I have been really thinking about middle school verses elementary school teachers recently. Sometimes I feel that middle school teachers get a bad rap from society. The perception being that we don't "care" as much about our students, we never do fun or creative things, and we don't decorate or organize our classrooms. I know this to be completely false! Do we have many more students and much less time with them on a daily basis to show how much we care? Yes. Do we have rigorous curriculum in specific content areas, and a short amount of time with students on a daily basis? Yes. Do we have less space for decorating most of the time, and many more students to include in our decor? Yes. Do we have a much more critical audience to adapt to (students that do not want to be treated like babies, but also still like activities and decorations)? Yes. However, I believe that the majority of middle school teachers truly care about their students and want them to have the best quality education.
I am starting this blog as a way for middle school, upper elementary school and even high school teachers to share ideas and ways to be creative with older students. There are countless elementary blogs and ideas floating around in cyber space. Middle school teachers, let us unite and work against this bad rap once and for all. I would love links to blogs that other middle school teachers publish and/ or follow as well as new ideas and tips.
