myspace is creepy

I asked my roommate and her boyfriend what middle schoolers do. and immediately they both said “MYSPACE!” So I went to check out what I could see as someone who has never been to myspace before. Oh my goodness. I could get to profile after profile of pictures and comments about themselves that I really would rather never see again. I found profiles of young girls and was really scared. These people put so much information about themselves and they don’t realize how dangerous this can be. If I were looking for someone to stalk, it would only be too easy to find someone’s profile and learn all about them.

I think it is important for teachers to know about these sites so that they can talk about the problems with safety online. Students are not always aware of of the problems and so if teachers can help teach them how to do it safely it doesn’t have to be scary. Teachers must be aware of what their students are up to so that they can better understand their students and what they are going through.

P.S. I felt really awkward doing this. I will never do it again.

First experience at the Middle School

Oh wow, those middle school students sure do know what they think and are not afraid to tell you about it. I was in fact told not to teach Middle School because they are too energetic and don’t listen. It would be a waste of my time, this was by a sixth grader. Two students when I asked them how I should be as a teacher they said, “strict,” “have a lot of rules.” This surprised me, but them I realized who I was sitting with, two 5th grade girls who get annoyed when the boys get out of control on PE days.

Most of the students that I talked to were very open about what they thought. Half of them hated Math the other half loved going to the high school to study Geometry. Half of them loved science and the other half would much rather be in Social Studies having a good conversation. It was all over the board. I did find out however that what they really like is a teacher that is “fun,” “gives out candy,” “gives group work,” “doesn’t give too much homework,” and the like. While giving out candy isn’t exactly very helpful in the teaching realm, it does show that there are ways to get students engaged even if you aren’t sure what that is at the moment. Maybe a little candy wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all.

The students at the Middle School had so much to say and I feel like I hardly got to hear their opinion. I’m excited to go back and see what else they can give me. Hm… maybe I’ll bring candy.

Trends from the Middle School

The Grim adventures of Billy and Mandy is a show on Cartoon Network. After talking with the students at the middle school I heard them talking about watching Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. The episode that I watched was honestly really confusing. At first it seemed as though it was going to be really funny, but I don’t think I understood the humor that was supposed to be funny for the intended audience. One thing that really bothered me about the show was that it was about revenge and while in the end the mother admitted what she did, she never really apologized for hurting the birds in her act of revenge. That seems to be giving the wrong message. That it’s alright to take revenge on something or someone so long as in the end you admit it. That doesn’t seem right to me.

Another part that bothered me was that this show has two, 10 minute episodes during it. This is only another way for students to have small attention spans. I don’t quite understand why they would have shows in this manner, but whatever I suppose. Honestly I don’t know how middle school students might respond to this show, but I don’t really find it all that interesting. One good thing that was at the very end of the second episode was the lesson that it’s OK to fail. I felt that is definitely an important message to get across to students. Sometimes you can try your very hardest and you will still not get it quite right, but that’s OK. Failing is only what you make it. That is a great lesson.

Judy Jeffrey

As the end to the forum that we have just received here at Luther, it was nice to hear from Judy Jeffrey. Most of what I really appreciated from her is that she was giving the point of view from her specific state and how that affects her and the teachers/administrators that she deals with daily. It was great to hear from someone that I might end up working for in the near future.

One of the main points that I really picked up on and really felt was something to think about was the way that the NEAP tests are being handled. She said that first of all the difference between the state tests and NEAP national tests was that the NEAP tests had high standards. They are looking for students who are proficient over challenging material compared with the state tests who are over the basic material. Another thing that really struck me was that NEAP only tests a percentage of the students and each student only takes a portion of the test. Now that doesn’t seem right to me. How can students in middle school be held accountable for a test they didn’t even take, or a portion that they didn’t even get to see? It makes completely no sense as to why states would put so much emphasis on a test that honestly to me doesn’t seem to say much of anything!

