. My students complete assignments because it
is what I expect and they know it. I think that they do them because perhaps
some of them have developed trust and respect for me -- something that I've
given them in return.
In order for my students to be successful, I must believe that they will
be successful. In order for my students to achieve excellence, I must model
excellence. In order for my students to reach beyond their comfort zone,
I must do the same.
And in order for my kids to believe in themselves, I must believe in them
first.
I tell them the first day that I don't want to know who flunked math last
year or who spent more days in in-school suspension than in class.
I tell them that I am going to believe in each one of them until they can
begin to believe in themselves.
It's all about self-fulfilling prophecy. When I think that something really
terriffic is going to happen, it always does. If I look at my kids and think
to myself, "Why won't these kids do ___?" then I've lost my effectiveness
as a teacher.
So instead, I focus on what my kids *CAN* do... and believe me, they can
do a lot.
My tests and assessment items are designed to show me what they know, not
what they don't know. My classroom is set up based on what kids can be trusted
to do, not what they can't.
It's all about believing in kids... maybe that is why I sign each email
note...
Susan Ray
Believer in Miracles