Youth and the Media

I was really surprised by the article Bashing Youth and Wild in Deceit by Mike Males. I suppose I always knew that teenagers received negative press by the media but at the same time, I never realized how much information given was exaggerated. While I read the article, my jaw constantly was dropping because I was so shocked with the lies the media is throwing out to the public. What does the media have against teenagers? I liked how Males was quick to defend today's youth, especially when he gave the stats that proved that adults were more likely to commit a crime than kids were. Another point the article offered, was that in most cases, adults that committed crime were abused or neglected as children. Keeping this point in mind, shouldn't the media be blaming adults for the violence? Obviously, if the media is going to pinpoint the more troubled teenagers, they should consider that teen's life: what is their family situation? Are they doing well in school? Are there other issues going on to create some a hostile person? In my opinion, the adults would be the ones to blame for violent teenagers. I do agree with the statement that kids shouldn't have such easy access to guns. But at the same time, I don't think adults should have such easy access to guns either. Gun equal violence, not just teenagers.

Adolescence and Puberty

I found this article both interesting and dull at the same time. I felt like the first part was really a repeat of every health class I've had during my own adolescent years. However, the article also helped me remember what being a twelve, thirteen, and fourteen year old was like. The most important information I took away from chapter 2, was that puberty strongly influences our middle school students' behaviors, attitudes, and success in school. I started my middle school placement this week and this article accurately described a lot of the emotions and other challenges students of this particular age group face on a daily basis. I think as student teachers it is important to remember the little details that go along with puberty and growing up.

I was reminded again that boys handle puberty better than girls, for the obvious (physical) reasons of course. My reading class I have at Northwest Secondary, consists of a mix class of grades 6-8, and to me it's extremely obvious that the boys are much more vocal about the changes taking place within themselves than the girls. I also see in my 8th grade English class the new affections that the students are suddenly having for the opposite sex. I try to keep an open mind, and remember back to my own adolescent days, when boys and girls are socially interacting in class; this is something I believe teachers should always keep in mind when teaching middle school students.

A statement made in this chapter that struck me as oddly true, was when children enter puberty, parents/adults expect them to exhibit more socially adult behavior. I agree with this because while it's essential that as teachers we remember that middle school students are still in the process of growing up, we also have to encourage more mature actions. We need to set high expectations for our students, to help them grow not only as adults, but also has learners.

Oppression

I thought Kumashiro's article was extremely informative, and brought up some very interesting points. One of Kumashiro's statements that really stood out to me was that "teachers need to teach to all students." I believe that many times, teachers avoid "controversial" issues with their students because the whole situation is uncomfortable. Kumashrio goes on to say that "educators need not only to acknowledge the diversity among their students, but also to embrace these differences and to treat their students as raced, gendered, sexualized, and classed individuals" (28). Looking back at my own experience, my teachers never really addressed issues such as homosexuality, learning disabled, different races, and so forth.

In Currins 100, I know we all had to read the book White Teacher, and I remember how she used the different cultures of her students to shape lessons. She asked the students of a particular culture if they could offer information about their culture, and therefore, involved them in the lesson planning as well. I know this may be a risky approach to creating lessons, especially if you have a classroom full of very diverse students. Something to be cautious of is to of course, include all students. And of course, the lessons have to fit into the curriculum, but that's an entire different post in itself! I just think Kumashiro had it dead on, when he said teachers need to teach to all students. Not just the ones that they feel the most comfortable teaching...after all, what is that really teaching?