Welcome to the class blog. Throughout the semester you will have various assignments and reflections to post on the sie. A rubric is included on D2L. Please remember confidentiality.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Getting Started!
As we begin the semester, reflect on what excites you about being a middle level educator. What led you to the decision to focus on middle school? Do you have concerns about being a middle school teacher?
I feel that it has taken me a long time to decide what I wanted to go to college for and one of my most influential reasons was working with building professionals that still could not figure out the relatively simple calculations. The biggest problem that I had with this was that they are charging customers that are counting on them to be a professional in their field. I chose to teach middle school math and science because I feel that Math and Science are two of the most challenging subjects for young teenagers. My dream is to inspire and motivate them to challenge themselves to accomplish more that what they thought they were capable of. I feel that it is important to demonstrate the importance of how this may change their desires for what they want to do in their future. My biggest concern about being a middle school Math or Science teacher is the curriculum and how it needs to be taught. I feel that this will be the most challenging portion of the job, and look forward to overcoming this task and adding to it.
When children reach middle school, they are expected to attain a higher level of responsibility and accountability. Children who are middle school age are reaching a higher stage of emotional, physical, social, and educational development. This is a time when many children may lose interest in school because it may seem like “less fun” and “more work” as story time, recess, and pages to color for homework become things of the past. It is my belief that students’ experiences while in the middle years will greatly affect their attitude and approach toward education possibly for the rest of their lives. It is for exactly those reasons that I made the decision to focus on educating students at the middle level. Students will not become more responsible and accountable on their own, nor will they be able to create effective techniques to make “work” more “fun”. Although a strong educational foundation has hopefully been built in their minds coming into the middle years, they may not grasp yet the purpose of that knowledge or how to utilize it. During these years of development, they will need a guide; someone who facilitates learning and demonstrates ways in which to use the knowledge that the student has gained. I am excited about becoming an effective facilitator of learning for middle school students and am prepared to be an emotional, physical, social and educational role model for all of the pupils in my classroom. I can understand why some teachers in training may shy away from declaring a major in middle level education. I can also understand why some people, whether in the field of education or otherwise, may view those of us that seek out the challenge of instructing middle school students as “nuts”. I don’t think that my job will always be easy. It may NEVER be easy. But I know that it will be rewarding. I am looking forward to catching a lot of students before they become “jaded” with the educational system the way that I remember a lot of students being when I was in high school. I want to instill a love of learning in my students that will carry them into success in high school, college, and in life. My reasons for choosing to focus on middle school education are also my concerns. While I am willing to meet the challenges of a middle school educator, I know that classroom management skills will be of the utmost importance. Raging hormones, the development of social cliques, bullying, and student complacency or defiance can create problems in the classroom and are all characteristics of students at the middle level who are in the transitional stage between child and young adult. As with any growth process, there are bound to be growing pains and it will be my responsibility to make that transition as smooth as possible while not denying my students the experiences associated with this development. I take the training that I receive at Edinboro University very seriously because the more knowledge I gain about my profession and the more experiences I have with students in a classroom setting, the better prepared I will be to meet these challenges and the less concern I will have with being able to meet my requirements for effectively facilitating learning in my classroom.
Being semi-fresh out of high school, I have come to realize that high school is not the best for me to teach because most of those students have lost the willingness to learn and just want to hang out with friends or text someone else under their desks. With my experience observing an elementary school, I could not behave the way I would need to in order to teach the young students. I love the age group of middle school students. There is a spark there which no longer exists when the students start to mature, but middle school students are still young enough to be innocent and willing to learn more than just school subjects. I am very excited to be going into the middle-level field because I have the opportunity to enrich the minds of all who enter through my classroom door. I want to fill all my students with the knowledge and love of English (because that is my specialization) and also to learn more through the stories in which I plan to teach so that they may carry the knowledge throughout their lives. My biggest concern would have to be failing students. I am very afraid that they will not come to understand and/or learn my love for writing and reading.
