Scott Luepke

1. What is the purpose (end in mind) of education in the 21st Century?

Encouraging students to be confident decision makers is the purpose of educating
students in the 21st century. This simple statement presents me, as a teacher with three
distinct, yet interrelated, goals: encourage my students, instill confidence in my students, and
send my students on to the next phase of their lives prepared to make good choices.
Encouraging my students means I will help them realize their full potential, assist them
in setting high standards for themselves, and then support them while they achieve their goals.
Some students don't want to, or at least don't think they want to, excel. The Partnership for
21st Century Skills is convinced that, "Students who enroll in more challenging classes are
better prepared for post-secondary education and careers." (2006, p.11) I set high standards for
myself, my family, my own children, and my students. Being explicit with these expectations
from the beginning of my interactions with my students will enable them to see clearly that,
because I can see their potential and believe in them, they can reach those standards. They will
also know what to expect of me as their teacher. They will also begin to see how attainable
goals are if they push themselves. The example that I set for my students will also be a major
component of encouraging them. I need to show my students the benefits of being wellprepared, keeping the goals in mind that I have set for the day, but being ready for anything.
Showing them a smooth flow during class, regardless of unexpected obstacles that can, and will
arise.
If I am to instill confidence in my students, I must form a relationship with them, and
determine where their strengths lie. Jackson writes the following regarding "The Pedagogy of
Confidence":
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This philosophy advocates the benefits of shifting the focus of instruction for schooldependent students from addressing their weaknesses to identifying and amplifying
their intellectual potential and strengths, for engaging and accelerating learning and
achievement. (2011, p.5)
I am willing to go a step further and hold to this philosophy for all students; not just schooldependent students. Middle and high school students have a tendency to dwell on their
weaknesses, instead of taking pride their strengths. Part of my calling as an educator is to help
my students identify their areas of talent, and to show them how to accentuate those talents
and use them for the benefit of society.
Gallup's StrengthsFinder (2014) states,
Many years of research conducted by The Gallup Organization suggest that the most
effective people are those who understand their strengths and behaviors. These people
are best able to develop strategies and meet and exceed the demands of their daily
lives, their careers, and their families. (para. 1)
Using Gallup's StrenthsExplorer survey for 8-14 year olds would allow students to see, in
writing, what their strengths are. The results are quite undeniable, and seeing this will set the
foundation for confidence in their next phase in life.
The area of mathematics offers many opportunities for students to hone their problemsolving skills. When the students are faced with a multi-step word problem, I'll be there to
remind them to break it into small pieces. Do not get intimidated by something that looks
complicated; break it into easier, more manageable chunks. Solving problems takes
perseverance.
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Making decisions is a part of everyday life that my students have been engaged in ever
since they were infants. My goal is to push them to decide which option leads to their benefit,
while not "stepping on" others in the process. I will accomplish this by fostering a balanced
attitude of humility and self-esteem in my students.

Works Cited
Gallup, Inc. Survey Results for Luepke, H. StrengthsFinder: Your Signature Themes. (2015,
March 8) Retrieved from https://www.gallupstrengthscenter.com/Home/en-US/Index
Jackson, Y. (2011). The Pedagogy of Confidence: Inspiring high intellectual performance in
urban schools. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2006). Results that Matter. 21st Century Skills and High
School Reform, 1-28.

