Adventures in Learning About Learning

"Consider this a manual for how to begin that brilliantly messy work "   Cornelius Minor   We Got This Messy is an amazing word to describe middle schoolers. Messy conjures up images of stress and discontinuity, but it's so much more. Mess is what happens after 2 toddlers get into the costume bin and burst with creativity. Mess is what happens when I make my Aunt Mary Ellen's apple- custard pie. Mess is what happens when dogs and kids come inside after splashing in mud puddles, taking delight in something that adults find a nuisance. I came into this course stressed out by the mess, but now I've learned to love it. My philosophy for teaching adolescents centers around making an inclusive environment that has specific functions that are tailored to each individual student. When we did the focus student part of our lesson plan I learned how much you can impact a student just by altering one tiny thing that may have been relevant to the rest of the class. Being asked...

  Share 3 things that you learned through your practicum experience this semester that you don't want to forget. Select 1 one of those and draw a connection between it and something you learned in this course.  I did my practicum with a group of 7th and 8th graders, and I learned so much from them.  The first thing I learned was that I love middle school. I went into this course with a pretty clear idea that middle school was NOT for me and that high school is definitely where I want to teach. And upper level high school at that! After being with these students and building relationships and getting to know them I've come to appreciate what an interesting stage of life adolescence is. they still have childish curiosity but at the same time are starting to come to terms with some real world issues. They are free spirited, and loud, and not afraid at all to make mistakes. When we get older we get so concerned about our professional/ academic demeanor and...