Category: Middle School

Introduction to My Unique Educational Journey

My name is Rose Wang. I was born on January the 28th in Beijing, China. I am a Chinese girl who never received the “normal” type of education in China. Growing up, I never attended a traditional Chinese school, took the Chinese elementary school and middle school entrance exams, or wore those baggy traditional Chinese school uniforms. From the first grade to the third grade, I attended Morning Stars International School. From the fourth grade to the sixth grade, I attended a homeschool called A+ Learning Center. For middle school, I went to another homeschool called Rising Eagles Middle School. My community in Beijing is very small, peaceful, cohesive, and supportive, and the schools I attended were very similar to it. Almost everybody knew each other, and they would greet each other when they met. Growing up, my parents have always had this positive attitude towards my education, and they were very confident in my academic success when they placed me in the homeschools. Most of my teachers were very encouraging and patient with me, and most of my classmates were friendly and fun to spend time with. Most of the elementary and middle schools that I attended had only ten to twenty students, therefore, I could always get the help that I needed, become close friends with my peers, and feel protected and taken care of. We took classes based on our grade levels, and we followed American private school curriculums, such as Saxon Math and Shurley English.

Transition to American High School: A New Cultural and Educational Environment

When I was fourteen years old, I came to the United States for high school. Back when I was in Dallas, Texas, for high school, I lived in a friendly, conservative, and Christian community where 90% of the population was white. My high school, Prestonwood Christian Academy, was also very conservative, Christian, white, and friendly. Most students who went to my elementary schools and middle school were Chinese, Christian, diligent, and heterosexual. Most of them were girls who came from middle-class families. Most students who went to my high school were Christian, mostly hardworking, and heterosexual as well. 50% of the students were boys and the other 50% of the students were girls, and most of them were from middle-class families. The main difference would be there were more white students than Chinese students in my high school. Based on my observations, most of the classes that were related to science, technology, and math were taught by male teachers. On the other hand, most of the literature, art, and music classes were taught by female teachers. 98% of the school administrators in my elementary schools and middle school were Chinese, Christian, heterosexual, and middle-class women. 95% of the school administrators in my high school were white, heterosexual, and middle-class women, while the remaining 5% were white, heterosexual, and middle-class men.

Influential Educators: Mrs. Tian and Ms. XiaoMing

Growing up, I have had a lot of positive teacher role models and a few negative teacher role models in elementary and secondary schools. I was lucky enough to meet more good ones than bad ones. When I was in elementary school and middle school, my life was completely changed by two incredible ladies—Mrs. Tian and Ms. XiaoMing. Mrs. Tian was the principal of A+ Learning Center and she was a brilliant and unique educator. Instead of making us take the XiaoShengChu (the Chinese elementary school entrance exam), she made us attend the Model United Nations and solve world issues. Instead of letting us sit in the classroom all day long, she took us into the mountains and groves to study nature. When children at other schools were taking ZhongKao (the middle school entrance exam) prep classes, we traveled with her to Guizhou, Thailand and the United States to learn about the world and build lifelong friendships. Instead of coercing her students to write tedious long essays about their lives, she taught us to keep a journal. We were not trained to be test takers but world changers. Every time I saw her, she encouraged me to be the best me possible.

During my middle school years, I was fortunate to meet Ms. XiaoMing, my Chinese literature teacher. Not only was she a wonderful teacher, she was also someone I could look up to as a role model. In the classroom, she always tried to make learning Chinese fun for us. Every week, she would let us write about our weekends and we were allowed to write about anything. It was always the highlight of my week because I was an introverted student who never had the courage to verbally share my life events with anyone, not even with my own parents sometimes. Writing things down was my only way to express my emotions, feelings, and thoughts about everything. On Fridays, Ms. XiaoMing would pick some of the most interesting journals from my class and read them out loud. It gave me something to look forward to every single week because I always wanted her to read mine to the entire class. Gladly, she did. Some of my writings made her laugh and some of them made her cry. Through seeing all of the emotions she exhibited, I felt how much she appreciated my life and me as an individual, and it meant the world to me. She could see the light in me, and she encouraged me to show off my uniqueness to the people around me. Gradually, I gained the courage to write more and more. At the end of my middle school career, not only did I become a better writer, I was even able to talk to people about my life and my feelings.

Ms. XiaoMing was also a devoted Christian lady and she would often share her testimony with us. I still remember a powerful story she told about how her brother converted to Christianity. Her brother suffered from Stage IV cancer and lost the ability to function properly. Ms. XiaoMing took care of him the entire time he was in the hospital. When he was on the verge of death, Ms. XiaoMing asked him if he was willing to give up his life to Jesus Christ, he nodded and took his last breath. The story impacted my spiritual life so much that I still remember it up till this day. It constantly reminds me to care for the unbelievers in my life and hold on to Christianity, no matter how difficult life gets. After I entered high school, I realized how lucky I was to able to grow up under the influence of wonderful teachers like Mrs. Tian and Ms. XiaoMing.

A Painful Lesson: Experiencing Racism and Disrespect in High School

One incident that happened during my junior year turned my world upside down. Apologetics was one of the courses that I was required to take in order to graduate from Prestonwood Christian Academy, and Mr. Lee was the instructor of the course. I went to Apologetics one day and sat down at the spot where I would usually sit. Mr. Lee looked at me and said, “Rose, I have heard from some of your classmates that you raise your hand very oddly.” I was confused because I raised my hand just like any other normal student would raise his or her hand. Then, all of the sudden, totally out of my expectation, Mr. Lee pointed his middle finger at me and asked, “is this bad in your culture?” in a mocking way. I froze and was lost for words. Immediately after, he asked another question, “is pointing your pinky finger at someone bad in your culture?” I said yes and then he pointed his ring finger at me and said, “oh! Just so you know…the ring finger is also called ‘the dove,’ and it just cancelled out the middle finger that I pointed at you.” Before I could respond to what he just did to me, everyone around me started to laugh. Not a single person said it was wrong. Not a single person stood up for me. I was humiliated by my teacher and the twenty peers sitting with me in the classroom. Not only did Mr. Lee disrespect me as an individual, he also disrespected my culture. I was upset and absolutely devastated, but I could not do or say anything at that moment, because it felt like twenty-one against one. The amount of racism and disrespect that I received completely shattered my confidence, and I do not think I will ever be able to forget what happened to me on that day.

Embracing the Role of Educator: From Neighborhood Classes to Teaching Abroad

However, this incident has made me realize the importance of being a positive teacher role model. Now, let us rewind back to my middle school years. When I was fourteen, I decided to make a change. I invited many children in my neighborhood to come to my house and get a taste of the “experiential education.” I aspired to change my students’ lives just like Mrs. Tian and Ms. XiaoMing changed mine, by instilling this passion for learning in me. Even though, later on in high school, I won several academic awards, they did not really matter to me as a learner because of this passion. I played the guitar for them, read picture books to them, sang English songs for them, made them draw out the meanings of the English vocabulary words, taught them how to make English picture books, took them on nature walks, and encouraged them to ask questions and do their best. By the winter of 2017, I had already taught more than thirty classes, and every single one of them had a different topic. Many parents told me that their children had changed tremendously. They had been transformed into “learning maniacs” from “learning abominators,” and they had become so much braver when it came to asking questions. They also told me their children would run to my house every time we had class, and they could not keep up with them! My students and my students’ parents encouraged me to keep teaching.

