06-25-2012, 08:14 AM
Carol,
thanks for your thoughtful reply. Your passion and empathy for your students shines through! [
] As does your intellectual understanding of their passage. Is it 7-9 here or 6-8?
I remember my excitement about middle school (which we called junior high), because we would no longer be in one class all day, and would get two electives (one was to plant a garden, woohoo! and the other photography, yea!). We would have a locker instead of storing our stuff in our one desk. To me those were signs of increasing freedoms and independence. Oh, and the dreaded gym showers, not so great ...
6th grade was still elementary, so I only had 7th grade, as we moved away after that and I went into high school. My middle school year was not lighthearted, because JFK was shot when I was three months in, and the world changed.
I do remember making a bet with my core teacher that in 10 years (by 1973), if you mentioned the Beatles, the average person would have no idea what you were talking about. I never did collect on that bet. [:p] Do you ever bet with your students about pop culture?
Thanks for the reminder ...
I totally agree that you have them when they are not "set" yet as to their direction. You can really make a difference, and I have no doubt that you do so. I wish I had had a middle school teacher like you! []
thanks for your thoughtful reply. Your passion and empathy for your students shines through! [
] As does your intellectual understanding of their passage. Is it 7-9 here or 6-8?I remember my excitement about middle school (which we called junior high), because we would no longer be in one class all day, and would get two electives (one was to plant a garden, woohoo! and the other photography, yea!). We would have a locker instead of storing our stuff in our one desk. To me those were signs of increasing freedoms and independence. Oh, and the dreaded gym showers, not so great ...
6th grade was still elementary, so I only had 7th grade, as we moved away after that and I went into high school. My middle school year was not lighthearted, because JFK was shot when I was three months in, and the world changed.
I do remember making a bet with my core teacher that in 10 years (by 1973), if you mentioned the Beatles, the average person would have no idea what you were talking about. I never did collect on that bet. [:p] Do you ever bet with your students about pop culture?
Thanks for the reminder ...
I totally agree that you have them when they are not "set" yet as to their direction. You can really make a difference, and I have no doubt that you do so. I wish I had had a middle school teacher like you! [
]