Philosophy of Education

            The middle school years are when adolescents begin to transition from children to adults. As teachers of this age group, it is our responsibility to make this transition happen as easily as possible. The purpose of education for the middle grades (4-8) includes different concepts and strategies. The first that will be discussed is the curriculum that fosters cognitive development. The curriculum must be relevant, challenging, integrative, and exploratory, as noted in a position paper, “This We Believe: Successful Schools for Young Adolescents,” published by the National Middle School Association. The second purpose of education for middle grade students is to allow ample time for career exploration. Last, teachers need to encourage social development among adolescents both in and outside of the classroom.

            Students come to school to learn new material and skills that will benefit them in their future. We as teachers are responsible for giving them the necessary resources to achieve this goal. After reading, “This We Believe: Successful Schools for Young Adolescents,” I firmly agree with most of the concepts that were introduced about what makes a middle school successful. The first mentioned is that the curriculum must be relevant to those learning the new material. Adolescent age children need to be able to see the connection that is being made in the classroom to themselves, their friends and family, and the world. Without these connections, students disengage themselves because the material becomes dry and uninteresting.

            Challenging is the second purpose of education in middle schools because it requires students to actively participate in their own education. Remembering to set the standards of your classroom to be age appropriate and challenging is at times a complicated, but necessary, task. The negative repercussions of having a curriculum that is too challenging or not challenging enough is a classroom full of students who are unresponsive to the material that is being discussed.

            An integrative curriculum involves students in their personal learning and the environment around them. In this situation, issues that are brought to the attention of the class should be of interest both to the students and the adults. The curriculum should be connected across all subjects (mathematics, language arts, social studies, science, art, technology, music). Every teacher should participate in making the material meaningful to his or her students.

            The next two purposes of education in the middle school classroom I am going to connect because of the correlation they have with each other. Having a curriculum that is exploratory helps students make the connection between school and real-world applications. So often teachers hear students make comments such as, “When are we going to need to know this? I’m never going to need to know how to do this!” If we allow time for exploring different possible avenues in different careers, we will be creating a strong bond between success in school and success in the outside world.

            Adolescents are naturally social creatures and if we do not allow them to socialize in a positive setting we are not allowing them to grow as healthy teenagers. A balance needs to be established early on between being social and at the same time being productive during the lesson. For example, teachers should allow time for cooperative group work where small groups of students work on a task together. Allowing time for communication among peers provides the students in the classroom with a positive learning environment.

             In order to understand the purposes of education, teachers need to transition theory into practice in their classrooms. I believe that students are working their best when a classroom offers a variety of learning environments. For example, let us discuss possibilities for a seventh grade math teacher that can be used to effectively reach all of her students during one unit of study.

            To begin a new unit, he or she can introduce the new concepts with individualized self-discovery. Allow time for students to work on their own to try to make sense of a new idea. After time has been given, allow students to come together in small groups to discuss their findings and discuss questions that they may still have. Provide direct instruction for complicated concepts. Throughout the lessons, offer time for hands-on activities using different types of manipulatives. Offer different levels of problems, some that are quick to understand while others take longer to fully grasp the concepts. At the end of each major lesson, ask your students to reflect on their individual work as well as what their groups discovered together. By doing similar examples, the teacher is offering different styles of learning for his or her students and tapping into someone’s mastery at one point.

            Students come to us, the teachers, for eight hours a day, five times a week. We often forget to establish a bridge between schools/teachers and families at home. Our days become too busy for teachers to connect with the guardian at home and the cycle continues from kindergarten to high school. However, involving families in the education of their children is extremely beneficial. When teachers involve parents in the daily routine in the classroom, students can understand that there are other adult figures that care for them and their well-being. Because their parents are involving themselves while the teacher is reinforcing being an active student, children of involved parents begin to understand the importance of a solid education. The role of families should be and needs to be an active role because students need to see action, taking place at home and at school. Just hearing that school is important is not enough for a struggling student. Instead, they need to see the importance.

An example is a student that I taught in remedial mathematics last year. She, we will call her Amy, was a seventh grade student. Amy had no interest in taking another math class for nine weeks and verbally had no problem telling me that my class was stupid and she did not need it. However, I saw her struggling with the basic material and would easily become frustrated. When she did become discouraged, she would act out in class and become a problem for other students to stay on task.

After repeated attempts of trying to explain to her the importance of the class, I involved her mother into the process. Immediately, her mother took an active role by helping her at home, emailing me consistently about Amy’s progress, and visiting on occasion. Amy’s attitude, quality of work, and behavior changed nearly overnight because of her mother’s involvement in her education. Her mother told me repeatedly that teachers never involve the parents in their child’s education. She expressed to me that because of my involvement with Amy and her, Amy admitted to herself and her mother that she did care about learning the material and appreciated the extra concern. After offering Amy make-up work for missed material, she earned an “A” in my class. Family involvement is crucial for success for all students because it allows them to see the importance without simply hearing about the importance.

Teachers need to always consider themselves as professionals inside and outside of the educational world. Their role as professional teachers is a critical role in the achievement for American youth. When teaching the curriculum, teachers need to integrate critical thinking skills into the lessons and reinforce problem-solving expertise so students will be able to handle complex problems. Teachers need to also remember that at times they are the primary adult in a child’s life and need to present themselves in such a manner. Remembering the importance of mentoring a child through tough and good times helps build positive child-adult relationships. The role of all teachers needs to be that of a creative master of information, a positive role-model for children, and a caring, nurturing adult who not only wants to see success of the child but also help them reach their fullest potential.