Chapter 17: The Truth About Middle School Students

This chapter was a final recap of the importance and achievement capabilities of young adolescents as the conclusion to the book. The author reminds that sometimes the students are difficult but they are just kids and have not completely grown up yet. He also states that a lot of the negative attitude of the general population about middle school students has to do with the negative attention the media gives them. Adolescents’ brains are growing, it’s just that everything else is growing too and sometimes academics take the back burner in that brain, but it doesn’t have to be like that. The chapter includes sayings that his students have written, some show an incredible amount of thought while others are less than intellectually engaging. It reminds us to consider how a middle school teacher has the immense ability and responsibility to shape and mentor the capable youth of America.

This chapter struck me as not only a conclusion to the book but a persuasive recruitment to teach middle students. The author acknowledges the good and the bad but points out the possibilities of so much more good. He enlists our help not only to teach but to help change the overall public opinion of middle students and what they are capable of. I have only read three chapters of this book but I am almost sold to want to teach middle school. Each grade level has its challenges and I know I will know which I will prefer when I student teach.