Hanson 1

Mitchell Hanson
What is the purpose (end in mind) of education in the 21st Century?
Educations has come a long way since the 20th Century. With more ways of making it easier to
obtain resources and using them for teaching in the 21st Century, we have the tools to better students
learning. This purpose is something that has not changed a whole lot. The article Education Indicators
in Focus, states Aristotle and Plato pointed out that education was central to the moral fulfillment of
individuals and the well-being of the society in which they live (OECD, 2013). The purpose of the
21st Century is to educate our students for what is to come and to better their life. We want to prepare
our students for their future occupation and to better society.
Firstly, the world is more connected now than it has been in the last couple centuries. According
to the article Results That Matter, one of the challenges is The nature of the workforce, jobs and
skill demands is changing internationally (Results that Matter, 8). Every country is taking a chance to
obtain jobs due to advancing technology. This pushes the purpose of education further. Workers need to
obtain education and which starts with the basics of elementary and middle school to better themselves
as adults. This generation of students in the United States need to have more educational push and
background so that it is easier to find jobs. Another statement from Results That Matter, The United
States historically has been a world leader in offering broad access to higher education, many other
countries now provide comparable access - and results (Results That Matter, 7). The United States
were one of the few who had opportunities for better education. However, every other country sees
how important education has become and are now offering equivalent or higher education.
Secondly, the United States is not putting education on top anymore. High officials make the
rules that teachers have to follow that does not open more opportunities later on in life. The musician
Tom Chapin makes interesting points during his Not on the Test music video. Like many other people,
Chapin states that there is not enough funding for all the rules and regulations that congress puts on

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education (Tom Chapin). Since education is not high on the list for money, teachers do not have all the
resources that they are expected to have. To get the money that they need, congress cuts out some
education like music, art and a few other skills needed. Thus, many of the skills that are now needed for
jobs are just not being taught anymore. The article 21st Century states that the seven 21st Century
skills are critical thinking/problem solving, collaborations/ leading by influence, agility/adaptability,
initiative entrepreneurialism, oral and written communications, ability to access and analyze
information, and curiosity/imagination (21st Century). When funding organization see that we are not
teaching half of these skills, they will not want to put as much funding into this education. Congress
needs to see this and focus on how to get more money besides cutting back education.
Thirdly, as a society we need education to help each other out and to continually build better
lives. Society continuously attempts to live longer and healthier. According to the Education
Indicators in Focus article, on average 30-year-old men and women, who are in the 15 OECD
(Organizations for Economic Co-Operation and Development) countries and graduate from upper
secondary education, live longer than those who do not graduate (OECD, 2013). Education does not
stop helping society there. Education helps the mindset of society and prevent violence and actually has
policies that correlate to those of society. By having more education, we can create a newer way of
living. In the OECD article, it is stated that on average, people who have more education tend to be
happier than those who are less educated (OECD, 2013).
In conclusion, the purpose stated at the beginning of the paper is back up by these examples.
The purpose for education in the 21st century is to prepare for future jobs and to better society. On
average, when a person is educated, he/she has the opportunity for more jobs in the work field and can
have a better job than those who are not educated. When educating students, it is important to have
funding and teach skills that will be used in the 21st century job fields. This way society can live longer
and happier.

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Work Cited
21st Century. PowerPoint. Retrieved on June 8, 2015, from
https://winona.ims.mnscu.edu/d2l/le/content/2817978/viewContent/23216174/View
Education Indicators in Focus. (2013). Retrieved June 8, 2015, from
http://www.oecd.org/education/skills-beyond-school/EDIF 2013--N10 (eng)--v9 FINAL
bis.pdf
John Forster, Tom Chapin (March 7, 2008). Not on the Test. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dAujuqCo7s