When I was in high school, I got the opportunity to teach at an orphanage in Mexico on a Minimester school trip. A Minimester was a week-long spring break experience that my school would offer every single year. Students from every grade level was given the chance to be a part of it. During my trip to Mexico, I got to meet and serve some of the strongest, sweetest, and godliest children. Life was so cruel to them, but they had so much power and joy in their hearts. During my senior year, I started tutoring and giving Chinese lessons in the United States. I taught three American elementary schoolers Chinese calligraphy, Chinese culture, and Chinese conversations. However, my early experiences in China are at the heart of my desire to teach today.

Conclusion: My Aspirations and Goals as a Future Educator

My early experiences have influenced me to consider becoming a teacher. I am choosing teaching as a career because my life was changed for the better by the great teachers that I have had. Also, I have been effectively teaching for the past four years. Therefore, I hope to change more children’s lives through education. I have learned that a good teacher inspires and builds you up, while a bad teacher destroys you and brings you down. As a teacher, my top priorities are to inspire my students to give their personal best every day, enhance multiculturalism in the classroom, and integrate experiential education in the classroom. My three goals as a teacher are to help my students find their passions, nurture my students’ love of learning, and reflect on and improve my teaching. All in all, education and teaching have made a huge impact on my life. I am forever thankful for my elementary schools, middle school, high school, parents, and all of the wonderful teachers who have inspired me and helped me grow. I will strive to become an outstanding teacher, and I look forward to sharing my passion of learning with my future students!

What can you generally do after school?

Would you prefer watching television or scrolling social media daily or would you want to chill with your friends, play games along with learning something brand new online? Have you ever thought about how could you utilize your day-to-day time interestingly when faculty receives over? This post will provide you with a number of the most useful tasks that middle schoolers and adolescent kids can pursue after school. But should you have pleasure after school?

Why Are After-School Activities Crucial?

After-school activities or extracurricular activities are a buzz these days. In actuality, studies reveal that almost 6 out of 10 kids from ages 6 to 17 take role in at least one after-school activity. If chosen properly, these activities can be immensely good for the children. They allow them to research various new interests and passions. They let them have a profitable break from the hectic schedule of school filled of duties. Responsibilities and permit them to reestablish themselves.Some after-school program tasks teach essential yet important life skills to middle and higher school students’ life setting goals, teamwork, leadership, cognitive thinking abilities, and time direction. Therefore let’s not make you wait and introduce some fun and amazing after-school tasks that you may pursue.

Afterschool Fitness Programs

Even though schools now pay attention to the health of the students and give them opportunities to indulge in activities like basketball, biking, biking, gymnastics, and rushing. But, you will find lots of other afterschool physical activity programs in which the children can engage and enjoy. These include walking, cycling, aerobics, dancing, and other outside games. It’s been seen that students who elect for later school tasks get better grades also it even helps overcome procrastination since they feel more involved and correlated with their own peers and school.

Afterschool Science Club Activities

Do you like science and technical classes in your school? If yes, you then have to think about joining after-school mathematics activities. Many after-school clubs for 11-year-olds contain science clubs at which kids experiment and learn different phenomena of science fiction. This may improve your interest in the specialty and sharpen your mind. See whether your school runs an after-school science center and combine you soon. If you are more focused; find an online science coach who will be able to enable you to explore topics from the means past the range of your own textbooks. We vouch for web tutoring over traditional techniques of learning.

Afterschool Music Activities

Were you aware Elias Phoenix who played the piano at Carnegie Hall when he was just 7 yrs of age? It can help them relax after a busy day. In actuality, learning music is exactly like learning a second language. It helps in the growth of the brain. Music also aids in building your focus and concentration abilities.After School Cooking ProgramDo you know cooking will allow you to enhance your mathematics abilities? Additionally, it may give you an excellent understanding of diet and nourishment too! It can be a fun afterschool activity for 5th graders and let them learn to follow instructions and enhance their listening abilities. Therefore combine a cooking club, bake some biscuits, make smoothies, and pasta along with some wonderful dishes and enjoy your after schooltime.

After School Entrepreneurship Activities

You may be thinking about just how can a middle school or higher school student become an entrepreneur. Well, it can be fun and fundraising too! If you’re fascinated with the thought of working and earning money you may ask your parents and friends to support you in a few entrepreneurial exercises. It may be as simple as making jewelry out of waste materials, selling popcorn, producing artwork will temperament or anything which you like.

Afterschool Craft Activities

For people who like being creative, then after-school art activities are the best option and they’re simple to pursue. From origami to acrylic painting, there’s so much to know. All these tasks not just keep children participating after school but also enhances their self-esteem. Kids develop their communication skills if they talk about their art. It’s also a wonderful way for parents to sit as well as the kiddies and spend time together with them enhancing their bonding. After School Chess ClubChess is usually referred to as the game of genius. Hence, it might be an incredible solution to utilize your time after school and one of the best afterschool enrichment activities for middle school students. This game makes it possible to sharpen your brain, enhance your memory and enhance attention, strategic thinking, and cognitive abilities.

Afterschool Homework Assistance Programs

Homework is an essential part of one’s after schooltime and students must listen to it evenly. After-school assignments programs might help middle school and higher school students complete their assignments on time that they may then indulge in some other activities too and never just keep analyzing all day. In homework programs, students receive guidance on the best way best to finish their homework assignments and projects especially for tough courses like Math, Science, and English. It is possible to locate an online r Expert if r happens to give you chills every time you think about it!

After School STEM Club

One of the popular day-by-day tasks for middle schoolers and high schoolers now is STEM Club. It includes activities associated with physics, chemistry, technology, coding, structure, and biology. After faculty STEM activities are not just relevant for them but also help in enhancing their skills like cooperation, investigation, measurement, monitoring, and communication. Make sure that you research the costs entailed, tutoring speeds for STEM training, and actions that can change across Australia. Kids are introduced to storybooks from elementary age and so does reading enters their own life. Reading is regarded as the best way to boost your concentration. It is an excellent exercise for the mind and most importantly, it imparts knowledge. It enhances your writing skills and language. This makes you feel profound and analyze far better. And if you’d like to do likewise out of the convenience of your home, then you have the possibility to study grammar and writing rules online using an expert English tutor.

After School Language Classes

Being bilingual at this age is beneficial. Learning a foreign language makes it possible to increase endurance for many others, enhances career and opens up doors to philosophy, music, art, and culture. It may be helpful if you would like to study at a foreign country. Even the most popular foreign languages are Mandarin, Arabic, Spanish, German and French. But if your plan is to make the very greatest use of your time after school to ace your next English test then there are definitely free Language learning platforms in your disposal to explore.