Middle level education is actually new to me. This is only my second semester as a middle level education major. I originally was secondary education. After much consideration, I saw that middle level was truly where I wanted to be though. Middle level excites me due to the challenges that I will face. I know that this is a rough time for young adolescents and my goal is to be a help in this rough time. I am excited for the creativity that will be needed to be successful in this age group. I would consider myself a creative person and can not wait to use my creativity to make an impact in the way the students will learn. However, with all this excitement I do have the nerves and the fears that accompany it. I often wonder “will I be affective or will I be another forgettable teacher that doesn’t make a difference”. I don’t want to be a speed bump on there way to high school but rather a bridge during a rough that can help them to get there. My biggest fear is that I would blend in, and not impact them.
What excited me most about becoming a middle level educator is being able to impact and influence the lives of kids that age level. They are finally starting to step into their own shoes to figure out who they are as individuals. At this time, they are going through changes both physically and mentally and need an influential guidance. I hope to be a teacher that can encourage my students to embrace this time to figure themselves out and to enjoy it instead of being scared or feeling awkward about it.They are finding what they are good and not so good at, and finding what subject areas they are finding interest in. They are at the early ages of paving the road for their future which is why I think it is a good age to be a role model for. This is also why I chose middle level as my major. In elementary school they are learning how to act in the school atmosphere while high schoolers are just excited to finally get out of school. A the middle level, they have been shown how to act and are hopefully not quite ready to be out of school and still find enjoyment in learning. Present day, I do have concerns for this age group because they are already beginning to lose respect for authority. I think they need teachers that will show compassion and concern for them and help the students to feel that they are genuinely cared about. Teachers that know how to properly handle their misconduct is a must and I feel as years go on, the more unmanageable the children are becoming.
One thing that excites me about teaching middle level students is that I will have the opportunity to impact so many kids. As a mother of three, I have first-hand experience with 10 – 15 year-olds. I’ve watched my own kids struggle through those difficult years and have been able to be there for them. Issues like fitting in and self-esteem are valid and challenging. All kids need support from loving, caring adults during this time and I will get to be one of those adults. I’ve also had the experience of my own children coming home with stories of kids at school who have deplorable home-lives. I am looking forward to having the opportunity to bring a stable environment to those who have none. I desire for the kids I teach to realize that there are many caring people in this world. Originally I was looking into secondary math or English. Math is my weakest subject, but I love a challenge and want to stretch myself. English is my strongest subject and so I naturally desire to teach this discipline. When I saw that by pursuing a degree in middle level education I could teach both math and English, I found it to be a perfect fit. As a child, math was a scary subject for me and I have come to realize that many people fear mathematics. I believe the best teachers are those who can empathize with others who do not understand a subject and have even struggled with that subject themselves. This struggle causes a deeper understanding and clearer insight into how to best get the concept across to students. When a subject like math comes easily to a person, I have found that he or she tends to not explain minor steps thoroughly enough. Another reason my focus is on middle school is that I love this age group. When I see my son’s seventh grade friends, they all run and hug me. They even call me “mom”! Middle school kids are at a challenging age, but they are also so much fun. Currently in my professional life, I occasionally work with children as well as adults who are defiant and disruptive in classroom situations. This is one concern I have with teaching. I look forward to learning new techniques for dealing effectively with this sort of situation.
When I think about becoming a middle level educator I am excited by the challenge it presents. Every time someone asks me what my major is and I answer, their immediate response is to question why I would choose to teach such a difficult age group. Instead of being afraid of this, I am eager to see if I can handle it, and hopefully make the transition from elementary schools to middle schools easier for my students, and make a positive impact on this developmental stage of their lives. There are many things contributing to my decision to become a middle level educator. I began college, seeking a degree in early childhood education. This is because my desire to become a teacher stems from the influence my third grade teacher had over me. She made school interesting, and there are many of her techniques I would like to use. Because of her influence I wanted to teach third grade as well, and it fell into the early childhood education curriculum. However, after some consideration I realized that although I do want to teach third graders I could not see myself teaching students younger than that. I feel like I would have trouble trying to explain things to them and a hard time communicating overall. From there I thought about becoming a high school teacher, but this too did not seem right for me. In my own experience, the high school I attended had students who were much more troublesome than when we all attended middle school. This left middle level education as my only option, and to me it is the best. I like the grade levels it covers, and I get to focus on a content level I feel I would be best at. I do have a few concerns about being a middle level educator. The first comes from one of my own experiences. In fifth grade my math teacher did not seem to have a handle on how to teach his students. He also allowed us to do pretty much whatever we wanted, including leaving his class all the time for unimportant matters. Up until this grade I was a good math student, but ever since I struggled with the subject. I am concerned that I could have a negative impact on my students, like this teacher had on me. One other concern I have about being a middle level educator is my content area. Now that I am older I love learning about history, and I am eager to pass that knowledge along to my students. However, when I was younger it was one of my least favorite subjects and it seemed hard for my teachers to get students focused when it was time for history lessons.