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How does the middle school fit into the overall end in mind?
Middle School can be a tough time to fit into. Even if the students do not realize it yet, it is
definitely needed. As William Haley once said Education would be much more effective if its purpose
was to ensure that by the time they leave school every boy and girl should know how much they do not
know, and be imbued with a lifelong desire to know it. Middle school is the connection between
elementary and high school. The purpose of middle school is to educate and prepare the students for
high school by giving them a familiar yet new environment for learning. By knowing the history, what
middle school is now, and a math perspective, the purpose will be clear.
First off, the history of middle school in the United States, is very important to know what
purpose it was created for. According to The New World Encyclopedia Middle school was an idea in
the 19th century that came from a Harvard study. Elementary at this time held kindergarten through
eighth grade and high schools held ninth through twelfth grade. This idea was about making another
split between the two school to make a bit easier for the students to transition from elementary to high
school. In 1950, Michigan had the first middle school which held sixth through eighth grade. It was
thought that in these grades had the complexity that was farther than elementary but not as complex to
be categorized in high school (New World Encyclopedia, 1).
Next is what middle school is today. Middle school is an essential part of the educational system
today. Today middle school is still the connection between Elementary and High school. Students in the
middle school today usually consist of sixth through eighth graders who travel from one classroom to
the next during with a short passing time. During my time at John Adams Middle School, I observed
the seventh grade classroom for a week. In this time, I saw why middle school is needed. For one the
maturity level of elementary and middle school is a drastic change. By having different schools,
elementary students stay more focused in their education. Also it prevents them from seeing and

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mimicking the behavior of the middle school students. Another thing that was noticed from being in the
classroom was that the students began to care or not care about the school work. The teacher has to be
very strong willed and determined to be respected by the students. In Kinney's PowerPoint, there are
four key skills that are needed to be successful middle school teacher which are being firmly grounded
in what todays students are being a role model to risk-takers, creating an inviting yet safe environment
for learning, and a mixture between hard work and humor (Kinney). Since middle school time is really
when the students start questioning more and are able to be taught more complex material then they
were in elementary, these four points are really necessary for keeping order in the middle school
classroom.
Now where does math fall in? While being in Heather McRae's classroom, I learned that the
math is a drastic change then how I remember it to be from my years in middle school. Mathematics in
the middle school is different than the material you would see in the elementary and high school. After
being there for one day, I could tell that there was a significant difference in the way the students
problem solve when compared to elementary and high school students. In elementary the math courses
are subjected as math, whereas the high school courses we see as algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and
calculus. Elementary is where students are learning the very first basic material such as adding,
subtracting, multiplication and division. When going into middle school they are starting to learn how
to do all of these in one equation. I saw how easy it was for the seventh graders to use these operations,
but they struggled when it came down to order of operations.
In conclusion, the purpose of middle school is to transition between the elementary and high
school. Study shows that students from kindergarten through twelfth grade benefit from having this
transition. Middle school subjects work better with having their own category because they are more
complex than elementary while still not being as complex as high school. With this transition, students
have less inappropriate behavior and become more focused. In order to gain the respect of the students

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the teacher must be able to know when to use seriousness and humor. Students need this transition
between elementary and high school so that they can have a better learning environment.

Works Cited
Education Quotes and Sayings. (n.d.). Retrieved June 9, 2015, from
http://www.quotegarden.com/education.html
Middle school. (2014, October 27). New World Encyclopedia. Retrieved on June 9, 2015 from
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Middle_school&oldid=985023.
National Middle School Association. (n.d.). This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolecents.
National Middle School Association. National Middle School Association.

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Who is the current middle school student in the 21st Century?
Even in the last decade the current middle school student changed. Every year has a change that
affects the middle school environment. At my time at John Adams Middle School I have seen what the
middle school student is today. As always the middle school students are going through personal
change of puberty. This change of their lives makes them think irrationally at times. Both boys and girls
somehow have the need to speak up to get attention or to be cool in front of their friends and
classmates. Anytime a student notices a flaw they feel the need to judge it in a way that could
emotionally affect the other person without any thought. At these ages the student feels like he/she
needs to be care free even if it potentially comes back at them (Observation, 2015). While being at John
Adams Middle School when I asked a student to quit talking and work more on his class work, his
response was Why are you tell me this? You are not even a teacher yet! You are still a student. Even
with that said he sat down and started his work. Students in the 21st century are interested in
technology, social media, and how they are being taught in the middle school classroom.
Firstly, the students in the 21st Century are all about their technology. This generation of
students have been introduced to the technology that we use so commonly today at a young age. This
makes the majority of them more technologically efficient then they have in the past. School districts
are now bringing in more and more technology into the school. The latest is the attempt to implement a
1:1 iPad to student ratio which has a great effect on students and their learning. At home students have
their computer, tablets, television and video games. Juana Summers, writer of the article Kids and
Screen Time: What Does the Research Say, says that Sixth graders self-reported that they spend more
than four hours a day on average using a form of technology (Juana Summers, 2014). By using
technology that much during the day at such a young age, they tend to learn and pick up more quickly.
Second off, Students in the 21st Century are all about social media. With technology being