As 7th grade comes to an end, I reflect on the 20212022 school year and the changes I have experienced.

Academically, I have been pronouncing words better. At first, I was having trouble pronouncing a bunch of words. I even had to use a translator. In math, I have been understanding circumferences more. It was confusing at first but with practice, I can finally understand it. I am also understanding how to use PEMDAS and the order of operations. Something that has changed is my writing. My writing was messy and small at the beginning of the school year. There was barely any space between words at first and now my writing is bigger and has more space in between.

Emotionally, I have been feeling happier and less stressed now since this school year is coming to an end. I used to get stressed because of all the work I got until I realized it is useful for the future. I get stressed easily so I take naps every day, but since we have homework, I have to work on it before I sleep which is why I take late naps. With my friends, I feel more happy and safe since they are always there for me.

Socially, I have been more confident talking to people and making friends. I even became less scared of presenting in front of others. I have been interacting with other people more easily and didn’t hesitate to speak to them. I can also stay calm with others, listen to others, and take turns while talking.

What I will remember the most from 7th grade is the freedom wall since people express what they are passionate about. I will also remember when more than half of the class had to go home. Another thing I will never forget is CNN10. We have been watching it every day. There are a lot of things going on in this world.

Lastly, what I would tell my future 8th-grade self is to work harder because I am going to need it in the future. Some advice I would give to my 8th-grade self is to stay focused, pay extra attention, keep everything organized, and not get distracted because I will need it for high school. Trying to not get distracted is important because you won’t be able to pay attention when you are distracted.

Thank you for listening to my presentation.

The Target School Profile

Putnam County Middle School is a public school in Eatonton, Georgia. Eatonton is a city and holds a seat in Putnam County. As of 2016, the population of Eatonton is 6,555; of this population 48 percent is female and 52 percent is male. Race demographics include 63 percent black or African American, 30 percent white or Caucasian American, and 7 percent other (Native American, Pacific Islander, two or more races). Nineteen percent of the people in this city does not have a high school diploma. Eighty-one percent has some form of college or an associate’s degree. Nine percent has a bachelors or higher. The city was named after an officer and diplomat in the First Barbary War, William Eaton. Eatonton is known as the dairy capital of the world. Popular attractions include Lake Oconee and Rock Eagle. The average household income in Eatonton is $28,949.

Putnam County Middle School is located on Sparta Highway in Eatonton, Georgia. It is a middle school servicing middle grades (6-8). With 731 students enrolled, the student to teacher ratio is 16:1. Putnam County Middle School is the only public middle school in the counties school district. Putnam Middle has over 70 faculty and staff members, including Monica Macklin, one of the Assistant Principals. Mrs. Macklin started at Putnam County Middle school in 2017 as a math teacher where she quickly moved into a leader role as an assistant principal.

Putnam County is a title one school; meaning they do receive federal assistance because of the high percentage of students that come from low income households. At Putnam Middle, they do take the Georgia Milestones assessment. In which, Mrs. Monica Macklin stated “We are trying to move away from it”. They are currently trying to find an assessment that compares to the Georgia Milestones, in which they hope that this will be their last year (2019-2020) taking the Georgia Milestones assessment. She also stated that they have not received the data from the previous school term, therefore, she could not provide me with this information. Mrs. Macklin informed me of the requirements students must meet in order to be promoted to the next grade level. Student must pass all four content area subjects; English language arts, math, science and social studies to promoted to the next grade. They must also perform at 80 percent or higher on content areas measured by common assessments. Additionally, they must earn a grade of 80 percent or higher in connection classes, and meet annual Lexile and math proficiency scores. Eighth graders must earn a proficient score on the state English language arts and math assessments to be promoted to the ninth grade. The district CCRPI score is a 75.4, with Putnam County Middle School earning, 16.826 proportional points, the lowest of the schools in the district. The school received 29 achievement points, 30.9 progress points, 6.7 achievement gap points, 3.3 challenge points in the area of ED/EL/SWD performance points. They received 2 stars for financial efficiency rating and the school climate rating was unavailable. Putnam County Middle School’s score is a 77.4.

At Putnam County Middle, Mrs. Macklin stated they believe in what they call the “Putnam Way”. Meaning the traditional Georgia way, with the best interest of the students! Their mission is to “Inspire, Innovate, and Excel”. The behavior management plan at Putnam Middle has some qualities of PBIS, but not in its entirety. Behavior is managed by teachers and administrators depending on the offence and reoccurring occurrence. Minor infractions such as; class room disruptions, repeatedly off task behaviors, dishonesty, horseplay, dress code, not following directions, excessive noise, etc. are handled by the teacher. When students exhibit these behaviors teachers follow with one or more of the following consequences; silent lunch, detention, loss of free time privileges, seat moved, parent contact, etc. at the teacher’s discretion. Major infractions such as; disrespect, defiance, inappropriate language, leaving assigned areas without permission, verbal aggression, etc. are handled by administrators. When students exhibit these behaviors; the following consequences are to follow; ISS (in school suspension), OSS (Out of school suspension), alterative school, detention, at the administrator’s discretion. Of course these consequences depend on; occurrences and many other factors.

I also asked Mrs. Macklin about positive reinforcement used to encourage and promote good behavior with students. She stated that they use the acronym S.O.A.R which means Self Control, On Task, Acceptance, and Respect. Overall, teachers use their own discretion when rewarding students, however, the school does use a few mechanisms, school wide, to promote good behavior. Putnam Middle also does student of the month; each teacher nominates a student that exhibits classroom leadership. Another incentive that is used is school wide celebrations every 9 weeks. Students are allowed to purchase treats from concessions, bouncy houses with field day activities. To attend this incentive, students must be passing all classes, connections and content areas, and they must not have any referrals, no minor or major referrals. Lastly, students are also able to earn “PCMS Positive Behavioral Referrals”, in which teachers are allowed to complete a form that asks the teacher to explain the student’s positive behavior that they have exhibited. The teacher then submits it into a box for the entire grade level. Once a week, administration pulls referrals from each grade level box and reads it on the intercom system. Mrs. Macklin expressed how this incentive really works with the students and they really like hearing their name and their SOARing behaviors acknowledged so that the entire school can hear them.

When I spoke with Mrs. Macklin in regards to the problem areas in the school, she stressed “disrespect”. She did express that she felt that every teacher’s definition of disrespect is different. She also gave me an example of what she would consider “disrespectful”. And how disrespect and manifest into defiance. “When a teacher asks a student to do something within reason such as; change their seat. The student should do it with no response. When the student begins to ask why they have to move, refuses to move, or justifies their actions, that is defiance.” Macklin expressed how there is a zero tolerance for defiance. When Mrs. Macklin was asked about areas of improvement, she stated that Putnam County Middle School needed improvement in the area of school climate and culture. She also stated that she believed that this needed to start with administration. She also assured me that the administration team was well on their way to creating a culture and climate for all to follow; faculty, staff, parents, students and the community.