Luepke

2. How does the middle school fit into the overall end in mind?
In response to the 2000 Virginia state writing prompt, eighth grade students wrote a
letter of advice to a sixth grader coming to middle school for the first time...Content
analysis of a random sample of 350 responses revealed themes of advice for students
negotiating the transition to middle school...The most frequently mentioned themes in
each category were choosing and changing classes or electives, improving study habits,
and making and managing friends. (Akos, p. 1)
As the eighth grade Virginians alluded to in the excerpt above, the middle school years
encompass a period in which students must either learn how to study, or suffer the
consequences. Middle school teachers pick up where fifth-grade or prior-year teachers left off
as they emphasize the importance of responsible study habits. Long-term papers and projects
are assigned more and more often each year. By the end of eighth grade the scaffolding of
daily reminders and in-class work time have been pulled away, and the students should know
how to plan accordingly. For example, a fifth grade teacher assigned a research paper entitled
"An Important Person from United States History." He introduced the project on November
3rd, and told his students that the final paper would be due on November 21st. He also laid out
other important dates as deadlines for topic selection, a list of facts, and a five-paragraph rough
draft. He gave the students plenty of work time during Social Studies and Language Arts to
peruse books, research their topics, and write their papers. As each deadline approached, he
reminded his students several times daily of exactly which stage of the project needed to be
completed. (Erlandson, 2014) In contrast, an eighth grade Social Studies teacher who is
focused on preparing his students for high school will hand out and discuss a guide for their
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research paper containing a schedule for them to follow. Aside from requiring the students to
turn in note cards for review by a certain date, the teacher expects the students to make
responsible choices and get their project done according to the specifications set forward in the
guide. Because he cares about his students, the teacher will make himself available to answer
questions and give advice about topic selection and the writing process. However, he will leave
it up to his students to ask questions, since part of the growing process for children in Middle
School is learning how to take the initiative to seek out help when you do not know what to do.
Some students need more pushing than others. While many students arrive in our
classrooms with a good attitude and work ethic, others simply do not care. They do not care
about their education, and they do not understand why they should care. If the student is
involved in sports or other extra-curricular activities, they should already know that those
privileges are only available to them if they keep their grades up. The teacher should let the
student know that the time to develop good study habits and to start caring is now. They will
have to adhere to rules regarding academic eligibility in high school and college as well.
Mendler (2009) also suggests showing the student that getting good grades and working hard
to succeed has an effect on the future. (p. 21) Middle school students shouldn't be obsessed
about how their decisions today will impact their adult lives, but it is ok for middle school
students to begin to consider things like getting accepted to college, earning a degree, getting a
job, buying a house. Even if the students do not immediately understand the importance of
these concepts, the teacher will have planted thoughts in the student's mind that he can think
about later. One avenue to drive this point home is a mentoring program in which successful
adults are connected with at-risk youths at school. The mentor can invite the student to join
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him at his workplace so that he can see, firsthand, how hard work and perseverance in the
classroom can pay off in the long-run.
Since motivating students is such a critical aspect of the teacher's job, the teacher must
establish a meaningful relationship with each student. If the student does not care about what
his teacher says, the teacher cannot expect his efforts to be fruitful. The teacher should
express an interest in the student's life outside of school. If the student is having a bad day, a
good teacher will recognize this and pull the student aside to inquire about the problem.
However, as much as the teacher wants to be part of the solution, he also needs to be willing to
back off if the student is not ready to open up about it. He should attempt to find interests in
common with his students, while still holding his status as an authority, rather than just a
friend.
The early teen years cover a major transition period as a child develops. Elementary
teachers send children off to middle school, and after three short years middle school teachers
send young adults off to high school. Middle school teachers tend and cultivate the seeds of
hard work, responsibility, and motivation that elementary teachers plant. Today's middle
school teacher is entrusted with the daunting task of engaging the students and motivating
them so that they care about their academic performance and other consequences of the
choices they make.

Luepke

Works Cited
Akos, P. (2004). Advice and Student Agency in the Transition to Middle School. Research in
Middle Level Education Online, 27 (2), 1-11. Retrieved June 7, 2015 from
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ807411.pdf
Erlandson, Z. (Personal observation from 2014, November in Mr. Erlandsons classroom at
Sunset Terrace Elementary School, Rochester, MN)
Mendler, A. (2015). Motivating Students Who Dont Care: Successful Techniques for Educators.
Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Luepke