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everywhere in a school the students feel the need to express what they are doing and how they feel to
sites like Facebook and Twitter. I asked a student the top three apps that she uses on her phone, she
responded Facebook Snapchat and Vine (Student Conversation, 2015). All three of these apps are about
either sharing information or a form of media. What has changed in the current century is that the
students these days do not realize how much they actually use social media. By having all these apps in
the pocket and around them everywhere they go, they are constantly focused on them when they could
be interacting with each other.
Finally, the students begin to have less patients at this age. During my observation I noticed how
when the teacher started the lesson within five minutes the students would be distracted with
something. According to What Students Say About Common Teaching Practices by Margaret Theobald,
only a few students learn best from teacher talk. Majority of the students in the 21st Century prefer to
have skill practice and actually learn better from this (Margaret Theobald, 1995). During my time at
John Adams Middle School I saw this exact example in action. When Heather McRae was giving
instruction on tessellations, these seventh grade students quickly grew bored and some even asked if
they could just get to doing the project (Observation, 2015). Theobald also states that the students
suggested to teachers these five ways of keeping their attention: keep it interesting so students want to
learn and to spice it up, keep it short, find out what the students know first, use videos, include
audience participation (Margaret Theobald, 1995).
In conclusion, the 21st Century middle school student is technologically efficient, loves social
media and are less patient at this age. Students are not only using a lot of technology at home, but as
well as more and more in the classroom. At this early of their lives, students are becoming more
knowledgeable at running technology than previous generations are at this time. Students love using
technology for social media. Many of the students interact with each other through technology rather
than making the effort to visit each other face to face. Students are also bored with constant lectures

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and prefer to be doing skill practice to keep them busy throughout the class.
Works Cited
Middle School Observation. (2015, May) John Adams Middle school. (Mitchell Hanson, Observer)
Middle School Conversation. (2015, May) John Adams Middle School.
Summers, J. (2014, August 28). Kids and Screen Time: What Does The Research Say? Retrieved June
10, 2015, from http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2014/08/28/343735856/kids-and-screen-timewhat-does-the-research-say
Theobald, M. A. (1995). What Students Say About Common Teaching Practices. Middle School
Journal, 18-22.

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What are the potential barriers to the student, teacher, school, and community?
There are barriers between any relationship that one shares with another. This is seen in the
middle school environment by teachers, administration, student and parents. This can vary depending
on the generations. In the 21st century some potential barriers are between student and teacher, student
and student, and school, teacher, school, and community.
Firstly, student and teacher connection is important. However, there are some barriers to each
connection. A barrier that sits between the middle school student and middle school teacher is the
language barrier. Teachers notice many of the immature comments done by the students. In the middle
school setting, students are learning new words that at their age they find cool or funny to use. Teachers
have to break that barrier and teach the student that it is not appropriate for school and not act their age.
However, teachers have to understand that this is the middle school environment and that they
potentially went through the same stage these students are going through. When a teacher is instructing
the class they have to be aware of what they say as well. The language that the teachers talk to one
another is different than the language that they talk to students, parents, and the community. One must
use language that the student or any other person in the conversation will be familiar with and break the
larger vocabulary down for them to understand.
Secondly, there is a barrier in the middle school environment between the students. Like adults,
middle school students have barriers built around them to protect themselves from others. In the middle
school environment as much as we hate to admit it, there is bullying involved. In the article Bullying
in Middle schools: Prevention and Intervention by Amy Milsom and Laura Gallo, bullying is more
commonly started in middle school (Amy Milsom, 2006). A student can potentially be a victim of
bullying depending on what his/her clothes, interests, odor, or actions. However, with technology being
used more frequently bullying is a potential threat. Students create barriers on the internet for the same