PBIS leadership team

The PBIS leadership team is a group of dedicated faculty and staff who are devoted to the widespread PBIS program in a specific target school. This group must be vigorously contributing to the ongoing progress and success of its students and school. The PBIS leadership team needs to have a representative of the student population and the staff population and the community. The student population could be a representative from the student government and the community representative can be a member from the schools PTO.

The staff needs to have a representative from administration, general education teachers, special education teachers, counselors and paraprofessionals. This team will be responsible for creating the PBIS action plan for the school, observing behavior statistics, planning and executing consistent meetings on a monthly basis, communicating with staff, gauging progress and recording results. The leader, or the chairperson of the PBIS team should be someone who is familiar with PBIS, its origin and its purpose. This person should also believe in PBIS and what it can do. The following roles can also be fulfilled by faculty and staff; a recorder, time keeper, data specialist, behavioral specialist, secretary, and treasurer. These meetings would take place in a disclosed location.

PBIS Matrix

I designed this matrix based on the matrix Putnam County Middle School already has and enhanced it based on the information Mrs. Monica Macklin provided to me in our interview session. Mrs. Macklin spoke about how the matrix is simple and it works because it is simple. I added to it to address the disrespect, in which, she stated was the number one area for office referrals at Putnam County Middle School. In the matrix I did not directly address disrespect, but countered it with respect. Instead of telling the students what is not expected of them, I created the matrix to tell them what is expected of them. I spoke about disrespect in the hallway, classroom, cafeteria, assembly and emergency/drills.

Hallways

Classroom

Restroom

Cafeteria

Assembly/Emergency /Drills

Self-Control

Stay with your class.

Keep moving to your destination

Be on time.

Avoid being rude and disruptive

Be patient with myself and others

Work cooperatively

Develop an “I can” attitude

Be organized and focused

Be an active and engaged learner

Learn from my mistakes

Report problem

Encourage good behavior

Keep area clean

Discard food or drink prior to enter auditorium

Enter and exit quietly and orderly

Avoid prohibited activities

Take care of the facilities

On- Task

Walk on the right side of the hallway.

Get all materials in/out of locker quickly.

Have a pass from your teacher.

Take advantage of all academic opportunities

Put forth my best effort

Get in, get out

Wash hands

Keep it clean

Enter and exit quietly and orderly

Wait turn in line

Remain seated

Enter and exit quietly and orderly

Stay in designated area

Pay attention

Acceptance

Honor other students’ learning.

Respect others’ space.

Use appropriate language.

Be on time and prepared

Complete and turn in all assignments

Make responsible decisions

Accept appropriate consequences

Avoid prohibited activities

Take care of the facilities

Use good manners

Keep cafeteria clean

Be aware of emergency procedures

Respond safely and seriously in a drill

Respect

Be respectful.

Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself.

Keep hallways clean and clear.

Stay to the right and keep moving

Use proper volume level

Remain in dress code

Be courteous to guests

Respect myself

Follow adult directions

Use business language

Use proper volume level

Keep hands, feet and objects to myself

Respect individual privacy

Be courteous

Keep hands, feet and objects to myself

Follow adult directions

Use business language

Use proper volume level

Keep hands, feet and objects to myself

Follow adult directions

Speak only when permitted

Use business language

Use proper volume level

Report problems

Encourage good behavior

Putnam County Middle School Roll-Out Schedule

The type of behavioral interventions that would be for Tier I would be; positive reinforcement, stress control, proximity control, reassurance, daily planner, frequent home contact. The consequences for level 1 violations would include, but not limited to; reflection sheet, minor office referrals, take away privileges, removal from room, etc. The type of behavioral interventions that would be for Tier II would be; self-monitoring, peer tutoring, reward system, RTIs (Response to Intervention), mentoring, etc. The consequences for level 2 violations would include, but not limited to; check in, check out, structured breaks, counselor referral, daily behavior form, behavior contract, etc. The type of behavioral interventions that would be for Tier III would be; RTIs (Response to Intervention), reward system, sensory tools, the praise game, time out, teach conflict resolution skills, etc. The consequences for level 3 violations would include, but not limited to; alternatives to suspension, daily behavior form, counselor referral, check in check out, behavior intervention plan, etc.

Having students “buy-in” works from the top down; in order to have a successful PBIS program. Administration has to be fully invested into the program in order to get the faculty, staff, parents, students and community invested. If administration isn’t going to implement it, why would the staff, faculty, parents, students, and community make the effort?

A way to get staff, faculty, parents, students, and community to buy-in to PBIS would be is to create a daily point system. Set a daily goal for faculty and staff for teachers to see how many points they are expected to award each day. This will allow teachers to keep PBIS on their brain throughout the day. The more aware they are of the daily points and goals, the more they will award points. This helps students become more accustomed to awarding points, allowing the program to become more effective. Another way to get the community involved is to invite local politicians to school events invite politicians to school events. Have student PBIS team leaders give the community leaders and representatives a tour around the school showing and explaining the behavioral expectations, the matrix of behavioral techniques, the program, and discuss how each behavior was taught to the entire school. Have the students talk about what PBIS means to them?

Implementation Schedule

July15-21 (Leadership Team)

• Set expectations for students (2 hours)
• This should involve the administration, faculty, staff, cafeteria staff, janitorial staff, teachers, counselors.
• Create a list of desired behaviors (1 hour)
• Create a PBIS Matrix (2 hours)

July 23-27 (Leadership Team/ Teachers)

• Develop lesson plans for faculty and staff for teachers and staff workshops to implement PBIS. (2 days)
• These lessons should be taught to teachers, faculty and staff to help them successfully implement PBIS in their classrooms.
• PBIS leadership team lead workshops (for faculty and staff) (3 days)

July 30 – August 1(Leadership Team)

• Come up with a data entry system (4 hours)
• What system will be used to enter data
• Who will enter data
• Create award/recognition program: Leadership team should use rapport with students in order to determine the rewards that could be offered to students. If the students like the rewards, they now they want to participate in the program because they want to earn rewards and participate in programs. (1 day)
• Decide on a discipline process for the entire school: Putnam County Middle School already has a discipline rigor scale score. Mrs. Macklin provided with me with this grid and told me that I was not able to share it with anyone. The PBIS team could start with this grid. (1 day)
• Plan out implementation- It has already been established that this year is a planning year, and the PBIS program will not be fully implemented until next school year. This time will allow the team to fully plan out the implementation and make all visuals needed for the school and faculty and staff. (4 hours)

August 2 – 3

• Introduce the PBIS program to students (1 day)
• Assembly to kick off full implementation of program
• Go over Matrix, expectations, rewards and consequences with students
• Dedicate specific time in the day where teachers teach PBIS lessons to students (mandatory) (2 hours)

October 1

• Begin providing incentives for positive behavior

May 1

• Evaluate the program to determine success progress and PBIS going back to the drawing board.

