Future of middle level teaching at PCS

All this talk and reading has been so cerebral. I took a few moments to remember some of my students from this last year, and it makes more sense. They are the students we talk about. I have met them, taught them, argued with them, and loved them.

What is the future of middle level education in Maine? It is too big for me to wrap my thoughts around. I don't understand the complexity of policy and administration and implementation. I haven't been working in the public schools for many years. I am committed to sharing what I am learning to the parent-directed school I taught at last year, and to implementing in my own classroom as much as possible what is best for my middle level students. After many years of teaching (once my kids are in college), I will consider becoming an administrator myself.

It has become obvious to me that, while the board of PCS cares and loves these students (their own children), they do not know how the development of young adolescents should influence their schooling. While I am not an outsider, I don't know how to approach the board without sounding like a know-it-all, or what to suggest. I don't see massive change happening at this small school without a new headmaster with the vision for the change. And quite frankly, they can't afford a well-educated headmaster. I am very discouraged.

I will share about the physical, social, etc changes in young adolescents. I will encourage an interdisciplinary approach. Once again, I will suggest they find a different curriculum than the one in place. It is awful, at best. I'll emphasize what they can do to meet the non-academic needs, because they know the students need help. I would love to teach there again next year and teach science, math and oral and written communication (they need more teachers), but I need to make a break and establish myself in the public school system.

Tech in my classroom

I am already accustomed to dragging my laptop into the classroom everyday to hook-up to the projector, but if my students had laptops (I taught at a private school) I would use them.
They liked making their own PowerPoint presentations and using YouTube and fun graphics. I had to teach them how to search the web for science information (got into a sticky spot once!). So it is an easy assumption that we would use the internet to gain information.

I have not been a facebook fan, but after this class, I see the potential now for interacting in forums and blogs. This is a medium that is natural to our students - I bet they would be teaching me new ways to use it. The program that I want to use is VoiceThread. The students can have discussions without interruptions. Everyone has an equal voice. It is not as personal because it is on the computer (even with the video rolling).

I want my students to communicate with each other and me with Skype. I tried to get them to email me, but (what I have learned from Ed) I need to make it part of the class, and not just as suggestion. I had students who lost a weekend's worth of work time just because they had an unanswered question. They are too shy to call, and don't have my email address handy. But if they had emailed me before, they could have easily accessed that address.

Got to sell it

I've been surprised that these concepts of good middle level education have been kicking around for a long time. We're so entrenched in our current model of teaching that it is hard to wrap our heads around the idea of the student having some control without school spinning out of control. Besides our jobs, at least my future job, are at stake if it doesn't "work out."

Even if, in the middle of the night, our brains can make the cognitive shift, our wills defy the paradigm shift. That sun keeps flying over my head and while I see the math is right for Earth to orbit the sun, I don't want to believe it is true. Prove it. Put me in the rocket.

And that is what the National Middle School Association needs to do. Put teachers in the rocket and send them into orbit.

Imagine a traveling experimental classroom, perhaps in a trailer. Arrive at a school with an experienced teacher in this process, grab a handful of volunteer students and one volunteer teacher and "just do it" for 8 weeks. We need to learn from McDonald's marketing strategy. Sell to the children.

Glossy papers with fantastic graphics work well for the motivated, but how do you sell to the teacher who is happy with the way things are? Just like you would to a classroom of students. Learn by doing. Make it happen with minimal risks. The research is solid, but talk is cheap. Build a few rockets and get them airborne.

What's up with parents? I'll tell you!

I know what school is like and I fully intended to homeschool both of my children through high school. I don't want school to put out the fire of learning. I've got the kids in a private school because my son's social needs required more exposure to other kids. Now this private school is no paradise, but it will do for this next year. After that? If I had the money, maybe Montessori. Of course, while I'm dreaming, I'll start my own school.

Got a kid in the tub...

Level UP

What happens when we pull the dividers out from between the classes? Are the gifted and talented students going to fall asleep? Not if we take the attitude of leveling up, instead of watering down. Think about it, which students thrive with hands-on problem solving? They all do.

The other scary thought in these times of "score well or lose your job": if I don't teach to the test, will my students still learn the material? Yes, overwhelmingly so. Check out "The Benefits of Nongraded Schools" by Barbara Paven (1992). Educational Leadership 50 (2).

