Mainely Middle
Journal of the Maine Association for Middle
Level Education
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2000/2001 |
An Adult Advocate for Every Child...
I want you to know a little bit about me so you can understand the impact of what I am going to tell you had on me. I had a change of life style a few years ago when I admitted I was an alcoholic and sought help. That was the beginning of a life of happiness. I was twenty-six years old. I cannot share this with many people because they do not understand, and it makes them uncomfortable. It has actually become the best part about me... I received a note from a student on my desk. It was during one of those days that goes by in the blink of the eye. I was planning field trips, organizing a class event, and planning two units for my middle schoolers. The anonymous correspondence I received stopped me in my tracks and caused me to reflect on many things at once. I would like to share this poem with you: Learning I received this in a very carefully folded, triangular package, with the following written on the package: A cry for help that I'm sending you... This took me back three years when I was contemplating suicide myself. I did not know who I was or where I fit into life. I was stuck in a self-imposed crisis and I needed help to get out of it. When I felt enough pain and had exhausted all my options, I found it. I reached out and within and received the help, love, and support that was always there for me. Today, this student chose to reach out to me. What an honor! What a responsibility!?! This happened after my middle level graduate class discussion on advising programs. How serendipitous! Being the go-getter I am, I wanted to start an advisory program immediately and have the staff come up with a harassment policy that would be enforced. Instead, I shared this note with my team and received mixed messages. The guidance counselor and I thought about who it could be and we decided that I would bring it up in a vague way in class and then discuss the plans we had in the making for some harassment awareness for our entire middle school. Next , I read Howard Johnston's article, "Restoring Purpose to the Guidance Function of the Middle Level School." Johnston discusses the perils that advisory programs experienced in the 70's and 80's and 90's. The problems really came down to a lack of clear vision, programs not consistently implemented, and the adults involved who were not enthusiastic about these programs. He also discussed why they have gone the way of the dinosaur and now are slowly coming back. Our country changed. It has evolved from a post-industrial age to a digital age. Instead of a culture focused on producing products for consumption, the focus of the digital age is on the speed and complexity of connectivity between people and organizations. He noted that we have relied on a top-down mode of thinking as an institutional approach, instead of a bottom-up, or more person to person approach. He notes several events that have had serious effects on our child-rearing practices as a result of this notion. This is what happened: • Restructured economy which has seen a dramatic increase in the number of two working adult household. So, kids do not really understand adults that much and visa versa. We need to have more authentic contact with kids that will allow them to benefit from the adult contact and visa versa. In my middle level curriculum class, my group developed a continuum of options for what an advising program could look like in a middle school and then developed a definition: Point 1 on our continuum was an informal check-in with kids with no structure or expectations. This would allow the teacher to be comfortable doing whatever the teacher would like to. The concern was that teachers would do nothing, or, as one of our group members actually experienced, have the kids correct spelling tests. None of us liked this very much. We all believed some sort of accountability and consistency was needed. To add to the strengths of Point 2 from the Johnston article; he suggests that there should be various aspects of the advising program. It should not all be touchy-feely, so all the stakeholders in the learning community can buy into and support it. He suggests an "integrated approach" that ties in school-wide themes, leadership and social skills, interest based clubs, academic skills training; such as skills with standardized tests, organizational skills, and time management, and, finally, a regular home-base check in either as a group or with individual students. You can see how we came up with our definition: Advisory Program: A program that will alloweach and every student to regularly connect with an adult that is a sincere and enthusiastic advocate-allowing each and every student the opportunity to feel listened to, voice any problems or concerns, and feel supported and hopeful about their lives and future. I could have benefited from a program like this. During my middle school years, my mom was dying of emphysema, my dad had just gotten sober and was irritable, my brother left for the army, and I felt alone. If I had had the benefit of regular contact with a caring and supportive adult at school, I might have opened up a bit and began to discuss the pain I felt. That adult might have been able to get me help and prevent the self-destruction I caused in my life. Who knows what is going on in a kid's life? We try to figure it out, but with what degree of accuracy? I am in a position now to make a difference for a kid that is struggling in some way. I am not going to think it is no big deal. I will do all I can to make a positive climate change in our school and let that child know that I would honor the opportunity to talk with him/her and help in any way I can, or get help for them. I am thankful that I was in this class and had the opportunity to think about this real school issue before it was a real issue for me. As This We Believe states: All adults in developmentally responsive middle level schools are advocates for young adolescents. In addition, each student has one adult who knows and cares for that individual and who supports that student's academic and personal development. This designated advocate or advisor must be a model of good character and be knowledgeable about both young adolescent development and middle level education… The ideal school demonstrates a continuity of caring that extends over the student's entire middle level experience so that no student is neglected. (1995, pp. 16 - 17)) I will be an active and enthusiastic contributor to our Harassment Awareness Day, but will also begin to mention an advising program that can fulfill our young adolescents' need for positive, meaningful, and constructive interaction with willing adult role-models.
Bibliography Johnston, H. (2000). Advisory programs to restructured adult- student relationships: Restoring purpose to the guidance function of the middle level school. www.middleweb.com/johnston.html.
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