Throughout the Year and Summer

• Continuously develop faculty commitment, buy-in, and participation

Monitoring

Putnam County Middle will use SWIS software to collect, summarize, and analyze student behaviors. This program will allow the leadership team to not only collect data, but make decisions to cater to the student success at Putnam County Middle. The PBIS team leader and data specialist will analyze data and report back to the team for decision making for the PBIS program. Data should be tracked; daily, monthly, every 9 weeks (quarterly), ever semester, and yearly to improve data results and supports. In SWIS, data can be organized by the type of referral, the incident, location, etc. SWIS will allow the PBIS team to adjust the areas, locations, staff, and behaviors that need work, support and/or improvement. At Putnam County Middle School, teachers are also offered incentives for exhibiting great behaviors such as; jean passes and Amazon gift cards. The data for students will also be tracked using the “Big 7”, SWIS reports focus on these 7 aspects of discipline referrals. it is vital that we know the who, what, when, where and how aspect of each referral to minimize the occurrences of incidents. Knowing the number of referrals per day each month, can tell the PBIS team the average incidents that occur each day. Which days do a specific behavior occur the most. Once the PBIS team figures that much out, then they can set plans, goals, initiatives in place to stop or prevent the behaviors. The location of where students are exuding this behavior, can tell us where their needs to be more support or supervision of students. The type of behaviors that are more frequent among a specific population of students or location. This focus area can tell us the overall problem area(s) of the school or grade level. Referrals by grade level can tell us what needs to be worked on in a specific grade level.

Annual Assessment of Program Implementation

Putnam County Middle School does not use any form of PBIS assessment for their schools. The PBIS team should implement the Tiered Fidelity Inventory (TFI). This assessment will be a great way for the PBIS team to self-assess its program. This assessment is an either it is or it isn’t present type of assessment. TFI should be given at the end of the academic school year. I think that it can also be given at any time of the year to self-assess the program and what needs to be done. Not all changes have to take place at the end of the school year. I think that this is the best mechanism that is provided for startup PBIS programs. It entails what a PBIS design program should have. The data collected from the assessment should be used to fix the areas that need improvement for the following school year.

References

1. Pbisworld.com. (2019). PBISWorld.com Tier 3 Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports. [online] Available at: https://www.pbisworld.com/tier-3/ [Accessed 16 Aug. 2019].
2. Pbis.org. (2019). Implementation Blueprint. [online] Available at: https://www.pbis.org/blueprint/implementation-blueprint [Accessed 16 Aug. 2019].
3. Gadoe.org. (2019). Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. [online] Available at: https://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Special-Education-Services/Pages/Positive-Behavioral-Interventions-and-Support.aspx [Accessed 17 Aug. 2019].

Since I was young my life has been a bit of a mess with no order at all, but there was one that I knew was clear, and this was that my family was the one thing I could always go back to. The mess that was my life was a result of many factors. Some of them were problems for my parents that later affected me and also problems within our family. Since my parents were still new in this country they needed to get jobs that would allow them to support themselves and also this meant that they had to be away for long amounts of time. This resulted in me having to take preschool twice. Since they were busy and I could not go with them I needed a place to stay so preschool was a simple solution that allowed them to work while not having to worry if I was ok or not. When I started elementarily I had to move with frequency because they moved around a lot for their jobs and in addition, we also moved homes frequently so I had to switch schools in order to make their lives a little easier. However, entering middle school they began to settle down which let me stay in a middle school all four years. My middle school years were also the years where I began to see conflicts that I had been oblivious to previously. I began to see how they would fight with frequency over many things and I also began to notice how my dad had a tendency to drink away his worries. I noticed this and it was hard to not see it because these times were the times when he would be the most aggressive or when he would be the least approachable. When this happened I had an overwhelming sense of uselessness and would do anything possible to avoid him. However, I had to depend on him to take me

Since I was young my life has been a bit of a mess with no order at all, but there was one that I knew was clear, and this was that my family was the one thing I could always go back to. The mess that was my life was a result of many factors. Some of them being problems for my parents that later affected me and also problems within our family. Since my parents were still new in this country they needed to get jobs that would allow them to support themselves and also this meant that they had to be away for long amounts of time. This resulted in me having to take preschool twice. Since they were busy and I could not go with them I needed a place to stay so preschool was a simple solution that allowed them to work while not having to worry if I was ok or not. When I started elementarily I had to move with frequency because they moved around a lot for their jobs and in addition, we also moved homes frequently so I had to switch schools in order to make their lives a little easier. However, entering middle school they began to settle down which let me stay in a middle school all four years. My middle school years were also the years where I began to see conflicts that I had been oblivious to previously. I began to see how they would fight with frequency over many things and I also began to notice how my dad had a tendency to drink away his worries. I noticed this and it was hard to not see it because during these times were the times when he would be the most aggressive or when he would be the least approachable. When this happened I had an overwhelming sense of uselessness and would do anything possible to avoid him. However, I had to depend on him to take me to school everyday so could never avoid him and this was a major problem for me because I didn’t want to be fully dependent on him. Later on when I was in the 8th or 9th grade I began to talk back to my father and began to argue with him frequently. I had finally gained the courage to talk back and talk against what he was doing, however this just led to a rise in arguments and also led to a greater tear in our relationship. Current events are also affecting us today. We have been affected by a new law that might go into place, and if it does it has the capacity to tear us apart. My parents and brother would have to leave and I would stay behind to try and accomplish my dream…

The strength of our science project was the procedure. This process is the easiest part to complete because it involves conducting our very simple experiments. One good thing about the procedure was that it was short and easy to follow. Other projects at this science fair were aesthetically pleasing to look at. One of the most interesting was the project on making bread. The most intriguing part was how much bread they were able to make and how it rose differently. So, it seems you need yeast to get the full rise effect.

If we were going to improve our project, it would be by having more space on the board and being prepared with all of this. We would consider changing the data tables. The data tables weren’t printing all on one page. We would also change the question from ‘What is the effect of the number of Hot Cheetos on heart rate?’ to ‘What is the effect of Hot Cheetos eaten on heart rate?’. We had a problem with board space, so our next step was to make a mini-board and put our title on there and glue it on our regular poster board.

The most beneficial part of the process is when we had to type the background, variables, and procedure because it gave us a way to get ready for something similar in the future when we do the science project again. The way the paper was structured is how it will be when we do the science project again in IB. I’ve learned a lot by doing these two assignments. Although the outline was kind of difficult to follow, it was our first time trying. We did make many mistakes, but when we were able to redo our paper, we corrected our mistakes and got a greater understanding of how to do it for future projects. The background paper was fairly easy to write. It was a recap of a previous paper I’ve written. This whole experience was a learning opportunity that is getting us ready for two years of HL in the IB program.

At first, I was struggling with our topic choice. I was trying to figure out what our experiment would be that resulted in a physical or chemical reaction. As I got to the due date for what my project was going to compose of, I was panicking. I got the idea from my friend who loves Hot Cheetos, and I thought what if I experiment with Hot Cheetos? I assumed that spice would increase your heart rate, which I could set as my dependent variable. When I checked in with my teacher, it qualified as a chemical reaction. I was relieved that we could start on our project.

