Week Six: Anxiety in the Middle School

 This week focused on anxiety and panic disorders in middle school students. I have to say that it hit home for me, as someone who has been diagnosed with anxiety myself. I remember both the "normal" stresses of being in middle and high school -- the packed schedule, harder homework and tests, wanting to fit in, and feeling awkward socially -- as well as the feelings of anxiety that come with a chemical imbalance. Treatment made a huge difference. I feel it is so important for middle school educators to be aware of the symptoms of anxiety disorders, panic attacks, and depression. In my opinion, being educated on these things goes along with being educated about the age group that you are teaching. If we don't know what our students are going through - developmentally, socially, or even in cases of anxiety or depression -- how can we best help them and guide them? How will we get them to experience meaningful learning? This is why this quote from the AMLE article resonated with me: 

"Make sure teachers trained in their subject areas see the value of gaining expertise in the emotional development of their students. It’s what professionals do, and given what we know about young adolescent development, it is educational malpractice to remain indifferent to it or incompetent in it."

Teachers cannot expect to develop positive relationships with their students if they don't become well-versed in the age group development of their students. However much content matters, a major reason that I decided to make the change to become an educator in middle and secondary grades was that I realized how much a difference you can potentially make in a student's life by building rapport and showing that you care about them. I personally feel that all educators know that their job will never be limited to just teaching content. We need to make sure we are also empathetic and understanding of what adolescents experience, especially because we have already experienced it ourselves. That brings me to the other quote that stuck with me from this article: 

"...We have versatile skills honed from years of experience and the assurance that comes from having made it to our adult years relatively intact: There are grounds for optimism. Young adolescents aren’t there yet, however, and their rocky, narrow path along the cliff’s edge may fall away at any moment, or so it seems to them."

It is amazing how much of a difference that knowledge like this can make! For example, if a student is acting out, projecting an "attitude," or seems to be overly dramatic, taking this information into account can help us as teachers see the reason behind what they are doing. It will help us to be more understanding and lessen frustration in terms of classroom management as well. The video that we watched really drove this point home to me - as adults, we often forget what it was like to be this age. We want what is best for our students, and acknowledging that they are not alone, and that they are not the only one who has ever felt this way, can make a huge difference.

As a final note, I wanted to recommend a movie that fits into this discussion: Eighth Grade (2018). The film is from the perspective of an eighth-grade girl, and it made me remember so many things about the way I felt at that age. It also takes the factor of social media into account, which adds another layer to the adolescent experience. Extremely well done! I would have anyone who was going to teach middle school watch it if it was up to me.