This sketch is from the book Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. It fits well under the NMSA This We Believe idea that as leaders for our students, we must be committed to and knowledgeable about this age group. It is important for us to realize and respect that peer pressure may reach crisis levels during adolescent years. Being mindful of this, we should try to handle individual situations on the side and avoid embarrassing our students in front of their classmates.
Students this age get embarrassed very easily. Comments that you may not think will embarrass students will. Like the student with the purse, in this situation the adult would have to be very careful as in what they say, when the say it, and if they should say anything at all because the comment can make the situation worse.
The thing we must know as teachers is that developmentally, our adolescent students have not internalized the tact of adults. WE probably would not comment if we saw a guy carrying what looked to us like a purse, (at least not directly to the person), but I KNOW my 8th graders would. What I tell my students often is, "It's a sign of maturity to NOT say everything you think, especially if it is going to hurt someone's feelings." I also turn the scenario around and ask them to put themselves in the other person's place. For example, my students are hard on physical attributes of others. They will say, "You buck teethed rabbit," or "You got a heavy eye," or "You got bug eyes," and I tell them, "No one is perfect, and you all are not finished growing - your looks will change. Plus, we all have things about us that we would like to change," and I'll name something about myself, and say, "but true beauty comes from inside us, and shines through us by how we treat others. Name calling is ugly and when you do it, it makes YOU look ugly. We must treat people the way we want them to treat us. Do you want people to call you names?..." I have this conversation at the beginning of the year to the whole class, then with individuals as the needs arises. I do not embarrass people in front of their peers. Usually by the end of 8th grade, this starts to work. We still must hold our adolescent students highly accountable for their actions - and turn their poor decisions into learning moments. This is how we work to help each one to develop his or her personal character. And of course, we must challenge them academically, to prepare them to advance to the next level.
Anna very well said. It reminds me of what my mom always says, "if its not nice, don't say anything," Another saying is, "even a fool is thought wise when he/she is quite."
I heard someone say, "The main differences between Pre-K and Middle School children are height and hormones." The best thing we can do is remember when we were 12, 13, 14 years old ourselves. We thought we knew everything, but weren't old enough - and had not had enough real life experiences yet - to understand (KNOW) that we didn't.
This We Believe states we must be knowledgable about the age group and to adhere to the best policies; I think this means we must continue to work on ourselves and to continue our own education. We must always be willing and eager to learn, because the right answer isn't black or white - it is fluid and probably changes from situation to situation.
This sketch is from the book Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. It fits well under the NMSA This We Believe idea that as leaders for our students, we must be committed to and knowledgeable about this age group. It is important for us to realize and respect that peer pressure may reach crisis levels during adolescent years. Being mindful of this, we should try to handle individual situations on the side and avoid embarrassing our students in front of their classmates.
ReplyDeleteStudents this age get embarrassed very easily. Comments that you may not think will embarrass students will. Like the student with the purse, in this situation the adult would have to be very careful as in what they say, when the say it, and if they should say anything at all because the comment can make the situation worse.
ReplyDeleteso don't say anything?
ReplyDeleteThe thing we must know as teachers is that developmentally, our adolescent students have not internalized the tact of adults. WE probably would not comment if we saw a guy carrying what looked to us like a purse, (at least not directly to the person), but I KNOW my 8th graders would. What I tell my students often is, "It's a sign of maturity to NOT say everything you think, especially if it is going to hurt someone's feelings." I also turn the scenario around and ask them to put themselves in the other person's place. For example, my students are hard on physical attributes of others. They will say, "You buck teethed rabbit," or "You got a heavy eye," or "You got bug eyes," and I tell them, "No one is perfect, and you all are not finished growing - your looks will change. Plus, we all have things about us that we would like to change," and I'll name something about myself, and say, "but true beauty comes from inside us, and shines through us by how we treat others. Name calling is ugly and when you do it, it makes YOU look ugly. We must treat people the way we want them to treat us. Do you want people to call you names?..." I have this conversation at the beginning of the year to the whole class, then with individuals as the needs arises. I do not embarrass people in front of their peers. Usually by the end of 8th grade, this starts to work. We still must hold our adolescent students highly accountable for their actions - and turn their poor decisions into learning moments. This is how we work to help each one to develop his or her personal character. And of course, we must challenge them academically, to prepare them to advance to the next level.
ReplyDeleteAnna very well said. It reminds me of what my mom always says, "if its not nice, don't say anything," Another saying is, "even a fool is thought wise when he/she is quite."
ReplyDeleteI heard someone say, "The main differences between Pre-K and Middle School children are height and hormones." The best thing we can do is remember when we were 12, 13, 14 years old ourselves. We thought we knew everything, but weren't old enough - and had not had enough real life experiences yet - to understand (KNOW) that we didn't.
ReplyDeletelot's of awkward, and painful, unavoidable experiences - character isn't sold cheaply.
ReplyDeleteThis We Believe states we must be knowledgable about the age group and to adhere to the best policies; I think this means we must continue to work on ourselves and to continue our own education. We must always be willing and eager to learn, because the right answer isn't black or white - it is fluid and probably changes from situation to situation.
ReplyDelete