My decision to become a middle school teacher is an interesting story. During the summer of 2009, I lost my job as the Director of Sales for a hotel. After being in sales for close to eight years, I realized that I did not want another sales job. I did some soul searching, talked a lot with my wife; who is a first grade teacher, met with a career counselor, and realized that I wanted to be a teacher. I have always been a huge history buff, so becoming a social studies teacher sounded like a perfect fit. Edinboro had just started their new middle level program and after meeting with Dr. Benson, I realized that I have always wanted to be a teacher. Once I enrolled full-time at Edinboro, the pastor of my church asked my wife and I to run their youth group. The youth group was for seventh grade through twelfth grade. This was a perfect opportunity for me. It allowed me to gain some experience working with students who were from the same age group that I would be certified to teach. Now in my second year with my youth group, I have come to realize that I love teaching middle school students. At this time, I do not have many concerns about becoming a middle school teacher. Last semester, my field placement was in an eighth grade civics and economics classroom. Before my first official day, I worried about being accepted by the eighth grade students. I worried about making mistakes in front of them. However, my class was very welcoming and I was quickly accepted by the class. Upon reflecting on my junior field experience, I still have strong feelings about teaching in a middle level. I know that I have made the right decision for my future.
What excites me most about being a middle level educator is the fact that I can play such a large and important role in a child’s life. I believe I have the ability to guide a child and help them grow into the person they are going to become for the rest of their lives. I look forward to waking up everyday loving my job. I have always known that I wanted to be a teacher, until recently I was undecided about what level I wanted to teach. The reason I chose middle school level was because I have two nieces that were recently at that age and I saw how badly they needed guidance. It is a very difficult time in an adolescent’s life and there are many choices and pressures that are put on them. My nieces always had myself and my family members to come and talk to and get advice from but I realized there are many children out there that do not have that. I want to be the teacher that is involved and does care. These students need to know they have someone they can talk to. My biggest concern for being a middle school teacher would be that I can’t connect or reach the children. It has been a very long time since I was there age and so much has changed since then. When I was in middle school you didn’t have to worry about cyber bullying or posting something online that you would later regret. I believe I will learn the proper way to deal with these situations but it would be scary to do the wrong thing and have them lose trust or faith in you. If I ever would make a mistake I would use it as a learning opportunity. I am hoping that does not happen though.
I actually came to Edinboro University to become a Criminal Justice major. After a lot of thought I decided that I was better off heading into the Mathematics field. I switched to Secondary Mathematics the beginning of my junior year and I went through the year as a Secondary Mathematics Major. The following summer the Middle Level Mathematics program became available and was a perfect fit for me. Instead of having 3 years of school left I was able to finish in a year and a half. Along with cutting my time down I really thought about it and realized that middle school was a better fit for me. Not a lot of students enjoy mathematics and I believe that it is because they are not good at it or don't understand it. I feel this is because they have not had teachers that can relate it to the students and help them get excited about math. I want to be one of the teachers that can get the students interested and start them off on the right foot. This way they will have strong math skills when they get to the more advanced courses.
I am not too concerned with anything at the moment. I am a little nervous to do my field this semester just because I have not been in front of an actual classroom. I understand I am going to be nervous but I feel that once I get into the classroom I will be just fine and pick up on things pretty quickly. I hope that field will be a nice introduction and prepare me for my student teaching next fall. I am looking forward to it and hoping everything goes well.