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reason as when in the middle school. Schools like John Adams Middle School have anti-bullying
programs and policies to help out the student to student relations. By putting up signs and talking to the
students, teachers can help prevent of bullying in and out of the school and build a better community.
The third barrier is between the school, teacher, students, and the community. School districts
are receiving rules from congress and introduce them to teachers. Teachers are then put under a lot of
stress from high officials, students and the community. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001
for example is putting a lot of stress on the school, teachers, students, and community. According to the
No Child Left Behind article, schools must reach a certain test score in science, mathematics, and
Reading. If schools do not reach certain test scores they are put under school improvement (Federal
Education Budget Project, 2014). The students do not get held back and keep transferring to the next
grade even if they do not meet expectations. Students lose the stress of being left behind but they gain
stress of learning higher material that comes off of material that they did not understand to begin with.
A fourth barrier would be the home environment. Many students come from homes where they
do not value education. Parents fighting constantly and yelling can put a lot of stress on a child and
prevent them from wanting to go to school. When the parents have a problem and drag the child into
the fight depression and many other behavioral barriers can be formed. Each person comes from a
different home culture and teachers have to have a connection to each student. These barriers can
appear and create a friction between the teacher and the family for how the child is doing in school.
In conclusion, there are many barriers in which impact the school, teacher, students, and
community. Many of which are seen daily and others not so much. These barriers happen for a reason.
People create barriers to protect themselves from bad outcomes. The community does not want
children getting bullied, left behind, or struggling because of a poor home environment. All four of
these have a connection and struggle with tackling one barrier. These barriers will be in our society for
a long time however, the more we tackle the better the community becomes.

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Work Cited
Lounsbury, J. H. (2009, May). Middle School Journal - Deferred but Not Deterred: A Middle School
Manifesto. Retrieved May 17, 2009, from National Middle School Association:
www.nmsa.org/Publications/MiddleSchoolJournal/Articles/May2009/Article6/tabid/
Milsom, A., & Gallo, L. L. (2006, January). Middle School Journal - Bullying in Middle Schools:
Prevention and Intervention. Retrieved August 15, 2007, from National Middle School
Association:
www.nmsa.org/Publications/MiddleSchoolJournal/Articles/January2006/Article2/tabid/
No Child Left Behind - Overview. (2014, April 24). Retrieved June 10, 2015, from
http://febp.newamerica.net/background-analysis/no-child-left-behind-overview

Hanson 13
How will your teaching contribute to the end in mind? How does General Pedagogy and your
content area contribute to the mean to the end?
William Arthur Ward once said, Teaching is more than imparting knowledge, it is inspiring
change. Learning is more than absorbing facts, it is acquiring understanding. (Leila Jahangiri, 2012).
Being a teacher is one of the most valued jobs out there. Since most people go to school for 13 years of
their life and some even more, it is important for teachers to know why they are teaching. With my
teaching I hope to educate my students and broaden their view on mathematics.
Firstly, when teaching I hope to provide healthy and safe classroom environment. In my
classroom, students should be able to answer questions freely without other students judging them. I
want students to excel and be the best that they can be. That is why establishing a safe classroom
environment is important. I will want students to work with each other because cooperating with others
is a life skill. While teaching students I must think of the all the students and make sure I do not leave
anyone behind.
Secondly, I will want respect from my students. In order to achieve this one must first respect
the students, give them opportunities to have say, and to know the times for humor and silliness.
Achieving respect can be right down to classroom management. Knowing when to tell the students
enough is enough and where to add in some silliness is key in middle school. By establishing the basic
rules of the classroom at the beginning of the year, students will learn to respect one another and from
that they will become more educated.
Thirdly, schools have the belief that Mathematics is one of the most important subjects. I agree
with them because a lot of jobs incorporate mathematics into the work area. One of the lesson plans
that I really think works for mathematics is the I Do, We Do, You Do format. Basically, we want to
be able to show some sort of instruction. The I Do portion is for introducing the section topic to the

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students. Examples and vocab are introduced by the teacher for a short amount of time. I think it is
important to have follow up questions to see how the class is doing before going into the next step. The
We Do section is important because instead of just being told how to solve equations and how to
make graphs the students get instructed with the teacher walking them through. Because students want
to have lots of skill practice I will try to incorporate the You Do section into the majority of the
lesson. Students can only learn so much from lecture and need the skill practice. This is one way that I
think will help the students grow, however I will have to keep my mind open for different ways.
Since Technology is becoming more frequently used in schools, I hope to find ways that
students can efficiently learn content from technology. The importance of group work and independent
work are equally needed and in this area I hope that students can be able to use the technology to their
advantage. By making graphs and plots I will be able to incorporate real life scenarios into a lecture
and have them use the computers or even tablets to farther their education.
Finally, by the end of each school year I hope to have everyone up to speed and ready for the
next year of education. As I teach mathematics I want to be able to show importance of other classes as
well. In the book Developing Readers in the Academic Disciplines Doug Buehl, writes about how
important it is to have disciplinary literacy instruction (Doug Buehl, 2011). He continues writing about
how no one is a master of everything and how everyone's reading profile is different because of their
background experiences and interests. I hope I can encourage the students to read and write while still
teaching math. With the realization that some may be weaker on the mathematics I hope that I can
encourage them to stay strong and maybe one day they will enjoy it.
In conclusion, in order to be an effective teacher I must establish a trust and respect with them. I
will earn their trust and respect by creating a safe classroom where they can freely ask and answer
questions without negative feedback. By letting the students give me feedback on what they know and
assessing them on content I should get a good feeling of where they are at. I hope that technology can

