Chapter 2: Motivating Young Adolescents Synthesis

Abstract:
The chapter is about motivating middle school students as can be inferred from the title. There are 17 suggestion of how to do just that located within the chapter. Basically the two themes of the chapter are to know your students and provide a safe environment for them in your class. Many ideas fall under the first theme. By knowing who your students are and their interests you can create meaningful lessons that connect to their personal lives and that are fun for them. Also using your enthusiasm about the content can go along way. The class agreed that a safe environment is important for middle school students both emotionally and physically. Many of my peers mentioned not speaking up in class unless they were comfortable and how participating in class is a major part of learning. Another important aspect of an environment suitable for learning is to state the goals and objectives clearly so students know what they have to do. Two lesser bits that were pulled out of the chapter were to glean information about students from their parents and to watch stray comments because a harmless comment can destroy a middle school student’s self esteem.

Reflection:
The reflections from everyone in the class varied greatly. Some people talked about how helpful the chapter was with providing suggestions to keep up the creativity and spice of the lessons. A few found the success stories located on the sidebars of the pages in the chapter particularly enlightening. One person mentioned the difference between high school energy level and middle school energy level. Another person spoke of using these tools to motivate outside of academics, in extracurricular activities. Many mentioned the emotional and social development of this age group and how important that knowledge was in order to teach and guide these students toward being successful citizens. Keeping all that in mind; have fun. Do not be afraid to be real to your students and let your hair down once in a while and get a little crazy.