It was good to hear about a lot of things that I had never been informed about by someone who is in the system. While I felt she could have offered more of what we can do to change things, she definitely did a good job of showing, at least me, what is occurring in Iowa and how that can be shown across the nation.

Jonathon Kozol

First and foremost, Jonathon was one of the most engaging speakers I have ever heard in my life. He was so very authentic with us and completely true to how he believes even though I know not everyone in the audience agreed with what he had to say. One things that he talked about that interested me a lot was how he wanted the people in Washington DC to go into a classroom and try and teach an entire day of class. I feel like that says a lot about how difficult it is to teach. It is so funny how people who are in power try to tell us how to do our jobs and what we are supposed to do, but they can’t go and do it themselves. It is absolutely ridiculous.

Another thing that really caught me was when he said  always “speak in your own voice” and never lose your “authenticity.” I felt this was absolutely resonant with me and how I feel. Sometimes I feel stupid because I don’t know how to use big words and sometimes I get caught in what it is that I want to say. But being told to just be me, really helps me to feel more confident in being able to teach just as I am. My students will be able to relate to me more if they know and believe that I am being who I was made to be and I am not trying to impress them.

While some of the things that he had to say were very liberal, even more my view points. He made a good point. Why can lower class students be in classrooms of 40 students but upper class can have their classes stopped at 12. It is absolutely ridiculous. Rich people try to tell inner-city teachers how to teach, when they send their kids to a school that can give their kids individualized attention. It is not fair and it is not realistic.

David Ferrero

I went to see David Ferror speak on Pluralism in Education today and he brought up a few things that I think are very important to consider when looking at middle school eduction. One main point that he brought up was the need to clarify vocabulary when you are talking with other businesses or beneficiaries about what you want to achieve. A lot of times the people who are spending the money and the people who are using the money are two very different groups of people both after a different goal. Most of the time they may think that they are going after the same thing. He used the example of Critical Thinking. Everyone wants students to be better at critical thinking but whether that means that the student will be able to problem solve or be able to think more independantly can change the way that a teacher would go about teaching critical thinking.

Another issue that goes along with that is sometimes the teacher and the beneficiary have different goals for the time-line. A lot of times the teachers have a goal to get things going in a school year or possibly over a few years. Sometimes the people forking out the cash want to see improvements and changes right away. It’s not necessarily that what the two different parties want is bad, but that they are going after two very different things.

He raises a lot of good questions to ponder about how to be able to teach the students while getting along with the people at the top. Sometimes as a teacher you will find yourself in a place where you really feel called to teach something but the district won’t let you. It is good to see ideas of how it can be done by differentiating and making changes within the structures of the school, without completely getting rid of everything that is already in place.

Melba Beals

This past Thursday I had the privilege of going to the opening Convocation here on campus and listened to Melba Beals speak. One thing that she said that really caught my attention was her talking about one of the classes she was taking for her degree in International Studies, or something to that affect. In any case, she gave the example of a Muslim woman dressed in her burka and was very pregnant. This woman went into a group of American men with a bomb around her waist and blew herself up. Now what does this have to do with any of the messages that she tried to convey as well as what does it have to do with a Middle School Learner? Well, Ms. Beals used this as an example of how there are many things that other people do that we do not understand but they do it with so much conviction and faith that they “know” it is the right thing to do. So how does this relate to the classroom? As a teacher, I will have many different students of different ethnic and religious views as well as different views on how life could and should work. It is important for teachers to be able to see where their students are coming from and be able to meet them there, especially adolescent students.

Another point that Ms. Beals makes is that until everyone believes that everyone else is their equal, there will never be equality. This is a huge point to consider and try to teach to a student. This is not just for middle school age students but for everyone. Specifically dealing with adolescents though, they are at a crucial point in their development where they are discovering who they are and who they want to be. As a teacher, you need to be instilling these kinds of values in them because if you don’t, who else will. Another thing to take out of that is being able to treat your students as your equals. Realizing that they have just as much to give as you do. Teaching is not about dominating it is about sharing and receiving. Getting to hear Melba Beals talk was an amazing experience and I will not soon forget those two lessons which she so brilliantly taught me.

