Journal entry #1:

Young adolescents are those in the age range of 10-15, who are going through many
physical, emotional and social changes. A secondary education teacher might consider
teaching middle school as it is arguably a more formative period than high school. A
teacher might want to teach during a period where they may be able to have a larger
impact on their students. Middle school students are loud, bounce between multiple
emotions constantly, can be loyal to a fault, or think that they are the most unfortunate
person in the world after being hit with a minor inconvenience. The behavior of middle
school students varies from person to person, but a few general observations can be
made. Middle schoolers are in a period of physical and emotional change, their attitudes
can shift incredibly quickly with very little reason as to why. Socially they may act in
ways that can be considered inappropriate, for example asking incredibly personal
questions or doing things that make others uncomfortable without realizing it. They may
act out or close themselves off with little obvious reason as to why, and then reverse
that decision just as easily. Effective middle school teachers are flexible and have a
passion for teaching.

Journal entry #2:

The text explains relationships as the personal meaning students and teachers
associate with their interactions with one another. Boundaries are the limitations to how
students and teachers interact with one another. Boundaries are the limits to what is
considered appropriate for students and teachers to interact for. Boundaries are unique
to each student and teacher but some common boundaries exist for all students and
teachers. You can leverage the same behaviors you have for when interacting with
adults to aid in building relationships with students. Middle School students are more
open to interaction when they feel they are being validated and given genuine
consideration. Additionally, giving off a good first impression can help establish what
kind of relationship between a teacher and their students will exist in the classroom.
First impressions can be powerful in letting students know from the get go what your
expectations for them are and the kind of considerations you are going to give them.
Taking advantage of your position as a teacher to create links between the classroom
and home. It is also good to have relationships with other staff at the school, in order to
build a kind of community at school. Urban school settings might offer different
challenges from schools in other settings. Urban environments require much stronger
attempts to keep students engaged and in schools as urban environments have more
risks of students being drawn away from the classroom. Teachers would benefit from
building trust and communication with students in these environments.

Journal entry #3:

 1. Please explain “interpersonal awareness” and how it relates to your work as a
teacher.
a. Interpersonal awareness is the understanding of how you are influencing a
situation. Interpersonal awareness is a skill that allows people to have a
better understanding of situations and how to most effectively reach a
solution. In the classroom this could aid in resolving conflicts between
yourself and a student that is being disruptive or for helping students who
are feeling overwhelmed by classwork.
2. Please provide some examples of the proficient use of interpersonal awareness.
a. A proficient use of interpersonal awareness would be talking to a student
who is often distracted or being a distraction during class, to figure out
what you can do in order to make things easier for them to focus on.
3. What are some common misconceptions of this competency?
a. A few common misconceptions of interpersonal awareness are that it is
the same as being sympathetic, friendly, or nice. Interpersonal awareness
is different from all of these things, and while someone with an
understanding of this competency can be friendly or nice, these can still
be mutually exclusive terms.
Journal #4:
● Please list some of the activities you plan on using as an instructor.
○ Group discussions
○ Socratic seminars
○ Group research presentations
○ Interactive activities (kahoot, jeopardy, etc.)
● Please explain which two you will leverage the most in your classroom and
explain why.
○ The two activities I plan to use the most are Group discussions and
Interactive activities. These activities have several benefits that I feel other
activities don’t have or don’t have to the same level. Group discussions
are always valuable in spreading ideas, beliefs, and new viewpoints.
These kinds of discussions allow for students to get their ideas across to
others in ways that may not be possible otherwise, but a facilitated
discussion also leads to the possibility that the instructor can more
effectively share information or receive information in new light.
Additionally, I think that interactive things like Kahoot or other game styled
things tend to get students excited and wanting to participate in class. I do
admit that overusing these kinds of activities leads to a risk in not only the
activities getting old but also students losing interest in the content as a
result. I personally think that these kinds of activities can be beneficial as
 fun alternatives to other forms of measuring student understanding when
used sparingly.
● What are some techniques that teachers can use to maintain group focus.
○ Teacher’s can promote activities that require more active participation
from students, letting students know that they will need to be accountable
for their performance during class, and to take advantage of group alerting
actions.

Journal Entry #5
● My model middle-school student is:
○ Attentive
○ Quiet when needed, but readily participates in classroom activities
○ Asks questions, not only to the instructor but also to other students and to
themselves in reflection
○ Student is willing to communicate
○ Respectful of others that are speaking/presenting
○ Respects the differences between themselves and others
○ Is diligent and hardworking
○ Can be both a leader and a teammate
○ Being fair
○ (For history) They are curious and want to seek more knowledge
● As for gender, identity, or ethnicity these characteristics are somewhat
unimportant as I believe that who a student is doesn’t define what kind of student
they can be. Two people with nearly identical backgrounds can have massively
different views on the same subject, and if the individual doesn’t care for studying
and school that is their choice and not something that is decided by their
background.
● Linguistic ability could make working with a student either more or less difficult,
but there are a wide array of options available in order ensure success in
communication between teacher and student as well as ensuring their success in
the classroom
● Family Life can be important in that it can either be a strong source of support for
a student or that it can be the exact opposite. Working with the student to give
them the extra support that they need outside of home and giving them
opportunities to show what they know while also having their efforts validated is
important.

Journal # 6
 For my students I want them to know that I’m committed to them. I’m not here to
get them to learn every aspect of history or social science, I’m not here to make them
masters of research or essay writing. I am here to help them, whether that's by
developing one of those skills or by having them develop an interest/passion for the
subject. I want to help them succeed in their education. I became a teacher because I
wanted people to enjoy history the same way that I did as a student, but through my
time becoming a teacher I have come to learn that my role is less about getting people
to enjoy my subject area, but to enjoy education. If students can leave my class with a
better appreciation for their peers, themselves, and education, then I’ve done my job.
Everything outside of that is just a great bonus.

Journal #7

Challenges, overcoming them, advice for future term 5 students, what would you
have liked to learn what would have given you more confidence in your role as a future
teacher

Some challenges we all faced this semester was just the sudden change to a
new system of working through class. Going through a major change in procedure is
always hard, and this change was especially difficult as it was a completely new system
of doing things with arguably not enough time to fully plan out. However, we all hung in
there and worked together to make things manageable and successful. Some advice I
would give to incoming term 5 students is to just be yourself and try to engage with the
things you are learning. After watching several hours worth of Sir Ken Robinson talking
about education I think its incredibly important to understand that education is a human
system and can’t be thought of as a mechanical process. So bringing your own ideas,
opinions, and beliefs to the table helps to enhance your learning experience as well as
that of others. Second, with the things you are learning in education courses, really try
to understand the reasoning behind different strategies and ideas. Some things will
seem like nonsense and other things will outright go against what you think is ideal, but
having a greater understanding of how to approach education in different scenarios. Its
hard to say what I would have liked to learn since I learned so much already and since I
have so much I don’t know that I don’t know. I think in regards to both things I wish I
learned and things that would give me more confidence as a future teacher it is hard to
say what I want to learn, especially since education is such a fluid environment. There is
no magic bullet solution that can prepare you for every situation, every environment, or
every student, and as such I think it would probably most beneficial to learn how to
adapt to situations rather than to only rely on being prepared for situations prior.