Middle school education is often deemed a period of transition from childhood into young adulthood where social outlets and influence are of increasing importance. It is a unique age group, one that often invokes statements from adults of: “You teach in middle school? How can you do that?” It is a difficult age, one with numerous challenges for the individual as the child tries to find his or her place in the upcoming adult world. According to the National Council for the Social Studies or NCSS, almost 50% of 10 through 17 year olds are at risk for behaviors such as failure, drugs and violence (NCSS, 1991). A student’s experiences during this time will shape and mold the adult that they will become. Children spend more time in school at …show more content…
However, social studies contains a mixture of numerous different disciplines including history, geography, economics, government, anthropology, psychology and many more. The purpose of this field is to prepare students to be good citizens (Nelson, 2001). According to NCSS (1991), the overarching goals of middle school social studies are four specific goals. First, students are to develop a sense of identity and who they are. The second and third goals suggest that students develop an understanding of right versus wrong as well as a concern for other individuals. Finally, NCSS suggests that middle school social studies helps students to develop a global outlook. This global outlook can be achieved in middle school by addressing the following topics: change, culture, economic systems, equality and interdependence. This is accomplished by looking to the world cultures of Latin America, Asia and Africa in the sixth and seventh grades and United States history in the eighth grade. NCSS also suggests numerous instructional methods for reaching the above goals such as: journals, research, performances, portfolios, role-playing, interviews, debates, cooperative learning, guest speakers, global service projects and international pen-pals (NCSS, 1991). In fact, NCSS finds global education of such importance that the society has issued a position statement on global education within the classroom. NCSS supports global education
The National Middle School Association (NMSA) is now known as the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE). It has been a “voice for those committed to the educational and developmental needs of young adolescents” since 1973. This organization is the only national education association specifically committed to those in the middle level grades. There are over 30,000 members including principals, teachers, central office personnel, professors, college students, parents, community leaders, and educational consultants. The AMLE is recognized across the United States, Canada, and 46 other countries. In addition, AMLE has a network of “58 affiliate organizations in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia that strengthen outreach to the regional, state, provincial, and local levels.” The Association for Middle Level Education’s mission is dedicated to improving the educational experiences of all students ages 10 to 15 by providing vision, knowledge, and resources to educators and leaders. (National Association of State Boards of Education, n.d., paragraph 1).
Middle school, that odd transitional period of grades 6, 7, and 8, is an awkward time for all. Like the overlooked middle child, middle school is granted naught in the way of remarkable characteristics (neither the care-free fun of elementary school or the expanded freedom and importance that defines high school). Such a proving ground of inelegance, though, provides a magnificent springboard, a crisp sable slate, just primed for self-reformation. Failure is a step in the process, and only notable failures can contrast themselves against an environment as imperfect as a middle school jazz band.
The framework for the proposed study is based on the educational research related to middle school transition. The literature review is divided into four sections. The first section analyzes the research literature on the psycho-social effects of middle school. The second section highlights the environmental effects of the middle school. The third section describes the achievement of students as they transition into the middle school configurations, and the final section lays out a conceptual framework that the researcher has developed to examine the factors to consider in choosing the best configuration for sixth graders in the county.
Tye article on global education, allows the reader to understand global education by providing an analysis of what global education is and how it can be useful. The author defines global education and provides clear examples on how it appears in schools. One major aspect of his analysis is that he demonstrate the appearance of a global education and inherent problems that exist in schools without the global perspective. The author states that it is important that global education creates people more socially aware capable of interacting with members outside of their community creating a cross cultural discourse.
“A middle school is a school organization containing grades six to eight that, first provides developmentally appropriate and responsive curricular, instructional, organizational, guidance, and overall educational experiences; and second, places major emphasis on 10-15 year olds’ developmental and instructional needs” (Teaching in the Middle School, 6). The researcher has a great point for the fact that a middle school should be focus on the needs of diverse young adolescents. All young adolescents are in a special time in their lives that require extra guidance during this crazy change. Middle school students test out the boundaries and want to learn about new activities and interests during this stage. It takes a special person who wants to teach these diverse students who need the extra support from their teachers to show them what’s out there for them and to introduce them to new things.
