Teaming Blog

Hello Everyone,

This post was originally on our class site, but I have also put it here for reference as well:

After reading and reflecting on the articles related to teaming, I feel more determined to be a part of a school that incorporates and completely implements the essential components of teaming. The idea of being able to collaborate with other professionals and to listen to the unique perspectives your fellow experts in education have seems both logical and incredibly valuable. The biggest takeaway for me in regards to these readings would be the importance of accountability and fully implementing teaming within middle schools. It is without doubt that a team is as strong as its weakest link, and having the time to work and grow with all team members provides the opportunity to improve and build upon each other. Educators constantly espouse the importance of community within the classroom, yet so many middle schools do not have a stable/existent team community for the educators. By allowing educators to collaborate in meaningful ways, and also learning about their fellow educators, these teams can create a necessary community of their own that results in consistency and quality instruction for the students within the team.

In terms of ideas that have challenged me, I am very much in support of teaming in theory, but my greatest concern lies within the amount of time and the structure that school administrators provide teams to having common planning time. What's more, is the openness of communication and feedback a school's administration is willing to listen to in order to build a stronger team within middle schools. It can certainly be a daunting task to restructure the design of an entire school, and administrators, as well as faculty, could be hesitant to make such substantial changes within their school. I would say in response to this, that it is up to all stakeholders to work together to make such a transition, as it is one that will end up benefiting the largest stakeholder in the long term, but I'm concerned that many school districts are unwilling to change their ways of instruction.

Making Advisories Meaningful

Community Building

Based on what I have read thus far in regards to advisory, I believe that the most pertinent role an advisor can be is an advocate for students. Middle school can be an awkward and a challenging time for students, because there is a tendency for students to feel isolated or disconnected from others. This feeling of loneliness may result in acting out or distancing themselves from the rest of the class, and it is imperative that an advisory is able to advocate and connect with students. Without feeling safe or having a sense of belongingness, how can we possibly expect a student to thrive, let alone focus and learn within the classroom?

The core of belonging I believe is rooted in creating stake and responsibility for our community. When students have a voice and are provided with the ability/time to make a positive impact within the community, I believe there is a tendency for students to want to connect and be a part of something that is bigger than themselves. One of the few things that made me belong in middle school was when I got to work with a team of students and two geography teachers to find missing cornerstones in my home region. These cornerstones were created by the pilgrims on Cape Cod to demarcate town boundaries through utilizing geometry and through measuring the North pole to divide towns. We brainstormed and were able to find three cornerstones that had never been previously found. This was a defining point in my life, because it made me realize how enthralled I was with history and civics, prior to this elective, I wanted to go into science.

Community building is essential to a middle school in my opinion, because it allows students to truly make a difference and feel like they have given something in return. Adolescence is an awkward age when students want to assume more adult responsibilities but are seldom given the opportunity. Surely, our students can live up to our expectations.

I would break this advisory down into sections throughout the year (or semester depending). The first section would include students identifying and discussing issues within our community (I would also have students establish norms about respect and empathy to ensure people feel safe and open about discussing issues as a community). The next step would be having students researching ideas or brainstorming potential solutions to a community issue (whether it is in school, or out of school). The next component would be strategizing and executing a game plan. Let’s say that littering is an issue within a community park, and students propose the idea of taking a field trip to clean a local park. Students (not the advisor) chose and voted on this idea, which empowers them to rise up to an occasion and make a difference, in which the entire community benefits from their efforts. Through this project, students work together and build meaningful relationships. Advisories can be an incredibly powerful experience if they are well conceived.

5 Essentials for Advisory

Additionally, I have provided my top 5 essential aspects of the role of an advisor below:

1. Address problems facing the community (potentially have students work to create solutions/brainstorm)
2. Provide support and advice for students in advisory
1. Be open and honest with students to build trust and relationships
3. Having a purposeful advisory with direction (demonstrating the importance and relevance of having advisory)
4. Advisory building (students trusting each other) and creating an empathetic community
5. Providing academic support for students.