What do these topics have in common?—Young adolescents and what makes them tick; classroom management and environment, and; the proper role of technology in the middle level classroom? Well, yes, they were the topics for the first few weeks of EDM 520, but they also represent the complexity that comprises the middle school classroom. What is a middle level teacher to do? Where does one start?
Many of the "answers" (if it were only that easy) for the essential questions of this course are right there in front of us...in the form of our students. Unfortunately, much of the time we look beyond, through, or around them when searching for answers about motivation (or the lack of it), ability (or inability) to control themselves in the classroom to the standards we have set, or responsibility (or irresponsibility).
For example, why should we ever be surprised when our young adolescent students act up, act out, fail to do their work, forget they ever had any homework, pick on us or their peers, be totally responsible one day and totally irresponsible the next? Why should we be surprised when they actually act their age? Ok, I'm not making excuses for inappropriate language or behavior, but I am suggesting that we pay more attention to our students.
Classroom management is important and it has many facets...but first understanding our students and the fact that they are "works in progress" and not fully formed adults, should tell us to expect, plan for, and act on what we know to be true about them.
