Did anyone think it was possible to love teaching Junior High children?  Principal George Bowers proved in fact it is!  He shared many positive views about Junior High children that I had never considered.  He mentioned that a great thing about Junior High is that the children are still eager to learn and haven’t yet considered that they have limits as to what they can do in the future. He also gave excellent advice about tricks for handing children and parents, even in tough situations.  Principal Bowers said two things that really stuck out for me that I would like to try and remember: He said it takes a while to understand how to organize curriculum and make it enjoyable at the same time, and that discipline can be incorporated into curriculum as well.  The second statement was about discipline, “Be friendly, but firm”.  Judging by Principal Bowers’ success stories with discipline, it seems that this theory just might work!  He is professional, but he genuinely cares for students, and wants to help them.  He prefers his staff to be caring and easy for the children to relate to as well.  Principal Bowers tries to encourage his teachers to communicate with their students’ parents every so often to touch base and maybe offer some positive feedback.  This is an excellent idea for keeping communication open, so that parents feel comfortable with, and trust the teacher.  George Bowers also mentioned he believed in never accepting limits, and that a teacher should always push a student to do more than they or the student, might even believe they can; doing this is perhaps the most important part of keeping a child motivated.

• Incorporating discipline into curriculum was something that really stuck out to me, I never comprehended that teachers do that.  Looking back now, I see how they do, and when I am a teacher I will do this as well.  I believe the ways in which teachers do this, is by having set activities for the day, teaching subjects at a set time everyday, and having simple things such as worksheets ready.
• Keeping communication open with parents seems like a great idea!  By doing this, you are allowing the parents to be involved in the education process of their student, and allowing them a chance to trust you with one of the most important people in their life!  Knowing this, I will try to communicate with parents on a regular basis when I teach.
• When Principal Bowers said junior high children haven’t yet considered the possibility that they can’t do something they wish to do in the future, I’ve realized what a benefit that is for teachers because they have the opportunity to encourage students to do anything they want!  While junior high is possibly one of the toughest ages for children, and a challenge for teachers, George Bowers has made me realize that junior high might not be as atrocious as most people think! 

Everyone knows that growing up is filled with uncertainty and that insecurities can arise sometimes as soon as elementary school begins, but you often never hear of the saddening stories most children go through as a child.  Guy Doud was kind enough to share personal stories in his speech, making him extremely easy to relate to and personable.  Mr. Doud’s insecurities derived from his weight problems and how students and teachers made him feel deficient and uncared for, even in the smallest ways.  These feelings continued for him on a daily basis until he entered sixth grade.  He had his first male teacher who made him feel smart and interesting, just by shaking his hand, treating him like he was important, and picking the sports teams, instead of allowing the boys in the class do it; which for Mr. Doud usually meant he was picked last or not at all.  Guy Doud opened up about how this teacher made him feel, “Mr. Card seemed to like me and so I worked really hard for Mr. Card.”  It is surprising what treating a student like they are important, can do for them.  Mr. Doud still struggled from time to time during his school years, but with the help of Mr. Card and a few other teachers who inspired him, he became very involved in school, and embarked on his path to become a teacher himself.  Guy Doud had a way of speaking that made his audience feel some of his pain, and reflect on the times they felt inadequate and unsure at school.  It is extraordinary what encouragement can do for a child.

• When Guy Doud said a few of his teachers made him feel inadequate in grade school, even by neglecting to hang his ginger-bread man picture, that made me reflect upon how things that may seem insignificant to adults, may make a child feel completely useless and unworthy.  When I am a teacher, I will hang all pictures or none at all!  I will also realize that a student’s work doesn’t have to be perfect in order to find something to compliment about.
• Guy Doud’s teacher, Mr. Card, was the first teacher to make him feel he was special and smart.  He did this by simply shaking his hand and taking an interest in him.  When I teach, I will try to make a personal connection with every student, and show that I care, even with small gestures.
• Mr. Doud was excited when his teacher would pick the teams for the class because it meant Guy Doud would be able to play!  There is nothing more frightening to a child than sitting alone, hoping someone will pick them for their team, or to be in their group. When I am a teacher, I will do sport/group selection myself; hopefully this will avoid some rejection and possible clicks.

It is “never finished, never right.”  When reading this quote, one wouldn’t think it has anything to do with the word TRIBES, but it in fact has everything to do with it.  Diane Hale enlightened our class with the concept of TRIBES, a method that highlights making the class a “community.”  The goal is to make students feel they are a part of the classroom, and that they are a team.  There are three basic steps to this program.  The steps don’t always work out to be only three because children are more complex than a step-by-step process, but they are a useful guide to teachers: inclusion, influence and community.  These steps take the class from getting to know each other, knowing and recognizing differences, to working together creatively.  So the class is building a community, great! But what does this mean?  To Diane Hale, it means that the children will learn social skills, not just math, science and reading.  This can be very exciting because many students do not come into the classroom with these skills of working together already instilled in their brains.  Ms. Hale also believes students should have some say in activities so they feel they are a part of school.  This can be a difficult concept for teachers who take on more of an authoritarian teaching style because it gives some of the control and suggestions over to the students.  However, the positive sides to allowing children to do this are that they will be comfortable speaking up and they will feel they are included in their education.  Ms. Hale also mentioned that in this program, teachers give students “right to pass.”  This means that if they are called on and they don’t know the answer, they don’t have to sit there and nervously try to figure it out.  She then showed us a quote that provides an example as to why they use “right to pass” ; “When a person feels threatened or excluded, [embarrassed or angry] he/she ‘downshifts’ to the lower brain and cannot think well.  Emotional balance is destroyed.”  Right to pass prevents this anxiety from happening!  Ms. Hale provided some very useful information for all elementary teachers and her presentation revealed how strongly she believes in this method. 

• The three steps, (inclusion, influence and community), are something I would really like to use when I begin teaching. These three steps provide examples of the natural process of people becoming comfortable in their work or class community.  The theory behind the three steps in TRIBES is certain to ease students into a close and cooperative community, and that is what I want for my students!
• Creating an open feeling to the classroom is something that I want to do with my future students.  I want them to feel they are a part of this process of their education, and be comfortable in the class.  TRIBES offers several ways of creating this: social skills, input on activities, and right to pass.
• When Diane Hale was talking about motivation and said, “It is our job to meet them half way,” I couldn’t have agreed more.  Because of Ms. Hale’s informative speech, I now believe TRIBES takes that quote and molds it into the hidden curriculum of the classroom by given children the opportunity to work together and have some say in activities.  Hidden curriculum along with social skills, is equally as important as subject curriculum.  When I am a teacher, I will focus on remembering that.