I feel that it has taken me a long time to decide what I wanted to go to college for and one of my most influential reasons was working with building professionals that still could not figure out the relatively simple calculations. The biggest problem that I had with this was that they are charging customers that are counting on them to be a professional in their field. I chose to teach middle school math and science because I feel that Math and Science are two of the most challenging subjects for young teenagers. My dream is to inspire and motivate them to challenge themselves to accomplish more that what they thought they were capable of. I feel that it is important to demonstrate the importance of how this may change their desires for what they want to do in their future. My biggest concern about being a middle school Math or Science teacher is the curriculum and how it needs to be taught. I feel that this will be the most challenging portion of the job, and look forward to overcoming this task and adding to it.
ReplyDeleteWhen children reach middle school, they are expected to attain a higher level of responsibility and accountability. Children who are middle school age are reaching a higher stage of emotional, physical, social, and educational development. This is a time when many children may lose interest in school because it may seem like “less fun” and “more work” as story time, recess, and pages to color for homework become things of the past. It is my belief that students’ experiences while in the middle years will greatly affect their attitude and approach toward education possibly for the rest of their lives.
ReplyDeleteIt is for exactly those reasons that I made the decision to focus on educating students at the middle level. Students will not become more responsible and accountable on their own, nor will they be able to create effective techniques to make “work” more “fun”. Although a strong educational foundation has hopefully been built in their minds coming into the middle years, they may not grasp yet the purpose of that knowledge or how to utilize it. During these years of development, they will need a guide; someone who facilitates learning and demonstrates ways in which to use the knowledge that the student has gained. I am excited about becoming an effective facilitator of learning for middle school students and am prepared to be an emotional, physical, social and educational role model for all of the pupils in my classroom.
I can understand why some teachers in training may shy away from declaring a major in middle level education. I can also understand why some people, whether in the field of education or otherwise, may view those of us that seek out the challenge of instructing middle school students as “nuts”. I don’t think that my job will always be easy. It may NEVER be easy. But I know that it will be rewarding. I am looking forward to catching a lot of students before they become “jaded” with the educational system the way that I remember a lot of students being when I was in high school. I want to instill a love of learning in my students that will carry them into success in high school, college, and in life.
My reasons for choosing to focus on middle school education are also my concerns. While I am willing to meet the challenges of a middle school educator, I know that classroom management skills will be of the utmost importance. Raging hormones, the development of social cliques, bullying, and student complacency or defiance can create problems in the classroom and are all characteristics of students at the middle level who are in the transitional stage between child and young adult. As with any growth process, there are bound to be growing pains and it will be my responsibility to make that transition as smooth as possible while not denying my students the experiences associated with this development. I take the training that I receive at Edinboro University very seriously because the more knowledge I gain about my profession and the more experiences I have with students in a classroom setting, the better prepared I will be to meet these challenges and the less concern I will have with being able to meet my requirements for effectively facilitating learning in my classroom.
Being semi-fresh out of high school, I have come to realize that high school is not the best for me to teach because most of those students have lost the willingness to learn and just want to hang out with friends or text someone else under their desks. With my experience observing an elementary school, I could not behave the way I would need to in order to teach the young students. I love the age group of middle school students. There is a spark there which no longer exists when the students start to mature, but middle school students are still young enough to be innocent and willing to learn more than just school subjects. I am very excited to be going into the middle-level field because I have the opportunity to enrich the minds of all who enter through my classroom door. I want to fill all my students with the knowledge and love of English (because that is my specialization) and also to learn more through the stories in which I plan to teach so that they may carry the knowledge throughout their lives. My biggest concern would have to be failing students. I am very afraid that they will not come to understand and/or learn my love for writing and reading.
ReplyDeleteMiddle level education is actually new to me. This is only my second semester as a middle level education major. I originally was secondary education. After much consideration, I saw that middle level was truly where I wanted to be though. Middle level excites me due to the challenges that I will face. I know that this is a rough time for young adolescents and my goal is to be a help in this rough time. I am excited for the creativity that will be needed to be successful in this age group. I would consider myself a creative person and can not wait to use my creativity to make an impact in the way the students will learn.
