Chapter seventeen discussed the negative media representation that middle school students are introduced to. The author included the rampant outbreak of sexually transmitted disease as the most significant example. He also discussed several incredible feats that his middle school students have achieved that certainly outshine the negative. His students have raised substantial sums of money for good causes, managing websites, performing at events that have thousands of people in attendance, coordinating construction projects, and an avid reader of 2,000 books in the time of 4 months. The entire chapter suggested taking any previously held notion about middle school students and re-evaluating that notion, because the results may surprise the person who doubts.
In this chapter, I liked how how he incorporated a graffiti wall in his classroom. Not only is this something I would enjoy as a student, but I could see myself as a teacher waiting excitedly to see what people wrote on the paper. I think the whole point of this chapter is to trust the middle school students in your class enough to be savvy, smart, and intelligent. Because the media tears them down, many teachers' minds are poisoned with the media representation, and that trust is lost. I have always believed that you should trust someone and treat them with kindness until you're given a reason not to.
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