While I was reading this article, it seemed to mirror many of the now existing districts and their barriers. The middle school in our district is a school that has adapted many of the models such as the Orange Middle School. I would recommend to our district to implement ROPE-W and the basketball math theory. Right now we have a video that is shown in homeroom to help improve math scores. The students do not even look at it, much less practice the assignments.
Like anything else in life when you make a personal connection to something you absorb the contents like a sponge because of the assimilation to the information. In Orange the students have impoverished life styles and the teachers are aware of the violence that they are exposed to. It is only through uniformed authority, strict school vigilance and a sense of cohesiveness in and out of the school that will deter violence.
When students have a voice they feel more important and at that age fostering their self-esteem is a vital element in their lives. While Orange Middle School is developing new strategies, another improvement that I would recommend is to not only voice their opinions about violence, but also to know where to turn to immediately if they are in a situation or knows of someone in a situation that may need their help. I would also implement a follow-up homework or lesson to be delineated with the basketball activity.
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3 comments:
I really think your idea abouta way to contact someone if you are in trouble is important and would help the children feel safer in their daily lives. Being a math teacher who in attempted to use the basketball idea in my first year, I must say that it had the opposite effect on my 8th grades. They just saw it as a game and it quickly got out of hand. I guess it may work with younger kids...
I think you made the point as to why counseling may be equally or more important than academics in middle school.
I really like the ROPE-W and math basketball idea as well. I think that these ideas could benfit my district too. I also think that students need a voice and that when their ideas are taken into consideration they are more apt to take to any changes better.
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