Do we need to privatize schools to prove what students can do when not held back by an antiquated curriculum? Or can we make progress within the system? It was very disheartening to hear Ed say that middle schools haven't made much progress as a whole.

I don't want to teach from the textbook- never have. Give me a field guide, a pair of binoculars, a field notebook, and a bug jar and net. Look at how much Bernd Heinrich learned as a boy from spending hours in the woods. That is what science is, once you leave college behind. Problem solving and exploration.

Speaking of exploration, I'm at camp. Time to swim.

Balanced people

First my reaction to Brady.
He said we don't have a system to tell us what to teach, what to leave out and the information is exploding in size. I want to know: What do we need to know to be useful citizens and to contribute positively to society?
He says that disciplines don't help us answer this question- they are just artificial categories that don't reflect life and its connections. He suggests to study reality - its parts, how the parts fit, how it works together, what it's for. I agree that we learn the complicated stuff through active involvement. And what do we need for life?
I have been out of the school life for so many years that a lot of the "talk" sounds abstract to me. Life has been about feeding babies, hanging laundry out to dry while they nap, checking the weather to see if the laundry will dry, paying bills, cooking meals, calculating how much paint to buy, etc. We need balanced people, not balanced "subjects".
On to Strauss-
Amen sister!
Bring on the cooking class, but not the one I had in middle school. We need Emeril-- BAM!
And shop class - wasn't that the coolest class? We all have apartments or houses with stuff to take care of. Not everyone has Bob Villa for a dad to teach them how to use a table saw.
When I homeschooled my son, I had him start a business (Kindergarten!). I suggested he vacuum his aunt's business, where his dad works, once a week. He make a proposal, she countered and then they had a contract. He bought a vacuum, made business cards and receipts. He learned that vacuuming was hard work, but he got paid well. The hardest part was working when he didn't want to. I know some adults who haven't learned that one.
Books! Bring on the selection! Andy is in a read-a-thon and is STUCK in the middle of a Paddington bear book (my idea). I brought home two Magic School Bus books today and he had both read before bed- he loves science.
I am for the idea of community service. I want my kids in scouts for that very reason.
Back to middle school-- my students didn't have time for service. They were too busy with sports and homework. Where's the balance? Where's real life?

Didn't see it coming

When I signed up for school this summer, I didn't anticipate rethinking what school is all about. Within the last few days, through the fog of new concepts, I see a theme emerging. The students are ready to have a voice in their education, and if I give them some control and guidance, they will make more of the learning opportunities than I ever could provide with a fantastic show in the front of the classroom. Humbling, but exciting.

Does middle level education apply to high school?

Middle level theory is similar to my philosophy of education. Is there any reason why a high school wouldn't benefit from functioning like an ideal middle school? What is different about that age group that requires a different approach?

Before I read the history, what is my history?

The next reading I will tackle is the history of the middle school movement. I'm part of that history. And because my family moved frequently, I experienced many different schools.

For early elementary school I was in a traditional K-6 elementary school in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The majority of my teachers were African-American, as were my friends, and we had large class sizes and I walked uphill to school, both ways. I did not learn to read well until the 3rd grade and didn't handle math well at all.

We moved to New Jersey for the 5th grade, where I was placed in an elementary school that was K-5. I had a rockin' teacher, who taught me math and outlining and turned on the learner in me.

From there, I was in the middle school 6-8 (1981) which collected students from 3 elementaries. Here we tried new hobbies, intramural sports, different instruments, art, different languages and woodshop and technical drawing, cooking and sewing. I loved school and decided then, that I was at the perfect age.

We moved to Midland Michigan at the end of 7th. My new school was a junior high 7-9. I developed severe anxiety problems which kept me home from school, even though I was highly successful academically, even to the point my parents wanted me to skip a grade. I told them I wasn't ready for high school. I was growing like crazy and zits and all were making my life difficult. Those 9th graders seemed awfully big. High point for me was 8th grade science.

Yahoo- we moved back to New Jersey for 9th grade. Dad even quit his job and commuted long distances so I could stay in the same high school. 9th grade had its own building and the school was 2250 students strong. It is rated one of the top schools in the nation and I'm thankful that I got to attend there all four years.

So, I too, survived the early adolescent years, and now I am looking forward to reading why and how in the world so many different school systems exist.

First Post

My head is swimming with postings. Welcome to Kathy's blog.