The issue of diversity in the classroom is often ignored or misunderstood. Many people consider only ethnic or racial diversity, when, in reality, there are many other kinds. Ignoring these differences could lead to ineffective teaching. Not knowing one's audience is risky in any setting.
I like the website Creating Safe Schools for Gay and Lesbian Students in particular because it deals with a category of diversity which is often controversial or taboo. This website is for teachers wanting to be aware of the issues facing their homosexual teen students and also wanting to teach other students tolerance. Practical exercises to help teacher and students identify and rectify their prejudices is given. This could allow teachers to create a safe environment for gay and lesbian students. When students feel safe, they are more willing to learn. Since sexuality is explored in the teen years, this is especially important for middle schoolers and their teachers.
I also found The Working Group website to be helpful and interesting. It is basically an anti-hate website. While it is not focused on any certain type of hate, it gives resources for actively preventing hate among teens. Some of these include videos and forums. For a teacher wanting to spread awareness of diversity and tolerance, these media resources would be invaluable in the classroom. As with the gay and lesbian issue, any hate makes students feel unsafe. When students feel unsafe, they are difficult to teach, as their minds cannot adequately focus on lessons.
Each school district has different issues, different requirements. It's important to know about my specific school district. (Mine happens to be Northshore School District.) Not only is it important to know about the district and the specific school at which I'm teaching, but it is also vital to understand which elementary schools my junior high students came from and which high school they will transfer to. Understanding those schools' requirements can help in teaching middle schoolers.
Inglemoor High School is the target public school for all Northshore Junior High students. Their website gives information about the faculty, project requirements, parent involvement, WASL prep, and so on. For a teacher at Northshore Junior High, it seems essential to know where students are heading in order to direct their learning. Knowing the expectations of their future school can help establish the expectations of their current school.
The Northshore School District website, as mentioned, is also invaluable. There is a section specifically for secondary education. It gives graduation requirements, PTA information, information on legal matters, and so on. Understanding my district's requirements is obviously essential. If I can't know what is expected by my district for graduation, I can't help prepare my students to graduate. If I can't know what is required of myself and my students, my teaching is aimless.
Physical, Emotional, and Mental Health
Teenagers, namely junior high students, deal with all kinds of health issues. Some are more dangerous than others. Some affect classroom atmosphere. Ignoring the fact that students are struggling could lead to ineffective teaching, as well as harm for the student.
The HelpGuide website deals specifically with teenage depression. Depression can affect a teen's ability to learn in school and to do well, especially if his mind is greatly disturbed and distracted. Issues at home or with peers often play out in the classroom. If a teacher does not know how to help his/her students with depression, dangerous side-effects for the students and for fellow students could arise, creating an unsafe classroom environment.
The Child Abuse Prevention Services website has a section which deals specifically with bullying and how to prevent it. Especially for a middle school teacher, I find this important, as students in this age group have gained notoriety for bullying. If a student's physical safety is threatened, the teacher can take the initiative to stop the behavior. Not only is bullying a problem outside the classroom walls, it will also affect the learning environment inside.
Knowing the current issues surrounding education, including education reforms and initiatives, is vital for keeping up-to-date and performing job duties accurately. Government-sponsored websites are good for accuracy, as well as for providing a large-scale scope of education trends.
The Washington State Institute for Public Policy has a link on their website which is specifically for Educators. It offers grade level-specific topics and resources. Topics in this section include WASL performance, graduation trends, ELL and special needs accomodations, etc. for the state of Washington. Realizing trends and issues concerning WA state students can better equip a teacher in how to either match or excel above statistics. Also, taking advantage of the resources for special needs students and those having trouble graduating can equip a teacher to adapt to his/her students' individual challenges.
The Washington State Board of Education website has resources for educators and non-educators alike. Legal issues are discussed on this site, as well as graduation requirements, reviews of standards, certification information, waivers, homeschool information and great links to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction website, which includes EALRs, assessment standards, etc. This covers a whole mileau of topics which will affect a teacher every day. Understanding his/her role in the classroom--what is required of him/her and the students--is the only way to assure effective teaching. Understanding specifically what is expected of his/her grade level (in my case, 7th grade) is part of this and is covered on the links on this site.
Lesson Plan ResourcesMany teachers have come before me. Benefitting from their experience in the classroom is invaluable. It seems wise to build on their lesson plans, rather that spending hours planning my own lessons from scratch.
Since this is a technology class, I thought it would be important to explore some of the technology available for use in lesson plans. The Annenberg Media website offers subject- and grade-specific lesson plans, many of which incorporate media. The main resources are internet-based videos and videos for purchase. For language arts, they have a selection of videos on a large variety of literature and reading topics. I could use this in the classroom to help make a lesson plan more engaging for students.
I liked the Layered Curriculum website because it has very easy-to-navigate lesson plans for specific grade areas and subjects. Clicking on "middle school" and "English grammar and novels" gets me to a page with a large selection of poetry and prose, as well as lesson plans for each work. This could be used to quickly and easily find appropriate works for my students and suitable lessons to accompany them. An additional resource from this website is the section on special needs and appropriate lesson plans for special needs students.
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