ReplyDeleteHowever, with all this excitement I do have the nerves and the fears that accompany it. I often wonder “will I be affective or will I be another forgettable teacher that doesn’t make a difference”. I don’t want to be a speed bump on there way to high school but rather a bridge during a rough that can help them to get there. My biggest fear is that I would blend in, and not impact them.
What excited me most about becoming a middle level educator is being able to impact and influence the lives of kids that age level. They are finally starting to step into their own shoes to figure out who they are as individuals. At this time, they are going through changes both physically and mentally and need an influential guidance. I hope to be a teacher that can encourage my students to embrace this time to figure themselves out and to enjoy it instead of being scared or feeling awkward about it.They are finding what they are good and not so good at, and finding what subject areas they are finding interest in. They are at the early ages of paving the road for their future which is why I think it is a good age to be a role model for. This is also why I chose middle level as my major. In elementary school they are learning how to act in the school atmosphere while high schoolers are just excited to finally get out of school. A the middle level, they have been shown how to act and are hopefully not quite ready to be out of school and still find enjoyment in learning. Present day, I do have concerns for this age group because they are already beginning to lose respect for authority. I think they need teachers that will show compassion and concern for them and help the students to feel that they are genuinely cared about. Teachers that know how to properly handle their misconduct is a must and I feel as years go on, the more unmanageable the children are becoming.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that excites me about teaching middle level students is that I will have the opportunity to impact so many kids. As a mother of three, I have first-hand experience with 10 – 15 year-olds. I’ve watched my own kids struggle through those difficult years and have been able to be there for them. Issues like fitting in and self-esteem are valid and challenging. All kids need support from loving, caring adults during this time and I will get to be one of those adults. I’ve also had the experience of my own children coming home with stories of kids at school who have deplorable home-lives. I am looking forward to having the opportunity to bring a stable environment to those who have none. I desire for the kids I teach to realize that there are many caring people in this world.
ReplyDeleteOriginally I was looking into secondary math or English. Math is my weakest subject, but I love a challenge and want to stretch myself. English is my strongest subject and so I naturally desire to teach this discipline. When I saw that by pursuing a degree in middle level education I could teach both math and English, I found it to be a perfect fit.
As a child, math was a scary subject for me and I have come to realize that many people fear mathematics. I believe the best teachers are those who can empathize with others who do not understand a subject and have even struggled with that subject themselves. This struggle causes a deeper understanding and clearer insight into how to best get the concept across to students. When a subject like math comes easily to a person, I have found that he or she tends to not explain minor steps thoroughly enough.
Another reason my focus is on middle school is that I love this age group. When I see my son’s seventh grade friends, they all run and hug me. They even call me “mom”! Middle school kids are at a challenging age, but they are also so much fun.
Currently in my professional life, I occasionally work with children as well as adults who are defiant and disruptive in classroom situations. This is one concern I have with teaching. I look forward to learning new techniques for dealing effectively with this sort of situation.
When I think about becoming a middle level educator I am excited by the challenge it presents. Every time someone asks me what my major is and I answer, their immediate response is to question why I would choose to teach such a difficult age group. Instead of being afraid of this, I am eager to see if I can handle it, and hopefully make the transition from elementary schools to middle schools easier for my students, and make a positive impact on this developmental stage of their lives.
ReplyDeleteThere are many things contributing to my decision to become a middle level educator. I began college, seeking a degree in early childhood education. This is because my desire to become a teacher stems from the influence my third grade teacher had over me. She made school interesting, and there are many of her techniques I would like to use. Because of her influence I wanted to teach third grade as well, and it fell into the early childhood education curriculum. However, after some consideration I realized that although I do want to teach third graders I could not see myself teaching students younger than that. I feel like I would have trouble trying to explain things to them and a hard time communicating overall. From there I thought about becoming a high school teacher, but this too did not seem right for me. In my own experience, the high school I attended had students who were much more troublesome than when we all attended middle school. This left middle level education as my only option, and to me it is the best. I like the grade levels it covers, and I get to focus on a content level I feel I would be best at.
