No one has ever claimed that being a middle schooler is easy. For average pre-teens, bodies, hormones, and friends change on an almost daily basis, and the last thing they want to think about is school. Having to spend hours each day doing what someone else tells you to do isn’t exactly their idea of fun. The “child-like wonder” of the elementary school years has fully faded, but they haven’t yet developed the realization that school is actually important—that usually comes sometime around college application deadlines!
So how do we reach these middle schoolers who are too old to be excited, and too young to care? It all comes down to empowerment. Students of all ages are so used to sitting in their seats and being told exactly what to do. Most comply, some defy, and very few are enthusiastic. But hand them the reigns and their world will turn upside down—in a good way.
Empowering students with their learning is the most effective way to reinvigorate their excitement about school. And empowering doesn’t mean letting them do whatever they want. It also doesn’t mean giving them a simple choice between two worksheets. True empowerment is somewhere in between. The teacher guides, but the student has control. This is the sweet spot that will help bring back their zest for learning.
Hold “Town Hall” Forums
Allowing students to “have the floor” on topics that are important to them helps build communication skills, perspective-taking, and independence. This can take place weekly for a short period of time, or monthly for slightly longer. Forum topics can relate to the current unit of study, or they can be more general, with topic options that the teacher provides. Here is a more structured approach to a Town Hall using reading passages, from facinghistory.org.
Incorporate Technology
We’ve heard a lot of teachers say that after this year, they’re going to use a lot less paper! Not only does this save trees, it’s also a great motivator for students. While many of us find some aspects of technology intimidating, today’s middle schoolers have grown up with it. Many of them are more comfortable designing a video game than writing an essay. While they should have to produce formal writing now and then, why not have them demonstrate their learning about a historical time period by designing a game about it? Or let them make a movie and present it to the class. Get creative and they’ll be so much more excited about showing you what they know.
Along similar lines, we know that students are constantly on their phones, texting, snap chatting, Instagramming, you name it. Instead of getting frustrated by this, use it to your advantage! Have your students write a text conversation between Romeo and Juliet set in modern times. For math, ask them to design a fake business’ Instagram page, showing available discounts. They spend so much time on their phones anyway, we might as well have them do something productive!
Make it Real
Finally, for students to have any willingness to learn, let alone enthusiasm, they need to feel like their learning is relevant. Show them how it applies to the real world. Use current events when studying nonfiction text. Apply math concepts to actual situations instead of straight equations without any context. And use your students’ names in word problems instead of random names that are meaningless to them. When their learning is real and they can relate to the tasks they’re being asked to complete, their learning will become so much more meaningful.
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