I feel like the teacher did not give us much time in class to set up. If we had more time in class, we wouldn’t have been in a hurry. I suggest that he give us more class time, as it would’ve resulted in our project being aesthetically pleasing and well organized. Also, if he was more attentive to each group, maybe it wouldn’t be such a mess. I don’t think that this was carefully planned and executed. It does have something to do with our part, but also our teacher’s part as well. Yes, most of us should’ve asked more questions, but I believe that the way he describes the answer isn’t obvious to process. When that happens, which is often, I perceive that I’m not on the level of understanding I should be. I don’t question his answer, even though it’s evident that I’m not clear on the instructions, so I always have my classmates elaborate or help out.

The whole idea/phrase ‘Science Fair’ brings me back to elementary school, which makes me cringe. I never liked the idea of finding a new experiment to do and going through the stress to finish it. It was just too much. Although we encountered many obstacles, we were able to finish our experiment. I did have a meltdown the day before it was due because not everything was glued on and the board was messy. Luckily, we’ve gotten through it and finished strong. My final thought on this is that I hope I don’t have to do this again soon because I need more time to recover from this.

As more and more people are flocking to Koreatown, it is necessary to build a school to educate the growing population of children. A highly diverse area of Los Angeles, Koreatown contains especially high populations of Latino and Asian immigrants, most of whom are low income. Thomas Starr King Middle School is a satellite branch from the Los Feliz location that will be created for the children of low-income families in the central LA area and to help tackle overpopulation in other middle schools. It will provide better standards of education and increased health objectives for the adequate care of children.

Goal

Provide a healthy, ethnically diverse, budget-friendly meals to children of lower incomes, while maintaining their autonomy by giving them semi-selective menus. The system will provide children with education on healthy eating while increasing protection from foodborne-illness through strict procedures.

Objectives

1. Provide cheap and healthy meals by analyzing cheap raw materials that are wholesome.
2. Create a healthy environment for students by teaching proper hygiene techniques.
3. Enforce strict management towards food safety to properly prevent incidences of foodborne illness.
4. Reduction of food waste to save food costs and be environmentally friendly.
5. Employ healthy eating programs to educate students on good eating habits and proper nutrition, and possibly allow credentialed nutrition educators to teach children.
6. Provide new food opportunities by serving culturally diverse students, educating them about cross-racial understanding.
7. Provide a safe option for children who have eating restrictions due to cultural, religious, or health reasons.
8. Allow children to practice autonomy by providing 2 options for lunch meals and have variety.
9. Subsidized free or reduced meals based on the income of the family.

Policies and Procedures

All kitchen employees will pass a background and drug test before being hired. Immunization cards will be required with proof of vaccination of several diseases. The use of tobacco products, smoking, vaping, and e-cigarette use will be banned on-premises.

Employees must be eligible to work in the U.S. Servsafe certification is required. At least one experience in previous food service institution is required. Experience in clinical or large scale institution is a plus. Employees must be properly trained and tested before being permanent employees for this food service institution.

No eating, drinking, or chewing gum in the institution. The breakroom is the designated space for these actions. Employees will have designated lockers in the breakroom.

A uniform will be required for the foodservice employees, consisting of; a white industrial apparel button-up shirt and white slacks. (must be washed and clean before entering premises). Employees must purchase non-slip work shoes. A hairnet must be worn at all times in the kitchen, and long hair must be clean and tied back. Short hair must be properly groomed so no hair can stick out of the hair net. Gloves and a face mask must also be worn at all times. Beard cover must also be worn if a beard is present. Jewelry must not be worn. Earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rings, and wedding bands must be removed and placed into a designated locker.

A company mandated brochure and training programs will educate the employees on proper hygiene techniques. Body and hair must be clean before entering the premises. Employees must wash their hands before entering the foodservice institution and then wear food-grade latex gloves after. Gloves must be changed after coughing, sneezing, picking objects off the floor, etc. Hands must be washed after changing gloves. There will be no eating, drinking, or chewing gum in facilities. Sick employees will be sent home immediately if seen on-premises.

To prevent contamination by money, specific employees will handle cashier duties and serving of food. Mandatory glove and mask will be used for serving food to children. Gloves, tongs, or deli sheets will be used to place food onto heating trays. However, the food will be ‘grab and go’.

The Planning Team

Owner/Administrator: The owner/administrator will oversee various processes throughout the food-service institution. They will maintain close contact with the business manager and the food service manager, talking about finances, management, and business ideas.

Business Manager: The business manager will oversee production costs and work directly with the manager towards the costs of raw materials, maintenance, and equipment. They will also make decisions with more cost-effective options with the food service manager. The business manager will keep track of sales, count the number of students consuming meals, and balancing the subsidization of those meals.

Architect: The architect will design, implement, and develop a plan using the appropriate square foot space of the kitchen to build a safe, functional, and economical space that suits the specific needs of the students and staff. They will work with the owner/administrator and business manager to ensure the building will be cost-effective while also following state and federal regulations.

Food Service Manager: The foodservice manager will oversee employees and food production. They will be in charge of hiring and mentoring employees and making work hours schedules. Also, it will take inventory, order meals, and supplies, and check shelf life and quantity of food received and stored. Follows HACCP standards and provides SOP and GMP’s.

Builder/Contractor: The builder/ contractor is in charge of the construction of the food service institution. This includes hiring and managing subcontractors such as electricians, mechanics, plumbers, painters. This also includes purchasing all necessary materials needed for the kitchen ie: fridges/stoves/sinks. The builder/contractor will also acquire necessary licenses and permits for the institution.

Maintenance/Mechanical Engineer: The responsibility of the maintenance role is to ensure that all mechanical parts of the kitchen are running at peak levels. This includes being in charge of calibration, general repairs, and maintenance, including unplanned problems/ emergency repairs. Works with the builder and contractor to choose and maintain equipment and keep it up to date on safety standards.

Food Service Design Consultant: Advise the school about the design of the interior space of the school building, cafeteria, and dining area. Designing plans for the school to personalize their needs to serve as a functional purpose for students and staff. Consult color, light, texture, and space to accommodate the school budget at a low cost in the cafeteria and dining area. Analyze functions, to the existing school space with school goals to have an effective school and working environment for staff to provide food for students with nutritious meals. Also, follow up with the administrator throughout the process to have designs, sketches, and blueprints.

Equipment representative: Obtaining catalogs and specification sheets from various equipment companies for comparative purposes and determining equipment space needs of the school having reference materials. Selecting an equipment company to provide excellent sources of information for learning what is new and workable in various situations to teach staff members. Also, working together with interior design consultants, contractors, and environmental consultants to select the equipment, install, and run according to the health safe code regulations, blueprints, design, and floor plan based on the school needs.

Today I will really be showing and explaining to you how we can for all intents and purposes make our school a better place. To for all intents and purposes begin we can change all of these thought to make our school the coolest of them all lets basically do it, which is fairly significant.