Beautiful

I went to Teen Magazine online, http://www.teenmag.com/, to see if I could find anything to write about. Not really to my surprise there was a lot that really seemed to be targeted to the middle school aged students, especially the young ladies in that age group. Upon first typing in the site address it took me to an Add for some glittery lip gloss in 12 different shades. I was astonished because I had forgotten how important makeup had already become by the time a student entered their early middle school years. It’s terrible because it appears that at this age they are already being told that you need more make-up to cover up your natural beauty and make yourself into something different.

Upon just looking at the main page for the site my eye catches the advice question of the day, “Is it normal to hate beautiful girls?” I can’t believe what I’m seeing, honestly. That is not something I want to have put into middle school student’s heads and yet that is probably what a lot of them think. As I began to read the article it strikes me that this isn’t about hating beautiful girls or people with beauty. It is about not having enough self love and self confidence to not care about whether other women/girls are beautiful. I think that an article like this probably makes other girls look at themselves and say “Am I the ugly girl that should be jealous or am I the pretty one that everyone hates because I am beautiful.” It’s terrible but it seems as though either answer is not a good one. Either you don’t think well of yourself or you are hated by all of your peers. Girls should not have to deal with that kind of pressure. That is why middle school girls spend hours in the morning trying to put on all the right make-up, clothes, and get their hair in the perfect order.

As I continue to read they bring in an “expert” on the topic, or at least someone they put a Dr. before their name to validate what they are saying. One thing that the Doctor says is that “Average-looking women gravitate toward other average-looking women while beautiful women stick together” (pg 2). This makes me so angry because she is continuing the stereotype that some women truly are more beautiful than others. As a middle schooler, this would be terrible to hear. To hear from someone who supposedly knows what they are talking about that there really are women who are more beautiful than they are is just another thing to make them feel worse about themselves.

One good thing that this article does talk about is the fact that beauty isn’t everything. Sometimes women and girls who are really beautiful are then treated differently because of that beauty and sometimes in a negative way. This is a good point to make because people should not treat others badly just because of how they look. It really is how someone acts and treats others that should matter. The problem is that then this seems to be putting across the message that it’s alright not to be beautiful instead of you are beautiful and you should know that.

Being in middle school and being that age is hard enough. Those girls don’t need any more against them and yet this one article from an internet magazine made for them is a perfect example of why girls have low self-esteem. Not every girl, of course, suffers from low self-esteem but this article does not help anyone become more appreciative of what God gave them.

Enough time to change?

The question of whether middle school students have changed since 15 years ago seems like a very easy answer to me. Think of all the many different changes that have been made in technology, economy, foreign policy, and education in the last 15 years and then try to tell me that students haven’t changed at all. While some of those things don’t necessarily seem to have a direct effect on the middle schoolers, they do have an affect on the people who raise them. If the people who are the role models and parent figure change, then the children that they are in charge of will change.

Not only have their guardians changed in habits and how they teach their children but what students to these days have changed greatly. I would be that almost every middle school student today has used a cell phone and has and Email of their own. Even from when I was in middle school which was only 7 years ago, that has changed. In my experience with children around me of middle school age as well as those just a few years younger, they watch much more tv and are more involved in technology than people ever were 15 years ago. I mean think about it. The internet didn’t really exist 15 years ago and now middle schoolers are online chatting with their friends every day after they get home from school. The things that people surround themselves with starts to define them as well as change what they think they need and their everyday norms.

Not only have the students changed a lot, but the society has changed at a rate much faster than I think the schools have anticipated. Schools do not have the money or the commitment to change as much as the society has. How many schools have enough computers for their students to be on to learn the newest computer technologies? Not enough. Are students still being taught to type in high school or has that been moved to late elementary school? Students are not being taken seriously in school when it comes to where society has taken them. Having said that, school should not always be where society is, but for somethings schools need to catch up.