I do have a few concerns about being a middle level educator. The first comes from one of my own experiences. In fifth grade my math teacher did not seem to have a handle on how to teach his students. He also allowed us to do pretty much whatever we wanted, including leaving his class all the time for unimportant matters. Up until this grade I was a good math student, but ever since I struggled with the subject. I am concerned that I could have a negative impact on my students, like this teacher had on me. One other concern I have about being a middle level educator is my content area. Now that I am older I love learning about history, and I am eager to pass that knowledge along to my students. However, when I was younger it was one of my least favorite subjects and it seemed hard for my teachers to get students focused when it was time for history lessons.
My decision to become a middle school teacher is an interesting story. During the summer of 2009, I lost my job as the Director of Sales for a hotel. After being in sales for close to eight years, I realized that I did not want another sales job. I did some soul searching, talked a lot with my wife; who is a first grade teacher, met with a career counselor, and realized that I wanted to be a teacher. I have always been a huge history buff, so becoming a social studies teacher sounded like a perfect fit. Edinboro had just started their new middle level program and after meeting with Dr. Benson, I realized that I have always wanted to be a teacher.
ReplyDeleteOnce I enrolled full-time at Edinboro, the pastor of my church asked my wife and I to run their youth group. The youth group was for seventh grade through twelfth grade. This was a perfect opportunity for me. It allowed me to gain some experience working with students who were from the same age group that I would be certified to teach. Now in my second year with my youth group, I have come to realize that I love teaching middle school students.
At this time, I do not have many concerns about becoming a middle school teacher. Last semester, my field placement was in an eighth grade civics and economics classroom. Before my first official day, I worried about being accepted by the eighth grade students. I worried about making mistakes in front of them. However, my class was very welcoming and I was quickly accepted by the class. Upon reflecting on my junior field experience, I still have strong feelings about teaching in a middle level. I know that I have made the right decision for my future.
What excites me most about being a middle level educator is the fact that I can play such a large and important role in a child’s life. I believe I have the ability to guide a child and help them grow into the person they are going to become for the rest of their lives. I look forward to waking up everyday loving my job. I have always known that I wanted to be a teacher, until recently I was undecided about what level I wanted to teach. The reason I chose middle school level was because I have two nieces that were recently at that age and I saw how badly they needed guidance. It is a very difficult time in an adolescent’s life and there are many choices and pressures that are put on them. My nieces always had myself and my family members to come and talk to and get advice from but I realized there are many children out there that do not have that. I want to be the teacher that is involved and does care. These students need to know they have someone they can talk to. My biggest concern for being a middle school teacher would be that I can’t connect or reach the children. It has been a very long time since I was there age and so much has changed since then. When I was in middle school you didn’t have to worry about cyber bullying or posting something online that you would later regret. I believe I will learn the proper way to deal with these situations but it would be scary to do the wrong thing and have them lose trust or faith in you. If I ever would make a mistake I would use it as a learning opportunity. I am hoping that does not happen though.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI actually came to Edinboro University to become a Criminal Justice major. After a lot of thought I decided that I was better off heading into the Mathematics field. I switched to Secondary Mathematics the beginning of my junior year and I went through the year as a Secondary Mathematics Major. The following summer the Middle Level Mathematics program became available and was a perfect fit for me. Instead of having 3 years of school left I was able to finish in a year and a half. Along with cutting my time down I really thought about it and realized that middle school was a better fit for me. Not a lot of students enjoy mathematics and I believe that it is because they are not good at it or don't understand it. I feel this is because they have not had teachers that can relate it to the students and help them get excited about math. I want to be one of the teachers that can get the students interested and start them off on the right foot. This way they will have strong math skills when they get to the more advanced courses.
ReplyDeleteI am not too concerned with anything at the moment. I am a little nervous to do my field this semester just because I have not been in front of an actual classroom. I understand I am going to be nervous but I feel that once I get into the classroom I will be just fine and pick up on things pretty quickly. I hope that field will be a nice introduction and prepare me for my student teaching next fall. I am looking forward to it and hoping everything goes well.