Ok, so I'm on a roll with these readings. I read Jackson's "The Daily Grind" and I don't know what exactly to think about it. I agree with most points. He's making a case for elementary classrooms and based on what I remember from about 13 years ago, the way he describes it is pretty accurate. But I'm already running into an overall problem that I've faced with other education classes I've taken (and maybe I'm making this generalization a bit too early - only Gayle could tell me what to expect...) But I'm a little exhausted with hearing about elementary ages, elementary classrooms, the elementary brain, etc... I'm just having trouble on gaining information about the high school level. The older adolescent brain is really complex, as well as the attitude. Jackson mentioned something about how elementary children HAVE to come to school because they have no other choice so the teacher might as well make it as home-like and friendly as possible. What about the high school junior or senior who has a car and could just as easily skip a day, a few days, or a week!? What does a high school teacher need to do in the classroom to create a sense of invitation for the student - to make the student want to come to school? I have these worries all the time and I still haven't found a source from an education class that's addressed it. So perhaps I'm not even addressing Jackson's article, but moreso, the lack of need I felt in reading it. Do any other secondary education majors feel my pain? Or have I just been unlucky with the education courses I've taken so far? It's just a concern I have and I suppose I'd just rather address it early on and hope some good secondary-level resources will come my way with this course!

Casey you have said everything I have been saying for the last year. I am in my last semester of ed classes before I go into student teaching and I am taking the one and only class that focuses just on secondary students! I feel like we are going to be placed in a classroom with very little experience working with teenagers and that scares me to death. I do not know what your major is but there shoud be at least one class that focuses on teaching high school students. Look into it. Oh and I am also doing an assistanship with the department that I work with. Look into that too! It is really helping, because I am working with mostly freshman, so they are still fresh out of highschool, and I am also getting the experience of teaching a class! I feel your pain, I think there should be more focus for people in the secondary department. We need to know just as much about the teenage mind as elementary need to know about the childs mind!

I agree with you both. This is my fourth education class, and I do not feel like I am prepared to go into a classroom and teach teenagers. I think that the minds of teenagers are just as or more complicated than that of children at the elementary age. I understand that many students are majoring in education because they love children, but I love Biology and I'm most interested in teaching high school students. The emphasis just always seems to be on elementary eduation, but hopefully that won't be the case in the rest of my education classes.

I'm majoring in English, secondary education, so yeah, my degree actually comes through the English department and not the College of Education. And I've thought maybe that's the reason we don't have as many high school education classes - since we're concentrating in one field, unlike elementary ed. But even if that were the reason, I just don't think it's good enough. I have another whole year and don't do my student teaching until next spring. I still have to take the one "high school English teaching" course I have, but that'll be in the fall. So I'm basically set up with the dilemma that yeah, I know tons about the field I want to teach, but I haven't the foggiest idea of how to present it to the students that may not appreciate it as much as I do. I just don't want to fail my students...

I'm going into elementary education; however, I can see why you would be concerned about the lack of information on teenagers.
I found that this article was very insightful. Individuals should be aware of the amount of time children spend at school, what happens during those hours, and be involved in their childs education.

I also found this article to be insightful. I never really took time out to think about the amount of time children would be spending in the classroom. As a future teacher (and maybe even parent) I want the children to have a classroom environment that feels welcoming and somewhat at home to them. I also would want the parents to feel at ease about where their child is spending the majority of their time, and also feel comfortable asking questions.