PWAL - Finishing Up

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 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 personae  but middle schoolers aren't there. They (not all of them of course but a solid majority) have no problems speaking loudly and speaking loudly even when they're wrong. Middle schoolers are fun and I'm genuinely going to miss working with them. 


The second thing I learned is that the content that middle schoolers are able to handle, when presented in the right way, is astounding. My middle school experience was....limited in terms of curriculum. (I went to the kind of middle school where we learned states and capitols for 2 years straight. ) So in MY mind thats what middle school humanities looked like. Instead, what I found was middle schoolers using the same text that we used in  contemporary ed. The discussions we were able to have blew my mind, and were definitely based on asset based pedagogy. K- dog and A-money accept the students where they are and build on their experiences. It was a beautiful thing to witness first hand. 


The third thing I learned, something that those students in particular genuinely taught me, is that I am capable of leading a group of middle schoolers. I'm not saying I'm the best at it, yet, but I can do it. Part of why I was so nervous about being in the middle school was the perseption that they are all mean and scary. The other reason why I was super nervous is that in all my para work I had never been the sole person in charge of students. These middle schoolers saw me where I was and invited me in, they almost asset based pedagogied me! They laughed at my jokes, and taught me that it's okay if they don't always land. They'll laugh at the next okay one. 

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