“Middle school teachers have a responsibility to remain calm in the face of possible insults, swearing, and other demeaning behaviors. Teachers who overreact in these situations demonstrate to their students that they are also not in control of their impulses.Guidance is the key role that adults can play here…If it sounds as if we expect teachers to be more like counselors instead of merely teachers, then you are beginning to comprehend the role of effective middle level practitioners.” (Brown & Knowles, 2007, p.36)

I can completely relate to this quote after student teaching in a middle school (mainly with 7th graders) for a month now. I have observed my cooperating teacher having to strategically react to the different ways students act, which can completely change from one day to another, in a calm and patient but serious manner. This was, and still is, one concern of mine as a teacher in a middle school classroom. Reading this article in its entirety, I could completely relate my middle school students with all of the specific points highlighted about how they may act due to the cognitive stage of life in which they are in. Yet, one thing that this quote perfectly summarizes is the fact that one does not know what to expect with one’s students in terms of behavior and ability to concentrate from one day to another. I have particularly found myself in this role of “counselor instead of merely teacher” since my cooperating teacher has asked me to give special one-on-one attention to specific students in each class that tend to be the more disruptive, less motivated and easily distracted. These are kids who slam books on their desks when frustrated, randomly yell things like the fact that they hate school and say they refuse to do activities because they don’t care. I focus on never showing frustration with them, always motivating them with positive remarks on how they truly do know the material, trying to compare their personal interests to the activity they are doing (if possible) and constantly congratulating them with each part of the activity they complete (especially if it’s an independent activity). There are days in which I am able to get them concentrated and genuinely interested enough to not need constant coaxing to complete assignments, and there are others in which these students are unable to enter the atmosphere of concentration due to a large amount of built up energy or lethargy from tiredness or boredom. Although I am still concerned about how I can manage an entire class of middle school students with differing levels of interests and concentration, I am taking this opportunity to get to know each student more so that I can act both as an effective teacher that gouges their interests as well as a trustworthy and constantly supportive figure.