The more time I spend observing and teaching in the middle school classroom, the more I wonder if it is possible for teachers to reach all of their students. This question has been on my mind for the past two months straight. It seems nearly impossible to make a connection with each student every school day, when educators have less than an hour per class to connect with any given student, and that student is one of 130+ students in five different classes. Teachers seem to understand that getting to know their students is a priory and is a crucial element to building a positive classroom community. Knowing each student is more than remembering their name and where they sit in the classroom. Knowing each student means being aware of how they learn best, what their interests are, and understanding their culture and community. If truly connecting with students is a priority as teachers, how then can this be accomplished with so many students and so little time? What are your thoughts?
~ Christy
Connecting to all students is one thing I've been grappling with as well as I've been in the middle school classroom. It's actually one of the issues that that has been nudging me toward elementary school because it seems so improbable to connecting to every student. I feel like at our school part of the issue is that there doesn't seem to be much community between the teachers or connection between subjects. Maybe this is something that could help the middle school community. If teachers could collaborate and integrate subjects, then they could start to see students in different settings in more than one subject. More time and contexts with students I think could easily allow for more connection.
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