To start, I mostly think that our school should change the time schedule throughout the week, which is quite significant. To generally begin with, I think that we should bring back Monday school in a very big way. A reason, I definitely think we should generally bring back Monday because we would really get definitely more time to chill ad definitely relax at home, which is fairly significant. An effect of that definitely is if we end earlier we would for the most part have pretty much more time to definitely relax at home and so would you, particularly contrary to popular belief. An example is, during a school day I essentially wanted to particularly get home on time so I would have time to really play football but, When I essentially got home it literally was turning very dark ad it turning foggy to the point where I couldn’t literally see anything in a subtle way. Another reason, why we should for all intents and purposes have Mondays back in school, because throughout weekends we may lose more knowledge than usual because we definitely have longer weekends, fairly contrary to popular belief.

Another thing we should change about our district time schedule basically is the advisory schedule in a generally big way. Something we should change is that if we literally have sort of advisory in the mornings we can for the most part have pretty much better life skills throughout the day instead of at the end of the day. Ever since I’ve kind of come into middle school I haven’t really definitely loved the time schedule of definitely advisory. My final literally thought for the most part is that we should have particularly advisory every day of the week, not only on Tuesdays ad Fridays, which is quite significant. To essentially add to that we dot specifically get really nearly as sort of much time as we need I advisory.

Last but not least, I think we should basically have a year-round school, which kind of is fairly significant. A reason we should generally have particularly year-round school particularly is we would generally have longer breaks but not just a ginormous definitely break in a subtle way. To show, these basically are the breaks we get, during year-round school, we get a 2-week mostly break every 6 weeks but, during sort of normal school, you particularly get 4 breaks you basically get a thanksgiving break which lasts for 1 week in a big way. Spring kind of break also lasts one week long but winter break basically is two weeks long, which mostly is quite significant. The final definitely break literally is summer break and it lasts for 11 weeks, summer actually break also causes summer brain in a actually big way. The definitely last reason I think we should for the most part have definitely year-round school particularly is so we don’t get summer brain. To explain, the summer brain specifically is where you generally forget pretty much everything you particularly learned that year, or so they mostly thought. The reason you actually get for all intents and purposes is during summer for all intents and purposes break because it is an 11-week for the most part break and you don’t specifically learn anything in a sort of big way. This concludes my thought of very year-round schools in a generally major way.

To conclude, I specifically think we should change the schedule to essentially conclude Mondays, to definitely have pretty advisory in the mornings, to essentially have kind of advisory every day of the week, and to have year-round school in a big way. These really are my thoughts and ideas to essentially improve our school in a generally major way.

Throughout a student’s academic career, the path they take to progress from youthful and yearning to wisened and learned will be one featuring many ups and downs. The student will experience anger and anguish, moments of brashness and boredom, spurs of claustrophobia and bouts of captivity – and those are only the alliterations. However, while many of these toils can be accredited to the student himself, such as procrastination or a lack of self-improvement, several others can often be inflicted through no action of the student at all, such as unhelpful, malicious teachers and personal conflicts affecting school performance. These culminations of issues, be it from personal fault, the school, or outside doing, can lead to a student’s performance declining, causing low grades or even failure of classes. A good question to ponder is just how much of each side contributes to the equation – which is to say, who is more at fault? The student, with his/her’s lackluster academic regimen, the school and by extension, its teachers, or is perhaps no one at fault, as who can consistently blamed for external issues in the student’s life? To take a closer look at this, I will be bringing three examples from my life where my academic career was affected each of these sources: An outside experience working its way into my final year of middle school, an extreme bout of procrastination in my freshman year of high school, and a passive-aggressive, malicious teacher in my sophomore year.

When I was nearing my third quarter of my ultimate year of middle school, I was in a place that most teenagers find themselves around that time: thinking I knew everything, whilst in reality knowing almost nothing at all. My days were spent nonchalantly breezing through classes so I could enjoy the lengthy recesses with my friends, before heading home to spend time with my family. When I think back to that time, I remember it fondly, but almost with a hint of bittersweet resentment seeping through — I’m jealous of my younger self, and yet I pity him too, both for the same reason: that there is so much he has not done yet.

However, the scenario in question makes me feel the latter of the two emotions towards my younger self — pity. It was a Saturday evening, back in the days long gone when Saturday evenings held a heavy significance: dinner with the family, game night, my father reading to us as we sat gathered around the table, giggling at the little additions he snuck into the stories to keep them fresh. On this night, however, no such readings were taking place, and rather, my father sat at the head of the table, staring blankly ahead without focusing on anything, my mother talking quietly to him in quiet tones from her seat to his left. My siblings and I had been playing some silly game, or perhaps reading books as we sat piled up on our living room couches, or some other activity we were prone to on such a night, but as the minutes passed and my father showed no sign of joining us, we eventually found our way back to the table to inquire as to what was wrong. My mother hushed us, herding us from the room with a stern grace that we did not see often.

By the next day, my mother had broken the news to us: my grandfather on my father’s side — a sweet, whimsical and nonsensical man — had passed away the day before. He was 87, but had never shown it – though his body grew old, he always kept a certain youthful charm about him. It may be uncommon to encounter one’s first close family member’s death so late in life, but it still shocked me just as hard. I found myself wishing I had spent more time with him, listening to his stories about the days before this newfangled technology, learning from him to use a pocket radio, and watching him as he sat hunched over his desk, magnifying scope in hand, staring at gems and jewels. He was a gemsetter, my grandfather, and though long-retired, he still enjoyed showing us a few intricate tips and tricks our young minds couldn’t quite comprehend at the time.

The funeral service came just a few days later, and as I sat, forced into an uncomfortable chair and a far more uncomfortable suit, I felt a sense of injustice at the world, a senseless anger, but my young self had neither the scope nor the patience to view it through such a lense. It felt almost wrong, almost perverse, as the next day, I got up, packed my lunch, and headed to school as if nothing had changed. How could life just go on, I silently shouted, questioning and fuming at forces I couldn’t hear respond. How could it? How could I return to everyday life when such a large chunk of it had been shattered, torn off like a slip of paper from a dog-eared notebook? I took my grief out on my work, and sat lachrymose, staring out the window, trying and failing to complete even one irritatingly vibrant math problem. This unfortunate cycle continued for a number of days, my younger self toiling in directionless anger and despair, refusing to do my work, perhaps in some vain hope that denying a return to normal life could bring back that which I so desperately viewed as a key component.

Grief can be a powerful manipulator of one’s actions, and can have a hearty affect on every facet of an individual’s life. A 2006 study by Purdue University, published by Kim Medaris, came to show that students experiencing loss of a family member or friend usually were undergoing an accompanying drop in school performance. “It’s the combination of grief interfering with the ability to concentrate and perform’, quotes Medaris. And truly, the interference is monumentally destructive to an otherwise undisrupted student life, shattering what sense of normalcy the student may have acquired and plunging them into the unknown.

