Square, Triangle, Circle

1. Square

In the AMLE article, there is a section discussing young adolescent moral development. The authors write, "During early adolescence, many of the attitudes, beliefs, and values that young adolescents develop remain with them for life" (Anfara and Caskey, 2014). I can connect to this because I remember middle school was the time for me that piloted my interest in social justice. Since this age, I have become increasingly involved in the act for change. My core beliefs have remained the same, only expanding on the foundations that were formed. Another part of the readings I connected to was in Phyllis Fagell's Washington Post article, where she highlights that "'Only 1 percent of seventh-grade friendships are still intact in 12th grade, and more than two-thirds of friendships shift during the first year of middle school'" (2020). I remember when I entered middle school, I had my previously established 5th grade friend group. Of my friends who went to the same middle school, they pretty much all formed a friend group without me right off the bat. I then became apart of another friend group, which grew and adjusted itself in 7th grade, and I am only close friends with one of those people now. It's truly fascinating how friendships grow and grow apart. Her section on recognizing intent vs impact was also relatable because I feel that when I was in middle school, I would become frustrated whenever a person was upset with me rather than considering what I did to upset them (2020). I also recognized this in other people, and still do even as an adult. These are very important conversations to have with our kids. In What Every Middle School Teacher Should Know, Chapter 4, the writers discuss the division between boys and girls in middle school social circles, "Boys and girls will absolutely not mix, except in the rare groups of girls and boys that are friends; these groups are either absolute highest status or the very bottom" (Brown and Knowles, 2014, p. 35). I remember being legitimately afraid of boys at this age! At my school, the "most popular" kids consisted of a group of boys and girls, and the "least popular" did as well. I would have never realized this is a pattern without reading this article.

2. Triangle

I learned quite a few new things upon reading these texts. For instance, I hadn't even realized there were clear cut social-emotional learning standards for the state. This is a pleasant surprise for me, as I believe this aspect of education is of the utmost importance for both students and teachers. Additionally, Fegall's point about how adolescents go into "survival mode" when experiencing anxiety was new and interesting to me (2020). It's definitely something I've noticed, but never quite realized until reading this section of the article. The statements she offers to help kids when they are experiencing this are extremely helpful and I plan to use them as both a teacher and a parent. Finally, Anfara and Caskey's "Implications for Practice" under the section about social emotions was informative to me because it reiterates the importance of permitting student independence in the classroom, whether that be within groups or the student working individually. I hadn't thought about how this type of independence builds confidence within themselves in social situations.

3. Circle

Where do teachers draw the line for moral instruction practices (i.e. when does it reach "brainwashing" territory)?

A thought that's circling in my head is just how important socialization is to these group of students. Learning about how much this impacts students in various aspects of their lives/overall development allows us as future educators to better understand the importance of implementing social activities in the classroom.

The Washington Post article was my favorite read simply because it gave advice for both parent and teacher perspectives. It's hard to get through to kids these ages at times, so having a source like this to refer back to is super beneficial.