Back in Time

When giving advice to students, you might find yourself frozen and lost as to what advice to give them. If that is the case at anytime, just think, "WWID." What would I do? What would I have done if this was me, at that very age. It works. Trust me. Think about it. Rather than telling the student, "I don't know," and having them lose all hope of finding help, tell them "When I was your age, I would have done this." Maybe you had a similar situation or knew of someone with a similar situation that you could bring up to the student. When it comes to honesty, it is much better than just giving the student an answer of you not knowing. Your story might cheer them up. I had countless times where students would tell me that so and so was bothering them because of how they looked or who their friends were and I would constantly find myself telling them stories about when I was their age and what I would do in those situations. You would find within a few days the students attitude has completely changed and they have a new outlook on life.

Useful Websites for the Teaching Mind!

Please find below a useful list of websites that I believe to be helpful when dealing with adolescents.

Teen Health FX: This is a great site that gives you everything from your health to your body, to your relationships and sexuality.

Focus: This website focuses greatly on Alcohol and Teen drinking. It is mainly used for parents, but I believe that teachers can use it as well to help out the parents in situations like these.

Help Guide: This site takes you directly to Teen Depression and gives help for parents and teachers. However, looking further into the site you can find many more topics that you might deal with on an everyday business.

These sites are beneficial to both teachers and parents. As well, teachers can give some of these links to students in order to give the students another source for their benefit.

Self-Esteem: What defines Middle School

Students in Middle School are the most vulnerable to spoiling their self esteem. These students get affected quickly because they are changing to a new school environment. They are adjusting to the physical and emotional changes going throughout their bodies. Their feeling of being accepted comes from their friends and not adults, which was the case at a younger age.

According to Mary Pat McCartney, a counselor and former vice president of the American School Counselors Association, “no matter how much students have been swamped with praise by well-meaning parents, what their friends think of them is most important. Early on, it’s parents who affirm the young person’s worth, then it’s the teacher. In middle school, peer esteem is a powerful source of one’s sense of self.”

Michelle Borba, who is an author on self-esteem and achievement in children gives a list of things educators can do to improve the self esteem in students. The list, taken from this website , says:

"1)Mentor a child. Find one student who looks as though he or she needs a connection and just take a little more time (even one minute a day) to find a positive moment.

2)Connect with your team about a student. Pass on concerns to at least one other staff member so you’re both on the same page. You can then reinforce the same positive traits about a student together and optimize the effort.

3)Reframe children’s images of themselves. Find one positive trait that is earned and deserved—artistic, great smile, kind heart—and let the student be aware of it. Reframing an image generally takes 21 days, so reinforce the same trait 10 seconds a day for 21 days.

4)Turn students on to a great book, Web site, hobby, or a club that might capitalize on their natural interests or strengths.

5)Make yourself available. Give students your e-mail address and let them know special times you can be reached."

Moral Obligations

Moral obligations? How important are they? Should you have to bend the rules to develop morally responsible young adults? I can remember an example of my senior year in high school. I got into a fight. It was my first time fighting with anyone, and the last. I didn't start the fight. Another boy, who had been kicked out of other schools before coming to mine, started the fight between us. He would constantly pick on me, make fun of my family, make fun of my friends, when he didn't know any of us. He never had the time to. It was just in his nature to do these sorts of things. Once we fought, the principal called us in and suspended us both from school for the next day. The difference was that the principal put the fight onto his school records, but not mine. Why? Because it was my first and only fight. Because I was the student council vice president. Because I had decent grades. Did the principal break the rules? Yes. The handbook stated that it would go onto our records. Did the principal do the right thing? Yes, because he knew the importance of each and every student he had and the impact they would have in the world. I believe that because of not placing it on my record and having faith in me as a student, helped me become the person I am today.

In the "Hip Deep" text, “Showing My Faith On The Outside” hits home in my case. During my years in university, one of my closest friends wore a hijab. Being a Muslim, I, much like everyone else in the University (which was in the Middle East), understood what the hijab represented. If you weren’t from the region, you learned just to be respectful of the culture. Although I used to drink, which was against my religion, she never thought less of me. We maintained our friendship since day 1. Once graduating from college we both took different roles. Remember the movie “Vice Versa” where the dad and son switch roles? Well, it’s sort of similar. Her and I switched. I gave up the drinking(which I used to do constantly) and decided to shape up my life now that I was “out in the world.” On the opposite end, she decided it was time for her to let go of her religion. She gave up the hijab. She gave up her faith. She started drinking. Dressing differently. Although we were in different countries, it affected myself and our friendship. I couldn’t sit there and pretend to be her friend when I knew that something was wrong. Our friendship ended shortly after we graduated college. Even though I knew who she was on the inside, at the end, I judged her just like some would judge a book by its cover.

At the end of everything, how important is it to be moral? Should someone have to bend the rules in certain cases to make better people in the world? Or should we all abide by the rules placed for each of us.

