Middle School Education Reflection

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Young adolescents at the middle school level are typically between the ages of ten and fifteen. At this time in their life, it has been found that the most changes occur both emotionally and physically. Thus, middle schools need to reflect this drastic change and crucial time period in their lives. The middle school is much more than simply a transitional period from elementary school to high school. It is a separate school that should directly reflect the desires and curiosities of the student during this time period and their emotional, physical, and developmental needs.
As previously stated, young adolescents are undergoing more changes physically, socially, mentally, and emotionally at this stage in their life more than any other time. It has been found that they need time to be active as well as time to talk or collaborate with the rest of the class. This goes along with their development and social needs in the classroom. Thus, it is important that I implement time during class instruction for them to move around and do group activities. As far as emotionally, their hormones drive their emotions and may cause heightened and spontaneous responses such as anger, depression, excitement, etc. They also may struggle with their peers. During middle school, young adolescents start to focus on finding their identity, social status, and physical appearance. Thus, peer pressure and bullying is prevalent at this age. They may be peer pressured to do things they have never done or been around before such as alcohol, drugs, bullying, and sex. It is my role as a middle school professional to be aware of signs of bullying and other harm to students and prevent it from happening. They are at an age where they are becoming increasingly independent from their parents and want to assume more responsibility and individuality. Aside from physical and emotional stress and changes, their brains are also developing. In previous grades, young adolescents were expected to think in a concrete fashion such as learning facts and answering yes or no questions. Now, they are beginning to develop more abstract thinking, which involves applying their knowledge to problem solving or giving opinions to different sides of debates. They start to learn why things are the way they are instead of just memorizing the way something is. Lesson plans should reflect their short attention spans and allow time for movement since they are constantly growing and need breaks from lecture. I should allow for group discussions and involve more abstract thinking and questioning to challenge the students. The middle school philosophy centers on the needs of young adolescents at this time regarding their development and interests. It focuses on their uniqueness and sets a standard for a developmentally responsive program. This relates directly to the role of the teachers and adults involved at the middle school. Teachers need to be aware of the needs of the students at this age and plan their lessons and classroom climate, organization, management, etc. on these needs and diversity of the students. I plan to implement a safe and encouraging environment by modeling respect for other teachers and students and holding high but reasonable expectations. Also, their rates of development and personalities are all different, so teacher-student relationships should be a priority so that I can make sure their basic needs are met and their interests are noticed. The Association of Middle Level Education puts major emphasis on four major qualities of the middle school
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These characteristic include the following: developmentally responsive, challenging, empowering, and equitable. First, the middle school education should be developmentally responsive. This means that the heart of the choices made about the teaching instruction, rules, structure, and evaluations should be built on the developing adolescent. An education that is challenging is important because the student needs to be able to think differently and learn new information as well as be held to a high standard and expectation. It needs to be empowering, meaning that they are provided with sufficient fundamental life skills needed to successful in the real world and everyday life. Lastly, it needs to be equitable. This encompasses that each individual student has an opportunity to learn and is taught in a way that is stimulating and relevant to their

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