Middle School Philospohy

Life long learning is what teaching is all about. I believe it is a teacher’s job to make sure his/her students are continually learning. Both academic and social skills are vital to for middle school students to work on. Students need to build relationships not only with their peers, but with their teacher as well. In the middle school, teachers also need to make sure they are providing activities that engage the students. Teachers need to be life long learners too. Working with other teachers and bringing up new ideas is a way that teachers can continue to learn themselves. There characteristics of a middle school teacher are very important because students are at a critical point in their life at that particular age.
I believe that building relationships is very important for a middle school student. Middle school students are very social, so it is important that teachers recognize that friendships are very important to them. They feel the need to belong to a group. Teachers need to provide opportunities for the students to develop new friendships and become part of a group. One way a teacher can do this is by having group work. If a teacher mixes up the groups, he/she is allowing the students to meet other peers and develop new relationships. Students will be continually learning new social skills when they have the opportunity to get to know their peers. Teachers need to make sure that they support the relationships the students are building. “Schools that nurture positive relationships among students and among students and teachers are more likely to realize the payoff of more engaged students achieving at higher levels” (Holland, 297). The amount of students who succeed in school increases when there is that support from teachers.
The relationship the students have with their teacher is just as important. A teacher needs to make a student feel more like an individual rather than just a student in their classroom. Teachers need to show their students that they actually do care about them. When students feel as though their teacher cares about them, they may start to trust their teacher and come to them with problems. Because of all of the emotions they are feeling, middle level students need to feel as though they can talk to an older adult. If students feel as though their teachers care that they are in class, they are less likely to stop coming. “Research shows that personalized learning initiatives can increase attendance, decrease dropout rates, and decrease disruptive behavior.” (National Association of Secondary School Principals, 131). Middle school students want to be liked and cared about, even if they don’t show it. Building relationship skills is part of life long learning.
I believe it is important for a teacher to engage his/her students in their learning. Middle level students are curious, so having a lesson with active engagement is very important. When a student is actually engaged in his/her learning, he/she is likely to remember that information more than by listening to a lecture. If we want our students to be continually learning, we need to make sure they are having fun and engaged in the learning process. Middle level boys are especially full of energy. Teachers need to realize that this is a characteristic of middle school boys and change their lesson to fit the needs of them. Teachers need to be flexible and allow their students to learn on their own.
I believe collaboration between teachers is also very important. I believe the one way for a teacher to be a life long learner is to talk with other teachers and obtain new information. Teachers are able to reflect on their own material and their way of teaching when they have other teachers to communicate with. The collaborative teams should be smaller and have enough time each day to sit down and really talk. “Team size, amount of common planning, and length of time together as a team influence classroom instruction” (Flowers, 58). When teachers are able to communicate and have interdisciplinary units the amount of student achievement tends to increase. Collaborative groups are a great way to help teachers be life-long learners and also increase student achievement.
For a teacher to be successful, his/her students need to be successful. It is very important for a teacher to actually get to know his/her students. It is a must that the students feel as though they are cared about and that they are respected. A teacher needs to let the students be creative and be engaged in their learning, especially with middle school students. A middle school teacher needs to work with his/her colleagues, so that they can develop new ideas and discuss what is best for the students. All of these characteristics are very important for a middle school teacher to have. If we want to have our students be well rounded and life long learners, we, as teachers, also have to be well rounded and life long learners.

Bibliography
Flowers, Nancy, Steven B. Mertens & Peter F. Mulhall. “How Teaming Influences Classroom Practices.” Middle School Journal V. 32 (2000): 58
Holland, Holly and Kelly Mazzoli. “Where Everybody Knows Your Name.” Phi Delta Kappan V. 83 (2001): 294-303
National Association of Secondary School Principals. Breaking Ranks in the Middle: Straegies for Leading Middle Level Reform. Virginia, 2006.