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work for my student advantage and that they can become disciplinary readers.
Work Cited
Buehl, D. (2011). Mentoring Students in Disciplinary Literacy. In Developing readers in the academic
disciplines. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Jahangiri, L., & Mucciolo, T. (2012). Personality. In A guide to better teaching: Skills, advice, and
evaluation for college and university professors (p. 79). Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield.

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When do you know you have achieved the purpose in education through your teaching?
Each year classrooms change when a student walks into the classroom for the first time.
Everyday changes as each student walks into the classroom with their own identity and a different
perspective of the day. I believe I will know that I have achieved the purpose of education differently
each day. In the article NMSA Position Statement on Curriculum Integration the four rules of how we
should think of the curriculum are academically challenging and exploratory, relevant to students'
concerns, holding high expectations for students' success, and meet the developmental needs of young
adolescents ( NMSA Position Statement on Curriculum Integration, 2002) I agree with these statements
and believe that in order to achieve the purpose through my teaching I must stay positive and create a
good connection with each student.
First off, I think in order to be a great teacher to the students, I have to show them I care. I need
to make some sort of connection with them so that they can arrive to my class each day and be inspired
to learn. By never letting them forget that I have faith in them, they will learn how to get through the
material and get it done the right way. I understand that there are going to be those troubled and
confused students who are just not getting the material. I will have to inform these students that I do not
know everything either and that there were times where I also struggled in middle school. I will know I
did my part when I can help them achieve and conquer the content and vocab of each section and
chapter.
Secondly, I want each of the students to grow into better students each year. I want them to
mature and understand why they are in school. I think that eventually they will have to learn that
getting good grades is not the only reward for being in school. I want them to know that they are
building up knowledge that they will be able to use for the rest of their life. By using the I Do, We Do,
and You Do format, along with a few others, my students will walk through the curriculum and master

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each standard. I believe that all students can master the skill, however, some just take longer and need
more practice than others.
Thirdly, I plan on having a good grasp on technology throughout my career. This will help my
students excel and be aware of different resources that they can use in my class. On the other hand,
there will be times in the course where they should know the material and should not require a
calculator or technology. I can incorporate technology into my classroom by creating fun and creative
activities from which the students will be able to learn life skills from.
Finally, in order to know that I have obtained the purpose of my teachings, I will form different
types of assessments to test their mastery of the skill. In math classes the normal type of assessment is
tests and quizzes. Although I plan on using these as well, I think there is more behind knowing the skill
then doing well on tests. To do so, I will form different projects in which students will use the
vocabulary of the chapter and problem solve. Each day, students will work to solve a daily problem.
These daily problems will be similar equations to those that they have worked on the previous day. This
review will help the students remember what they should know from the previous day. s Working hard
the students can make it through the year. With determination and perseverance students are able to
start the year strong while also ending strong.
In conclusion, I will know that I am an effective teacher by the way I educate my students. This
purpose will be clear to me every time I help a student advance in a skill. When I have the respect and
trust of the students, they will be able to learn the material easier. Technology is a great resource and
even in mathematics we can find great learning tools from iPads and computers. I will know my
purpose was achieved when I see my students take their assessment. Failing is not all bad, we should
take it as a learning tool so that next time we can do better and pass with confidence. As William Arthur
Ward once said, The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher
demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. this is how I know I have achieved my purpose as a teacher

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in teaching the 21st Century middle school students.

Work Cited
Effective Teaching. PowerPoint. Retreived June 10, 2015, from
https://winona.ims.mnscu.edu/d2l/le/content/2817978/viewContent/23216178/View

National Middle School Association. (2002, September). NMSA Position Statement on Curriculum
Integration. Retrieved August 17, 2007, from National Middle School Association:
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