Week 3: Closure, Social/Emotional Development

I found this weeks reading in Coming of Age to be particularly interesting. Although I knew that students viewed friendships and being accepted as very important since, after all, we all were in middle school at some point, I had no idea that the majority of students say that is the most important reason they come to school. I also found it very interesting that students who feel accepted are more likely to do better in school. With those two things noted, I realized just how important it is to be aware of students in the classroom and how they seem to be fitting in and adjusting to middle school. I have often wondered how I would respond to students who seem to cause disruptions in the classroom. I still remember how frustrating it was to have students in my class in elementary and middle school who constantly hindered the learning process with their behavior so I can only imagine that kind of frustration would only be multiplied as the teacher. All of that to say, it was very helpful for me to learn about the difference in neglected and rejected students. I now understand that it is more of a need for attention than anything else. As someone who was once a girl in middle school, I cannot imagine going through middle school in this day and time. From online bullying to an unrealistic standard for young women to live up to, the pressures and day to day life for these students seem to be so challenging. I think it is very important for teachers to educate their students on bullying and to make a point to make their classrooms a positive, encouraging environment. Finally, it is important for teachers to reflect back on their time in middle school and realize that we, too, faced some of these same struggles students today do and use that as a motivation to do what they can to help solve these problems.