Articles by Topic

Don’t Pick Up the Rope

Why it’s not worth getting into a struggle with students It was the summer of 1998. I lived in a two room apartment with my now husband. The shower was in the kitchen. We drove clunker cars, scrounged change for take-out, and let me tell you, we were living our best life. We were young,

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Getting to Know Our Students

A successful school year starts—and continues—with knowing well the students we serve One of the highest forms of respect around the world is to prove to someone that we really know them, and that we see them as worth knowing. We can connect with the grumpiest of individuals when we prove such things, and, of

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Middle Schoolers Must Play

Students share about their engagement in and ownership of their own play time “Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play.” —Heraclitus (554 – 483 BC) As middle school educators, we see a growing population of adolescents who struggle with executive skills and social problem-solving. We believe the

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Beginning with Growth Mindset in the Math Classroom

Facilitating rich discourse to engage students and develop confidence Through education, teachers influence change in their students’ mindsets, which in turn can help students become successful individuals (Yeager & Dweck, 2012). We believe that the best teachers guide, motivate, and inspire their students. Teaching mathematics effectively is crucial to developing students who can solve problems

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A Defining Issue of Our Time

Creating middle schools where every child can speak a digital language Jade is a quiet 12-year-old girl who has been in my English classes here in Hong Kong for the past two school years. Because of her in-class demeanor, it took me by surprise when Jade off-handedly mentioned that she has over 4,000 followers on

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The Power of Community Circles

Building healthy relationships in the middle school classroom The Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) emphasizes the importance of creating a successful school for young adolescents that is inviting, supportive, safe, and joyful in order to support students’ emotional well-being. As a middle level teacher educator, it has become apparent that teaching future educators the

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AMLE Celebrates Inaugural Schools of Distinction

AMLE recognized its inaugural class of Schools of Distinction earlier this month, in conjunction with the organization’s 49th Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida. The twelve schools were selected for their fervent commitment to implementing the essential attributes and characteristics of successful middle grades schools. In addition to being celebrated during a special awards ceremony, each

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Reimagining School – What should it look like and who is it for?

Cornelius Minor and Kass Minor help #AMLE22 attendees find their bottom lines as educators Cornelius and Kass Minor believe that kids don’t just learn in school. They become. It’s an attitude reflective of what we know about middle grades best practice, making them the perfect keynoters for #AMLE22 and our return to in-person conference. We

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Kindness is harder than it looks.

Houston Kraft reminds #AMLE22 attendees that connection doesn’t happen by accident. Houston Kraft, author and co-founder of CharacterStrong, took the main stage at #AMLE22 yesterday for his keynote address on Deep Kindness. From the outset, he made clear that he had a mission for those in attendance. “If we want more kindness on our campus,

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