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.
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3 comments:
I couldn't agree with you more on several points you make in your blog. First, I also found the article to have some good insight, but also to be very boring as well. I also agree that it is important to remember what it was like for us when we were going through puberty. This will help us in relating to the students that we teach, because what we have already gone through they will be going through in the present. I think it is really interesting what you said about the observances you made about your students while you were in your classes student teaching. I will be starting this Monday and will definitely keep my eyes open to see some of the things mentioned in the article as well as some of the things you mentioned in your blog. I am almost positive I will observe the same things you did, but it will be interesting to see the interactions and the possible differences there might be.
I definitely agree with you on the first part of it. It was like a biology/psych class and I didn't care much for it.
I just feel that we expect so much from our students like maturity and responsibility but yet still treat them like little children and this is evident in how our society treats teenagers as if they were second-class citizens. I just think there needs to be more consistency in our actions when we expect them to behave more maturely.
I enjoyed your post, thank you.
Rebeca I agree when you say that we treat teenagers as children, but expect them to act like adults. I know that MPS has issues with controling their students, but in my middle school and I think all middle schools in MPS, the students get walked in line everywhere inbetween classes and have only 20 min for lunch in which they are not allowed to get up from the tables until everyone else does to throw away thier trays. I know that there are behavioral issues, but these children are still being treated as though they were in grade school, expected to act more mature and scolded/puished when they dont. It just doesn't seem like we are helping them to become functioning adults by treating them in this fashion. I know that it is easier for the schools to control them this way, but in the long run they are not learning to control themselves.
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