Depending on the students, you will know what decisions you should make. If the student is worth the risk of bending the rules for in order to create a better morally responsible adult in the world, as Nike says, "Just do it." You will know when to make the right decisions if you yourself are moreally responsible.

What's the Background of Traditional Vs. Progressive Education?

In the previous post there was talks about the legacy and future of education. This brings up another similar point of traditional vs. progressive education. Dolgin defines these two forms of education as the following:

"Traditional: Educators who emphasize that the purpose of education is to teach the basics so as to increase student knowledge and intellectual powers

Progressive: Educators who emphasize that the purpose of education is to prepare pupils for life by teaching citizenship, home and family living, a vocation, physical health, gratifying use of leisure time, and effective personality growth."

Traditional is considered more as the basics of teaching. This means teaching the students how to add 2 and 2, where to put a comma in a sentence, how plants grow, and much more. Progressive education teaches students the value of life and how they should behave in real world contexts. Is that it to these forms of education? Surprisingly not. As every main topic in life, there is a hidden meaning. Look closely. Think of your times in high school. Any ideas? How about bullies? How about kids who are not comfortable with their sexuality? These are just examples of progressive education. Teachers need to know how to react in these situations. They should understand how to behave when a student is bullied or has issues with their sexuality. Let's look at the text titled "Hip Deep." Hip Deep is a text that has a collection of essays and opinions from adolescents dealing with everyday situations as they are going through middle and high school. One essay that really stuck out was titled "A Coach's World."A young boy was called a "faggot" in front of his peers by his coach, a teacher that should have stood up for it. If the boy in this essay had more support from his school administration and officials in regards to the PE coach degrading him, he could have changed his outlook on life in a much quicker way than waiting until after high school. Had the student continued along with his family attorney and taking action in the school, he could have identified who he was and been proud of himself from the start rather than trying to convince himself that he was not gay. In his story, it showed that the administration tended to focus more on the Traditional approach to education.

In Chapter 10 of Dolgin's text, Dolgin refers to Adolescent Culture and Society. “Adolescent Society refers to the organized network of relationships among adolescents. Adolescent Culture is the sum of the ways that adolescents behave...”(Dolgin, p.242) Adolescent culture clearly states that this is how adolescents should behave. This is how they should act. From an adult perspective, and possibly a parental view point, this states that all adolescents should be this, this, and that. They are all troublemakers. They are all confused. They keep things to themselves. This is why these students are quiet about who they truly are. They grow up in a society, whether its parents, friends, teachers, administrators, etc. that tells them this is how they should act and anything else is wrong. The young boy in “Forget the Corsage," from this "Hip Deep" text. Society tells him that being gay is wrong. He cannot open to the public, cannot open to his family, his friends, teachers, because society tells him he should be straight.

“The belief that one is competent to master a task,”(Dolgin, p. 337) is known as self efficacy. This is great in the sense that it gives students hope and leads them towards careers that they can be proud of. However, it also leads students to careers that they know they are good at. A student who is academically strong in math might have a career in finance but might truly enjoy acting, or singing, but his parents might not accept him for his choices. In “Will the Tortoise Win the Race,” his teachers towards the end tell him that he is smart and should believe in himself. He is good at writing and drawing. Unfortunately, at the start he was shot down by his foster mother and never supported with his drawing and writing but his later teachers believed in him to succeed.

In any of these cases, progressive education is the way to go. There is a saying, "out with the old and in with the new." Now that does not necessarily mean to get rid of the teachers of 10,15,20 plus years but it means to get rid of the old ways of thinking. The old ways of thinking will not support all topics in school. Progressive is the way to go.

Does the future represent the legacy?

Prensky’s article, “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants,” talks about those born into technology and those who learn technology. The generation of today, or “D-Gen” as Prensky states, are considered to be Digital Natives. Teachers who have been around for a while and were around when technology started to increase were considered Digital Immigrants. One thing that stood out in his article is what he called “Legacy vs. Future.” It reminded me of Dolgin and his argument of “Traditional vs. Progressive Education.” “Legacy content includes reading, writing, arithmetic, logical thinking, understanding the writings and ideas of the past, etc – all of our “traditional” curriculum. It is of course still important, but it is from a different era. Some of it (such as logical thinking) will continue to be important, but some (perhaps like Euclidean geometry) will become less so, as did Latin and Greek.” (Prensky, 4). This is more of the traditional approach. The basics. Taking it one step at a time. Prensky continues to describe the “Future” content as digital and technological. It is what “wakes up” our students of today. Move over the traditional approach of blackboards and textbooks, bring on the iPads and laptops. He further discusses that Digital Immigrants do not want to move forward and it wouldn’t make sense to have Digital Natives move backwards. Therefore, Prensky concludes with the statement that “...if Digital Immigrant educators really want to reach Digital Natives – i.e. all their students – they will have to change.”(Prensky, 6). The Digital Immigrants will succeed and will continue to succeed with the support of their administrators.

