Chapter 2: MMM

Chapter two of Rick Wormeli’s Meet me in the Middle discusses different strategies we can use in the classroom to help motivate middle school students. Early in the chapter Wormeli states that “trying to get the students to pay attention is eighty percent of the battle.” This battle is one that some teachers spend their whole careers losing. The battle does not have to be that hard. All of us enjoy doing things that we’re good at and interests us. The classroom should not be any different. Educators who take the time to get to know and understand their students have half the battle already won. When you understand what makes the students go, you can apply that into the classroom and lessons. Lessons should be made around the students’ interests, with a wide variety of activities that also allow them to use their strengths. Communication with the students is essential to carrying out a successful lesson. The classroom environment is also extremely important. Providing a safe and comfortable atmosphere that encourages the students to learn and be themselves helps the students to open up their minds and abilities. One of the most important concepts is to show enthusiasm for the material, and the students learning it. If the students are excited about being in your classroom, then motivation becomes very simple.

Chapter 1: MMM

In Rick Wormeli's Meet Me In the Middle, the first chapter discusses the topic of communication with your students. First, the stereotypical thoughts of some teachers are "TGIF" or "The best three things about teaching, June, July and August." Our attitude towards teaching is one of the biggest things teachers need to remember when walking into a classroom. If we walk in positive and upbeat then our students are going to be more engaged. It is very important to be a good role model for students as well. The author also mentions that what we put into teaching is what we will get out of teaching. If you go in with a poor attitude then you aren't going to get a whole lot out of your teaching experience. Wormeli also discusses the idea of perceptions, and that not everyone's are the same. A joke that you think may be harmless, may I fact be very hurtful to a particular student. Perception could also be based on the student- teacher relationship, because a student may take one comment from a teacher differently than they would the same comment from another teacher.

Chapter 2

The second chapter in Turning Points 2000 is discusses the students recommendations the authors suggest in order to create a student that is well-rounded, a good student and a good citizen. The chapter also talks about about the seven points we need to consider when trying to teach students. Originally, there were eight points to this model. We also learn that the points are not just a list, but a web that is interconnected showing that the web is not complete without one or more of the points. Turning Points 2000 has specific guidelines that the authors feel teachers should review in order to improve middle school education.

Chapter 1

The opening chapter discusses in detail what the Turning Points model is, what it looks like, and reasons why it needs to be implemented in schools. The list consists of eight points: create smaller communities, core of common knowledge, organized to ensure success, teachers and principals need to have a major responsibility and power, staff your school with expert teachers, promote good health, structural change, and how important it is to get together with other faculty and synthesize the lessons learned with most current research. This list was formed in the early 1990s and was then implemented in schools across the country. By looking at the research and data collected, the schools who made changes to the system had markedly increased scores in reading, writing, and math. The chapter also talks in great details about the problems that middle school students are going through these days. Things such as: teen pregnancy, STDs, and drugs. These are all major problems that teachers need to be prepared to deal with on a daily basis. The chapter also does a great job of pointing out how middle school students are going through a period of great change whether it is biological, psychological, or social. The chapter gives the notion that that middle schools and middle school students have been neglected and much more focus must be placed on their growth and achievements.