JAMIE O’DELL, US FRENCH I love teaching in the Middle School at OES because of the relationships we build there. Students and faculty are given many different opportunities to connect with each other and get to know each other in different contexts. We have many moments when we take risks together and that’s when you really connect with people. I find middle schoolers to be eager to play games, try new ideas, act silly, and fearlessly try out new vocabulary in dialogues, all of which make a language classroom great!
CHARLEY ADAMS, SPANISH/HUMANITIES A student’s middle school years make up one of the most dynamic and promising periods of her or his life. Rarely do we, as human beings, experience such rapid and significant change in so little time. Sixth grade students’ imaginations, inquiring minds, and sense of wonder reflect and extend the world of children. They play with ideas, class material, and with each other, experimenting with a new degree of independence and responsibility that may have seemed unimaginable as Lower Schoolers.
WHY DO
YOU LOVE
Seventh grade is a time of tremendous growth and change, as the world of the child recedes into the background and that of the teenager appears on the horizon. By the time they finish eighth grade and look toward high school, students have grown into adolescents whose autonomy, capabilities, and crystallized sense of self begin to indicate the adults they will become. They look at the world with critical eyes and act with resolution and tenacity as they prepare for the next chapter of their lives.
TEACHING IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL?
Throughout these uniquely formative years, middle school teachers have the particular privilege to educate, coach, support, encourage, celebrate, listen to, and learn from our students who, in turn, inspire and delight us, as well as challenge us to bring our best to them every day. What’s best for kids, high expectations, a premise of trust, flexibility, and good humor guide our work. Middle schoolers strive for connection and to be known for the individuals they are. They have both the need and the right to be recognized for the unique contributions they each bring to our community. We, the middle school faculty, are tremendously fortunate to be in a position to see these contributions come together to form the remarkable place that is the OES Middle School.
20 Oregon Episcopal School
MALIA WILKINS, HUMANITIES/HISTORY Middle school students are still young enough that they (mostly) respect their teachers. It is possible to get them excited about anything. They have a natural curiosity about the world and as they try and make sense of the world around them, I can help in that process. This age group is malleable. They haven’t reached the high school years of older adolescence, and along with it the lack of interest in anything beyond their immediate social circle and situation. But they’re not little kids either, tattling on each other or unable to take care of their basic needs. Then there are the laughs. Oh, the laughs! I laugh every single day, from September to June. As the middle school years go on, students’ capacity to think abstractly grows along with them. It’s this growth that I find the most exciting. I can challenge my students with ideas and topics at different stages of the year, and get different responses and reactions in every stage. This work is so rewarding, and although by June I’m ready for a much needed break, I actually look forward to September and starting it all over again.
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