One of the most important things that we need to remember as middle level teachers, is that every young adolescent is different, and because of those differences, we need to make sure that our lessons and activities reflect this aspect of young adolescents. The middle school age student is extremely complex. On one hand, they don’t fit into the elementary age of little kids, yet aren’t quite as mature as high school aged students. At this age, it is imperative to create lessons that are unique and captivating. Often the biggest problem about teaching middle school aged children is that they need motivation to do their work. In high school, students are worried about not doing well enough to get into college, while in elementary school their
According to the National Council for the Social Studies, “In a world that demands independent and cooperative problem solving to address complex social, economic, ethical, and personal concerns, the social studies are as basic for survival as reading, writing, and computing” (2013). The council argues that Social Studies must be an essential part of the curriculum in the early childhood/elementary years. However in schools across the country, an increased amount of instructional time is spent on English, Language Arts and Math while Social Studies, Science, Art, Music, Physical Education, and Recess is neglected. In a
For me, middle school was probably the most excruciating years of my life. I thought it was only me and everyone else had it easy and completely understood everything that was happening to their bodies and minds. In fact, I still have dreams about my middle school years like forgetting my locker combination or hiding in the bathroom stall because the most popular girls were gossiping about a friend of yours. The settings in these dreams are always my middle school; I find it amazing that thirty years after I attended school that I can remember vivid details about the layout, hallways, lockers, and teachers. The reason for this I believe is that for ALL students the middle school years are the most influential to shaping and becoming who a person is and who they wish to become. Middle schools are essential for the success of students because of the unique developmental stages of these students. For teachers, comprehension of young adolescent development is key to understanding the physical, emotional, intellectual, social and moral needs and interests of these students (Powell, 2015, p. 55) and also teachers need to develop a curriculum that is focused on developing students competence in all subject matter and using their knowledge and available resources to design, implement, and evaluate challenging, responsive curriculums that result in meaningful learning outcomes (Powell, 2015, p. 145). All students should feel that they are accepted for who he or she is as an
Lastra-Anadon, Carlos Xabel, and Paul E. Peterson. “The International Experience.” Education Next 12.1 (2012): 52-9. ProQuest. 11 Sept 2013.
When I began my high school career, I had the opportunity to be exposed to a range of social studies courses in and outside of my high school, all of which have reinforced my interest in history, and have provided me with a different perspective on history. For instance, during my junior
At middle school student’s maturity and focus causes them to envisage things about life they didn't before. How students have changed gives them a new prospect on life, or even a mindset on life. Their understanding of life grows matures each day. Students see how things work due to their experience in middle school, they see so many wonderful things about life. Numerous changes occur to students in middle school and students perceive life and transform tremendously.
In education, the experience of being in middle school can be difficult for many students. Similar to most years, students receive new teachers and the have a curriculum that is different. The middle school years are more than just learning. The students also are starting to go through puberty and are learning about their own individuals. For most students, they do not understand the changes they are going through both physically and mentally. In This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolescents, one can see research that shows how this is a crucial time for middle schools, and how teachers can effectively guide their students through this time.
As growth continues to transpire right the way through the middle years of schooling, it is important to monitor the development of students in the classroom. Strongly susceptible to the environment in which children are fostered and nurtured in, the intellectual, physical and social development of young adolescent learners is evidently a result of early lifestyle experiences and an individual’s diverse developmental processes. Clearly outlined and deliberated, common intellectual, physical and social individual developmental characteristics that are commonly experienced by middle years’ students and outline how a middle year’s teacher might support their students to cope with each of the three developmental characteristics.
Social studies has given me strong background in research analysis and has made me proficient in contributing to discussion where we not only focus on how to achieve objectives, by why and how these actions have consequences. This is particularly true when studying History. All my historical courses focused on studying on the events that led up to a major decision and how the decisions impacted the world. History teaches foresight which is a necessary skill for any business strategy.
The role educators, play in the development of global citizens is the values and attitudes they bring to the classroom as this relates to the component of human behaviour, teachers values, attitudes and beliefs can influence and benefits students own values, attitudes and beliefs (Marsh 2008). Teachers “Incorporate global and multicultural perspectives into their teaching, thereby engaging all students in their learning” (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, 2009, p.8). In addition teachers maintain a safe and inclusive classroom in which learning is for all and students are treated with respect, regardless of their culture or