However, not every interference is outside of the student’s realm of control. As time went on, I completed my middle school education and enjoyed an all-too-brief summer before descending back into the pit of school life that now reared its ugly head, an insurmountable beast: high school. My work load grew exponentially, and with it, a multitude of stresses and worries: socially, economically, and even health-wise. I attempted to stay afloat and perhaps I could have, had I not succumbed to the many distractions that flitted around me, tempting me: a few hours of a video game instead of homework; watching a video on my phone in class instead of listening; or going to a movie with friends late at night instead of studying for a test the next day.

The largest and most encompassing of these offenders, by far, is that ever-present, ever-nagging cardinal sin of procrastination. A 2007 study by Piers Steel, a University of Calgary psychologist, indicates procrastination habits in extremely high percentages of students, particularly when it comes to schoolwork. “Several studies in Steel’s 2007 meta-analysis suggest procrastination is negatively related to overall GPA, final exam scores and assignment grades”, reports the American Psychological Association. This report is something nearly every student can relate to, and not without a hint of guilt – deep down, we know that that failed test, missed homework or poorly done assignment is on us.

But as with grief or other outside influences, not every negative fluctuation on the student’s grade is of the student’s own doing. Rarely, but unfortunately not rarely enough, a student can be assigned to a teacher who doesn’t quite fit the bill, and have no choice but to bear the hurdles thrown at them. This teacher can be incompetent, with a teaching style that falls on deaf ears due to the teacher’s ineptitude, or perhaps the teacher may be like mine: outwardly malicious.

Following my rollercoaster of a freshman year, but scraping by with passing grades, I was prepared to metaphorically find a new, calmer ride to apply to my freshman era (perhaps a gentle merry-go-round, or maybe even leaving the theme park entirely). And it seemed I had found it, settling into a nice groove with my classes, friends and family — directly until I was a few days into my geometry class. Fresh off the heels of my freshman failures, I was invigorated with new study habits, prepared to pay attention, and armed with a homework planner. All too soon, however, this wall of confidence was bulldozed by the smirking, snarking teacher that sat, nearly motionless, at the front of the class.

A few days in, the alarm bells began to ring as my mind began to analyze this teacher’s regimen and teaching style. She never left her chair except to enter and exit the class, and her preferred method of “teaching”, if it can be called that, was to emit a page number to the class along with a string of numbers for us to read and solve. For four days a week, she sat, staring glazedly at the class as we silently (for we were forbidden to talk to one another) pored over decades-old texts, struggling to make sense of them without any sense of outside direction or order. When Friday arrived, the teacher would mosey into class as per usual, however instead of her usual numerical announcement, she would order that the students split into neat rows so we could take a test on subjects we had been forced to teach ourselves. Anyone even suspected of cheating off of student’s paper would be forced to tear up their own test (because for the teacher to do so herself would require her to leave her seat, and past a certain point each day we feared she had permanently become part of it, and couldn’t leave even if she miraculously suddenly wanted to).

My geometry teacher is not the only instructor that expressed such distaste and scorn towards her students, and she is not the only one to negatively impact her student’s performance. In every place of learning, there is a chance for such a person to exist, to wallow in their job, personifying cynicism and negligence. “What employer wants a lazy, negative, rude backstabber? That is why [the] most challenging staff members seemingly stay in your building forever,’ writes Todd Whitaker in his bestselling book, “Dealing with Difficult Teachers”. The point Whitaker makes is a good one — where else will the teacher go?

As such, this loop stagnates, providing students with a difficulty hitch as hard classes are exacerbated by a teacher’s malignance or ineptitude. And it can naturally be stated that the student is not at fault for this difficulty spike, and especially not if such an increase pushes the class’s difficulty beyond their level of comprehension. Perhaps the teacher is at fault, for failing to improve themselves as an instructor; or perhaps the school should be held accountable, for hiring and maintaining this teacher as a member of their staff; or perhaps both are equally at fault. What truly is important is that students may fall behind and have their performance suffer, even despite their best attempts to keep up. When an environment is established to provide a learning conduit for students to listen to, and that conduit fails to transmit, the student can not and should not be held accountable.

While many schools set forth to educate and wisen their students, a very small number of these students will graduate without having suffered degradations to their academic record — and more times than not, the blame is wrongfully placed on the student. While it can be possible the student has failed to meet the required effort to perform well in their academic life, either by procrastinating or another means of a self-induced stumbling block, it is equally true that many difficulties students encounter are outside of their realm of control. From outside influences to starkly unhelpful teachers, school systems should examine and justify the sufferings of a student’s performance before immediately placing the blame on the student.

Works Cited

1. Study: Grief Has Impact on College Students’ Academic Performance, https://www.purdue.edu/uns/html4ever/2006/060404.Seib.study.html.
2. Procrastination or ‘intentional delay’?, American Psychological Association, https://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2010/01/procrastination.
3. Whitaker, Todd. Dealing with difficult teachers. Routledge, 2014.

According to the famous actress Zooey Deschanel, “Nothing could be as hard as middle school’. My three years at Leslie H. Walton Middle School were full of excitement and learning, but what Mrs. Deschanel stated is completely accurate. Walton, without a doubt, had been part of the hardest years of my life. Finding out my identity and where I belonged was the epitome of middle school. The values I took back from Walton Middle School were to be myself and to take on every challenge with passion and effort.

During my three years attending Walton, I learned the significance of a strong friendship. In sixth grade, I made friends with everyone but was part of a tight-knit group. Moving on to seventh grade, I entered a group of girls, always worried about their appearance, what people thought, and in everyone’s business. I stuck with them throughout that year but felt out of place. I tried to be like them, but never really felt comfortable. I learned that I do not have to be friends with everyone, but cooperating with others made every situation easier. In eighth grade, I formed an inseparable bond with a few amazing people. I trusted my friends, joked with them, and my year would have been incomplete without them.

Finding a supportive teacher this year was essential. Going to Walton every day, I could not be who I am without the help of my teachers. They assisted me and helped lead me to become a strong and independent individual. In particular, Ms. Graham had my best interest in mind, along with every other student. She took time to work with me and encouraged me to always try my absolute best. She was an inspiring and empathetic leader toward all students and stood out to me as someone I could rely on for anything.

Academics took over a huge part of my middle school career. School had been one of my greatest priorities since I was young and I took pride in my ability to catch on to subjects and information quickly. Entering into Walton, I was taught to further focus on applying my knowledge to the real world. From the words of the former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. I take this quote to heart because I know if I work hard on my education now, I will have the capability to go so much farther in the future.

Walton was more than just an educational institution… it was a place I looked forward going to every day because it meant I got to be with my friends and take in knowledge every day. WMS has carved out my personality, and who I currently am as a person. Now, about to graduate, I am nervous for high school, but middle school has set the bricks in my path and I just need to follow it.

Works Cited

1. “Nothing Could Be as Hard as Middle School”. PictureQuotes.com, www.picturequotes.com/nothing-could-be-as-hard-as-middle-school-quote-410231.
2. ‘Education Quotes”. BrainyQuote, Xplore, www.brainyquote.com/topics/education.