This We Believe

Written by the National Middle School Association, This We Believe provides an overview of what the NMSA does for teachers and young adolescents. It is important for teachers to recognize that middle school students are experiencing a lot of change and most of them don't really know how to deal with it. The NMSA provides resources that help teachers help their students in a very unfamiliar process. Students are changing physically and mentally and teachers have to be prepared for anything. Not only are the students changing, but so is the culture around them. Family structure, gender roles, technology and diversity are all changing at a fast rate. These affect how students learn and what students learn. This book provides helpful tips for creating a successful middle school community, and also provides ways of achieving that overall goal of success.

This section of This We Believe describes characteristics of a successful middle school community. Each characteristic is just as important as the next, but I will discuss a few that jumped out at me. First, I think it is very important for middle school teachers to be properly trained to work with young adolescents. Granted, we have all been there at one point in our lives, but for some of us it has been a long time and we may not remember what we felt and experienced. I was going through some strange times when I was in middle school and a lot of my teachers didn't know how to deal with it. They gave detentions, bad grades, and other teacher-like things, but they never actually stopped to have a conversation with me about what I was going through. Maybe if they had just done that before punishing me, I might have learned something about myself. Second, it is 100% necessary for students to have a trusted adult at the school that they can turn to for anything. I didn't have this until I reached high school, and it really is a shame. I never felt comfortable talking to any of my teachers in middle school because they just didn't know how to respond. At that age, students are experiencing a variety of emotions and teachers absolutely have to be prepared for anything and everything.

This section provides detailed descriptions for each of the 6 ways of reaching those beliefs. It states the important difference between "covering" and "learning." I think it is especially important that the curriculum be relevant to the students. Middle school kids are very self-centered. If the lesson doesn't have something to do with them or the world around them, they probably aren't going to care as much. Also, if the work isn't challenging enough, they might get bored and give up. Teachers need to provide an environment that allows students to explore and try new things. It is especially important to adapt teaching approaches that work for all students. This could mean using a variety of assessments and evaluations or providing structures that work well for every student. Of course, teachers have to remember that students do have lives outside of school and they are going through a lot at one time. Students need to be reminded to take care of themselves and ask for help when they need it. When I am a teacher, I absolutely plan on being there for each and every one of my students.

The final section of This We Believe does a nice job of wrapping the paper up. It gives its purpose and the message it wants its readers to walk away with. It gives advice about what individuals in certain fields (teachers, principals, parents, superintendents, board members, and teacher educators) can do to use and pass on the knowledge they have learned from this paper. As an aspiring teacher, I will focus on what teachers can do to help out. I really like the idea of reviewing your own teaching methods and comparing to what is in the paper. If certain areas don't match up, maybe it's time to rethink certain styles and methods. Teachers should always be learning new ways to teach and engage students. No unit should be the same each team it is taught. Students change, culture changes, and teachers change. I also find it very important to be a role-model for your students. To most of them, teachers are trusted adults. If a teacher does something that normally wouldn't be considered okay, it may have an effect on the students. Finally (but most importantly), it gives an in-depth look at young adolescent characteristics (physically, intellectually, morally, psychologically, and socially). These are important to be familiar with because young adolescents are going through a very strange time and may not know how to deal with it. They need trusting adults around them that can support them in every way possible in order to create the ultimate learning experience.