Young adolescents are experiencing a very critical time in their lives by attempting to discover themselves and determine who they want to be. Middle school children are extremely diverse, physically, emotionally, and mentally due to the changes they experience during the transescence period. Within the middle school years, an interest in education is either sparked or neglected, and as a future educator it is my responsibility to encourage a love of learning through the classes of mathematics and social studies.
To begin with, “during the second decade of life, individuals are assumed to acquire a stable personality, to find their identity, to learn the mechanisms of adult personal relationships, and to learn to cope with various problem
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It promotes working together and helps find the best learning strategies and approaches to information. In social studies and math classrooms, it is crucial for students to design projects together and understand what it means to be part of a team. By introducing them to group work in middle school, they will be ready for the tasks in high school, college, and the workforce. Not only is it important for the students to collaborate, it is also essential for teachers to collaborate. If all of the math or social studies teachers get together and share experiences, their ideas will help create the most effective lessons and activities, that are engaging and beneficial to the students. It should not be limited to just the same subject teachers. The teams of teachers can create units throughout the year and tie in activities that relate directly to the themed unit. For example, if a team wants to focus on outer space, the students will study it in science, the math class will work on space word problems, language arts can read a science fiction book, and the social studies class can focus on events such as the space race. Not only should teachers collaborate within their grade levels, they should also effectively communicate with elementary and high school teachers. By doing so, middle school teachers will recognize what information the students should already know and what information they will need to know. With the use of pre and post assessments, teachers will be able to effectively communicate this
Describe a strategy from outside your organization – or even the education sector – that could radically improve the American preK-12 education system
Consider the following situation: A car is driving past the local elementary school on a hot and sunny July afternoon. As the car approached the school the driver notices some unusual things. Students are outside with the teachers for recess, and it looks as if school is in session. The school is on a year-round schedule. The driver is intrigued and decides to do some research. From the research, this person found that students are achieving more academically and the teachers are well rested.
Starting middle school was a mixture of anxiety and excitement. There was a brand new campus to explore, but we were also nervously anticipating the academic program that was about to begin. Most of my grade had been together since the age of four and by this time there were clear social divides. There were the girls who were seen as popular, and then there was everybody else. You could say that I was part of the popular crowd, though at the time I didn’t notice myself standing apart from the others. As a group of friends we got on well, we’d hang out, go to the cinema, have sleepovers, all the usual things friends do. Then things gradually started to change.
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).
Governor Jeb Bush initiated the nation's boldest voucher experiment in June of 1999 when he signed into law his Opportunity Scholarship Program. Florida is the first in the nation with a statewide plan allowing state-paid tuition for children in "F" graded schools to attend private schools or other non-failing schools. Opponents claim that giving parents the choice to use state education funds at private schools could end up bankrupting the public education system so many children rely upon. Proponents of vouchers argue the voucher program will give parents a way to help children trapped in failing schools. Matthew Berry, a staff attorney with the Washington, D.C. based Institute for Justice, believes, “As
Many students worry about how their middle school years will go. Middle school is a very important part of a student’s education. Middle school is their initiation into high school and could really impact their future. Many elementary school students think that they are prepared and can do well in middle school, but many are not ready. Also, students who do not do well in middle school tend to not do well in high school. One lesson I would like to teach elementary school students is how to survive middle school, which is important because it will lead them to a better future by being prepared, managing time, and knowing how to problem solve.
I’m currently a new student at Highline community college who is trying to keep up with the fast pace and pressure of college. I want to be successful and pass all my classes with good grades but, I know I can’t do it all on my own. All the resources we have available to us as students are very helpful such as tutors, counselors, and financial aid advisers and I intend to take full advantage of all the resources available to me. It’s very important to me that I pass my classes because I am paying out of pocket, unlike most students who are on financial aid, or scholarships. It’s my first time being back in school since I dropped out of high school 2 years ago so I am facing many challenges
Metro West Learning Academy has been a positive experience for me. It has benefited me in many ways. Metro has helped me handle stress by alleviating it. At first I didn’t want to come to Metro. I was worried about leaving all of my friends but I made some here. And the teachers here have also made it better because of how individualized the program is.
This is the time in an adolescent's life when everything starts to change, and there are many new and intimidating challenges for each learner. Most of the difficulties of this change can be attributed to the changes in how classes are taught and structured in middle school compared to elementary school. In middle school, the class structure is new and different, greatly affecting how a student learns and adapts to learning. For our learner, the shift to middle school was not a smooth transition. He has to deal with disorganization, poor time management, forgetfulness, not fully understanding his math class, and self-confidence issues related to his math studies.
At Maryland Elementary School, I have a kindergarten class. Which means the kindergartners don’t know that there is whole new idea of school and knowing that there are rules in a classroom. For the kindergartners, it will be a something new and different because in this stage they will be developing more of their motor skills. Meaning that they will be more active and many times difficult to teach. The kindergarten teacher uses the rules that the school provides the essentials. Which are give it your best, use kind words, be mindful of others thoughts and beliefs, etc. and the teacher implements these rules in the first few days in school. The teacher reminds the students about these rules almost everyday just to put it meaning into those rules.
Transitioning to middle school was a difficult experience that taught me a skill that I will use throughout life. The jump from fifth grade to sixth grade is often challenging due to the change in teachers, learning environment, and pressure. In fifth grade I enjoyed a daily schedule of sports and social time with a small amount of time dedicated to homework. The fifth grade attempted to prepare me for middle school by giving me an increased amount of homework and more challenging material, however, faculty and administration still acknowledged that I was in elementary school and am not at an age where I should be given a large amount of homework. When I become a sixth grade student everything changed.
Education is a very important aspect of the lives of all people all over the world. What we learn, not just in the classroom, shapes who we are. We take our education everywhere we go. We use it when talking to our buddies about sports or music, we use it while solving a math problem, we use our education while debating with our family whether or not we should watch TV or go to the movies. Our education is the foundation of who we are, since every decision we make and every thought we think is dependent on what we know. Imagine how different the world would be if everyone craved learning to such a degree that at lunch tables all over the world the topic of conversation isn't who likes who, or how drunk
Public education in the United States is perhaps one of the most critical issues we face as a nation. Once pronouncing the United States as a “nation at risk”, the educational institution began to implement one reform strategy after another. In efforts to improve schooling for K-12 students, education reform has fiddled with class size, revised graduation requirements, and created standardized testing just to name a few. Unfortunately, traditional public schools are still failing to provide students with a quality education. This is disheartening as we learn that the United States lags behind in math and science compared to our international counterparts. It is safe to say that educational reform has spent billions of dollars over the
The education system has been a controversial issue among educators. Requirements of school do not let student choose what they want to study for their future. It’s a big issue to force student study specific curriculums, which don’t help them improve, and what they like to create something. Educators choose a general system for education to all students which based on general knowledge. Intelligent or genius students have to be in that system of education, which doesn’t let them improve their creativity. Educators attempt to change that system to make it better, but their changing was not that great to be an example for the world. Also, did that change qualify education system to compete other systems or not? In some examples and
“I just don't understand! Why you have to be so simple? Answer me Elizabeth. “Why would you sit there and pee on yourself?” and you think I am going to clean that mess up, well you thought wrong.”