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In order to be the best teacher that I possibly can, it is important to state my philosophies and

uphold those beliefs throughout my career. A great teacher wants every single one of her kids to

succeed. I point out the fact that yes, her students are her kids. Spending a year with a group of

students is a long time and sometimes, the teacher is the only adult that they have to turn to. The

relationship between a teacher and student is special. I want to be one of the adults in their lives

that guides them, comforts them, and challenges them. I believe that teaching can be one of the

most influential professions, and I intend on making an impact in the lives of all my kids.

Adolescent development is such a critical time. Adolescents are extremely unique in both

the mind and body. Physical development revolves around puberty and as we know, not everyone

goes through puberty at the same time. Some middle school students are young men growing

beards, but some may have never picked up a razor. We must support these children and their

bodys developmental speed. Cognitive development in a middle school student will mean that

their minds are everywhere. A lot of the time, they do not care about what they are learning.

Instead, they are thinking about their crush across the room. It is our focus as teachers to

minimize the distractions and help our students focus on their work so that we can educate them.

Although the formal curriculum is important, it is also important for our middle-school students

to get the chance to be social and interact with their peers at recess or maybe through group

work. It will relieve some steam and create a more focused environment when we are learning

important content. Through informal and hidden curriculum, it is critical to instill good morals

and values into the minds of these middle school students. They must be prepared for the

challenges they will face in the upcoming years and their entire lives. By being a good role

model and showing them how to be a good decision maker, we can help their moral development

to become a successful person.

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Middle school is like an emotional rollercoaster for their hormones. One day they can be in

love, the next day, heartbroken. Their brains and feelings are so fragile and we must note that

next to infancy, the adolescent years are very important to brain development. We are teachers

teaching content, but more importantly, we are teachers teaching these young adolescents how to

be people and how to be good citizens. Students have so many different maturity levels. We

need to take into consideration these key characteristics that play a major role in the middle

school environment and focus on the needs of the students and how they will be able to deal with

the situations.

Dealing with situations and experiences in an individualize manner goes along with the

vision for the new school in the middle through the learner centered environment. By continuing

the learning of adolescents, teachers can transform their thinking in a personalized way by

relating to the students with real world examples and preferred learning types. Because a middle

school is a school where being cared for is key, the health and physical education is incorporated

to the curriculum so that students can understand the changes occurring in their body types. This

environment should promote safety and security. All teachers in the school promote this type of

wellness and all members of the community should be reinforcing these behaviors.

Middle school characteristics are crucial during the adolescent age because they provide a

healthy, safe environment for young adults going through the period of transescence. It is very

beneficial to the students and to the teachers that the subject organization is in teams and the

collaboration between students and teachers is in high volume! Collaboration is key and is

mimicking the real world will only help these individuals. Collaboration promotes working

together and helps find the best learning strategies and approaches to information. Not only are

the main content areas important, but the exploratory content allows students to find who they
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are and what they are passionate about and interested in. These electives will eventually shape

the careers and people that they want to become. Also, with flexible schedules, the teachers can

work together to allot time for certain activities that may take a bit longer than a normal class

period. Because of these scheduling perks, the advising in the middle school has more time to

guide students on a more personal level and help them not only through school, but also through

life situations.

Developmentally responsive means using the distinctive nature of young adolescents as the

basis upon which all decisions about school organization, policies, curriculum, instruction, and

assessment are made. I want to be a developmentally responsive teacher who challenges her

kids. I want to get their brains going so that they do not get bored. I will acknowledge success in

my classroom which will cause them to continue wanting to learn and empower them with

knowledge and skills in the real world. All of these categories under developmentally responsive

relate to the well being of the students and their needs.

I believe that my role as a middle school teacher is one of the most important influences on a

middle school students life. Advocating for middle level philosophy is extremely important

because a nurturing and caring environment during these critical years is important and may

cause students to either stop or continue their educational path. The organization of the school

will help these students understand which classes they like best, how to use metacognition to

understand how they learn, and hopefully how they can succeed in their education and lives.

I play a very important role in advocating for young adolescents. A lot of times adolescent

students are shy and nervous to advocate for themselves, but if I am a teacher who is passionate

about the best interest in her students, I will continuously back them up and stand up for them.
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No matter their background, I will be a support system for my students. I know in todays

world, there is not a set family structure. Instead of assuming that all children have one mom and

one dad, happily married, we should just focus on the concept of family and celebrate the variety

and uniqueness. It is ok if a student has two moms or divorced parents, and we should embrace

our diversity.

During the middle school years, a students family and community need to provide endless

support. By having a strong community behind them, they will able to see success happening

around them and hopefully it will motivate them to want to be successful. The level of

community and parent involvement should be extremely high in order to make sure that their

children are attending school, doing well in their classes, and behaving properly. The community

must hold the teachers accountable for making sure that they are teaching their children in a way

that is working for that specific child and helping them become a better learner, student, and

well-rounded individual.

In order for the information taught by the teachers in a middle school to be appropriate and

useful, the teachers must pay attention to different learning styles. I need to understand that some

students are visual learners while others could be kinesthetic, auditory, or visual learners. By

using different techniques, hands on examples with relation to the real world, the students will

feel that their information is actually useful and they will want to continue with their education.

When I came into the program, I have to admit that I was unaware of all of the different

changes that adolescent students go through. I know that I was an adolescent student years ago,

but there is so much more to learn about their development because each student is unique and

experiencing their own unique changes. Now, learning of all of the obstacles they must endure,

it is obvious to understand that middle schools need to fill their schools with the most nurturing,
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supportive, and understanding individuals in order to provide that constant support to such a

fragile age group.

In my first three years as a teacher, I hope to land a job in a district that is innovative,

creative, and collaborative. I want teachers to lean on and teachers to lean on me so that we can

help and support each other in the continuously changing education world. In both my short and

long-term goals, I want my students to remember me as a teacher that pushed them and helped

them love learning or helped them find what they want to do in the world. In addition to my

long-term goals, I hope that I grow as a teacher and as a learner and understand more about the

adolescent development and how they will prosper in my classroom and on their educational

career.

It is important to make sure that the school that I teach in be socially equitable, democratic,

and fair. I will do everything in my power to be a high-quality teacher, provide necessary

resources, learning opportunities, and support. I want to keep positive options open for all

students. I want to be able to give every student equal opportunity to learn in my classrooms

whether they are English learners, students with disabilities, or gifted and honors students. In

order to keep up with the changing educational world, I plan to continually adapt the curriculum,

instruction, assessment, and scheduling to meet their students' diverse and changing needs. One

important factor is that the school community knows every student well. I do not want to be the

teacher that just barely knows that names of their students, I want to be the teacher who

remembers that students name twenty years down the road.