A View from the Middle: Resolve to Learn in 2010

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January 2010 • Volume 41 • Number 3 • Page 2

A View from the Middle

Editor, David C. Virtue

Resolve to Learn in 2010

In October I attended the annual Middle Level Education Summit at Georgia College and State University. John Lounsbury presided over the closing session and introduced the featured speaker, Elizabeth Koller, executive director of Perspectives on Growth and Development. Ms. Koller's session, titled "The Science of Brain Chemistry and Youth Behavior," explained how the levels of five key brain chemicals, or neurotransmitters, influence certain human behaviors. As Dr. Lounsbury delivered the introduction, he told the audience that he had first heard Ms. Koller speak at a Georgia Middle School Association conference, and he described how he had been intrigued by the "cutting edge" ideas she had shared during her session. Dr. Lounsbury was visibly excited about what he had learned from Ms. Koller and what she was about to teach all of us, and as he spoke, I thought to myself, "This man never stops learning." Indeed, after 50-plus years as a scholar in the field of middle grades education, John Lounsbury continues to be the quintessential example of a lifelong learner.

We all have much to learn about our profession—about the subject matter we teach and the ways we teach it, about the students and families we serve and the communities they call home, about the political and cultural conditions that influence our work. Each school year, teachers implement new and improved instructional strategies, researchers offer fresh insights into teaching and learning, and school administrators find better ways to restructure schools and use data. Those who actively work to promote excellent education for young adolescents are members of a worldwide middle grades movement that undergoes continuous renewal and is built on a base of knowledge and expertise that grows every school day. This knowledge base encompasses developmental and cognitive psychology, school leadership, curriculum and instruction, educational philosophy, and many other disciplines and areas of inquiry.

All educators have a professional duty to be current and knowledgeable in their fields. Too often, professional "learning" is relegated to one-day teacher in-service programs or district-wide staff development activities. Hayes Mizell, distinguished senior fellow with the National Staff Development Council, asserted in a recent blog that teachers need to assume greater responsibility for their own professional learning. He decried top-down approaches to professional development in which superintendents or other administrators determine staff development needs for entire schools or districts without input from teachers. Such approaches rarely meet the real needs of teachers. Educators encourage their students to independently plan and regulate their own learning, and they need to apply these practices to themselves as well.

Typically, at the start of a new year, people resolve to improve their lives in tangible ways. They commit to healthier living by exercising more, eating less, and dropping bad habits such as smoking. They may set financial goals to save more money, reduce credit card debt, or purchase a home. Some people also set professional goals for themselves at the start of a new year. For middle grades educators, the dawn of 2010 can be an opportunity to resolve to learn. This learning can take many forms.

Setting tangible, achievable professional learning goals.
Forming faculty learning groups or book clubs.
Fostering collaborative learning within schools by ensuring that teachers have designated times and places to meet.
Seizing "learnable moments" that occur during the school day and outside of school.
Attending professional development events sponsored by NMSA or other professional associations.

The many middle grades educators who are active, purposeful, lifelong learners are members of a living, vibrant middle grades movement; yet too many other educators remain stuck in a middle grades moment. They have grown complacent in their practice, let their professional knowledge stagnate, and allowed their personal educational philosophies to fossilize. Understandably, many educators struggle during their busy days to find time to engage in meaningful learning experiences for themselves. Resolving to make professional learning a top priority is a necessary step in the right direction.