Sunday, February 22, 2009

Middle school motivation

One thing I love about middle school students is they are still excited to learn new things. The first week I was here, they responded to a query about how much they had learned with an enthusiastic "I learned A LOT!" and went on to describe several topics that interested them about frog adaptations. Last week we had a section of material that was covered by a blend of lecture and reading from the text. The students started to look a little glazed but came right back with minimal intervention when they were asked to pair up and find some information to share with the class. This motivation to learn makes teaching fun.

3 comments:

  1. I agree! The students in middle school do still seem eager to learn, and for the most part are still interested in the subject matter. I'm glad you like teaching them; I think I will have more fun in middle school as well!

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  2. Hi Julie,

    I think my blog is working again. I hope so anyway.

    Middle school students still do have that glitter of excitement in their eyses about learning. They are not as jaded as some of the high school students. This makes it fun to teach and learn with the students as well.

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  3. I've been surprised at how social the middle school students are - they are more like the high schoolers than I had realized. Elementary school students can be more individual and not as interactive. I expected the middle school students to be more like the younger kids than the older ones. I see more clearly now why they are considered secondary with the older students rather than as elementary.

    I agree for the most part, they are still eager to learn new things. My cooperative teacher and I have been discussing those students who are showing signs of failure. He has many years of experience and sadly can tell who is probably going to make it to graduation and who is not. It is not that the students are learning disabled or that they don't even like learning - it's a negative attitude about life in general. They are needy, depressed, and have very low self-esteem. There is this one boy I've been trying to encourage. He answers questions in class and is a capable student. He just won't do his work. Knowing a bit about his background, it's amazing he makes it school.

    If I end up teaching high school, I want to bring the love and joy of learning back into the classroom. I hope kids like those in middle school who are wanting to give up hang in there. I can't rescue them, but if I can at least inspire one here and one there to push through - that's what teaching students is all about.

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