Although you are teachers of middle or high school, whereas I am an elementary school teacher, I feel that we still have the same ideas when it comes to teaching. Afterall, isn't the only different thing the topics we are learning? The use of technology is extremely important in classes whether you are 5 or 15. I remember teaching math, in my three years of experience, in a classroom that has a chalk board. My coordinator, a math teacher of 20+ years, had a smart board in her classroom. Did she use it? Unfortunately not. It was hanging on her wall as a piece of art would. The kids were bright enough to know what it is and constantly asked "why can't we use it?" What was their teacher's response? "You will learn better like this(pointing to the work she provided on the chalk board)." How could you deny children the use of technology? These kids, whether 5 or 15, are born into technology. It flows through their blood. As the terminology states, these kids are considered the D or N-Gen.

The future does represent the legacy. The legacy is in everyones system. The legacy represents the basics more than how you teach it. The future takes that legacy and incorporates it into their progressive forms of education. This is what we need to do as teachers. We need to constantly update our forms of teaching. How do we do this? By learning. Teach yourself, go to a seminar, a professional development workshop, any which way you can teach yourself take the opportunity. When you believe in teaching by the future, then your administration will have a reason to follow you.

Under The Bridge

One of the most popular songs of my generation has to be "Under The Bridge" performed by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Anthony Kiedis, the lead singer, wrote this song about his drug use and how he had a love for it. He quit drugs and felt that it was drifting him from his best friends who were still on drugs while writing songs. Drugs are something that many teenagers may or may not relate to. However, if you look at this song from a different perspective, you could see it as a song about a boy's love of a girl and how he is all alone while everyone else from his friends has a girlfriend. "Sometimes I feel Like I don't have a partner Sometimes I feel Like my only friend Is the city I live in The city of Angels Lonely as I am Together we cry I drive on her streets 'Cause she's my companion I walk through her hills 'Cause she knows who I am She sees my good deeds and She kisses me windy and I never worry Now that is a lie I don't ever wanna feel Like I did that day Take me to the place I love Take me all the way I don't ever want to feel Like I did that day Take me to the place I love Take me all that way (yeah yeah yeah)" (Lyrics here!) A young boy who feels all alone. He doesn't have anyone who loves him except his home. He cries at night thinking what could he do. He drives on her streets, walks around her neighborhood hoping to get noticed. She notices he is a good person but it worries him because she doesn't love him like he does. He doesn't want to feel that way anymore. He doesn't want her to not love him. It hurts him thinking about it. This is a typical story of a high school boy who may not be one of the more popular ones at his school. A boy needs to express his feelings and at that level the only way is to have a girlfriend. Not only will that fill the void in his life, but it would place him in a stage that society says he should be at. His friends all have girlfriends and he does not want to be left out. The third, or however many friends he has, wheel. What could we do as teachers? Listen! The best way to help a boy, or even a girl, at this stage is listen. Let the student explain to you what is going on. It will be obvious that the student is facing a problem because that student will be going through a lot of changes at that time, whether it is physically, mentally, emotionally, or socially.

The Story of Angus

The story of Angus might sound familiar to you. First of all, Angus is a movie. Like most movies, you can always find in some way how your life is related.

Angus is a teenager who is successful in science and at football. Since entering school in kindergarten, until his present day, Angus has constantly been picked on and the source of bullying by the school "jock," Rick. Angus is described as overweight, ugly, and socially awkward. He has one other friend who falls into the same essential category. As all teenagers, Angus has a crush. Not just any girl, this is the girl of his dreams, Melissa. Unfortunately for Angus, Melissa is going out with Rick and Angus has a fear of expressing his feelings due to that. Tired of the constant abuse and harassment's, Angus applies to a magnet school in where he hopes he can be free of the abuse and bullying and away from Rick forever. Rick finds out and rigs the Winter dance so that Angus can dance with Melissa but only to embarrass him. When Angus confronts Rick about his plan to embarrass him, the school principal informs Angus to not lay a hand on Rick or else he will be expelled.

Sad isn't it? I, like most of you could probably relate to some or all of this story. In High School, I was not looking forward to going to school every single day. I counted down the minutes for the bell to ring at 3:00 every single day of the week. I took advantage of my weekends and kept to myself. Upon graduating from high school, it took me about a year and half to open up in college and find out who I am as a person. Do I regret the decisions I made to not take any action in High School? No. Do I wish that I could go back in time to take action and see what my life could have become? No. For some people, like myself, it took me a while to figure out who I am as a person. I look back on the times in high school now and only hope that my enemies then have better lives now and changed for the better.

This blog will give real life examples, stories, and issues that teenagers can face throughout their middle and high school years that define them as who they are in the future.