3. Who is the current middle school student in the 21st Century?

The current middle school student in the 21st century is a unique individual. Teachers
need to be prepared to come face-to-face with a broad spectrum of different young people.
One aspect that differentiates students from each other is that each has a unique family life.
Even though there is much to be said about the diversity of today's middle school students,
many scholars have conducted research that highlights similarities among them. For example,
the majority of middle school students prefer certain types of instruction. In addition, it does
not take much time to observe adolescents and see that most of them love their technology.
Students come to middle school from a variety of family backgrounds. Some are fed up
with the fact that their parents impose strict rules on them as though they are four instead of
fourteen. Educators appreciate the fact that such parents tend to provide much-needed
discipline at home, and they are academically supportive toward their children. A student at
the other end of the spectrum may have parents who cannot put a lot of emphasis on the
importance of education. At 13 years old, he is more of a parent to his younger siblings than is
his over-worked single mom, not to mention his prison-dwelling dad. He needs teachers who
can empathize with his situation and give him the academic and emotional support that he so
desperately needs.
This topic reminds me of Joe. Joe was a menace in the halls of John Adams Middle
School. His math teacher was happy on the days when he showed up and just put his head
down. On a bad day, he either chose goof off in the hallway and not go to class, or he came to
class and made it impossible for those around him to pay attention or do their homework. On
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the rare occasion that he paid attention and applied himself during math, he either left his
homework with a classmate or it was never seen again. On the first day of my clinical
experience in Joe's Linear Algebra class, the substitute teacher asked me to escort Joe to the
restroom as his classmates worked on their homework. As we walked back to class, I said,
"Let's knock out a few of these word problems when we get back." Joe argued with,"I don't
understand it," and "I just don't want to," but I told him that doing his homework would at least
make the time go by faster. He still was not sold on the idea, but when we arrived back at the
classroom I sat down next to Joe and had him read through the first problem . I guided him
through writing the equations that needed to be solved. At that point, he did not need much
assistance to arrive at the solution. (Observation, 2015)
What can be done for students like Joe? He even had the capability of asking his
classmates for help, but he refused to do his homework unless a teacher sat down with him
individually. Middle school teachers are faced with situations like Joes that they want to solve
every year. Some problems can be resolved during their time with the students with the
cooperation of parents, coaches, counselors and doctors. On the other hand, Joe does not have
parents who are willing to work with the team of adults that want to see him grow and
succeed. Unfortunately, Joe will be sent off to John Marshall High School in the fall where a
new set of teachers will be faced with the challenge of helping him overcome his personal
struggles to become a caring, productive member of society.
Although the students in today's middle schools vary so drastically regarding their home
lives, they also exhibit many similarities. According to Theobald (1995) the majority of students
prefer to have instruction broken up by games, simulations, and discussions in which they can
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participate. The last thing they want to do is sit through an hour of nothing but lecture. (p. 1920) Theobald (1995) also states," Especially important for middle school students is that
teachers capitalize on students' natural desire to talk and work with peers." (p.18) In today's
classroom, this natural desire can be seen not only as adolescents have difficulty staying quiet
and respectful as the teacher tries to teach the day's lesson, but also as they "forget" to put
their cell phones away at the beginning of class. It is a challenge for the teacher to get them to
wait until their next passing time to obsess over what their friends have posted on Facebook
and Instagram.
Middle school students of the 21st century are a challenge for their teachers. The
academically gifted students challenge their teachers to present them with engaging and up-todate material. The disruptive students compel their teachers to come up with successful
classroom management techniques that benefit the class as a whole. One thing is certain: the
current middle school student in the 21st century presents his teacher with new and exciting
hurdles to overcome in order to be effective in the classroom.

Works Cited
Student Observations. (2015, June) Middle School Student Observations at John Adams Middle
School, Rochester, MN. (S. Luepke, Observer)
Theobald, M. A. (1995). What Students Say About Common Teaching Practices. Middle School
Journal, 18-22.

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4a. What are the potential barriers to the student?

A difficult home life is a potential barrier to the student. I can do as much as possible to
encourage my students to be confident decision makers. However, I know that I will be
frustrated often when I make progress with a student, only to send them home and have
his/her parents erase the progress that we have made in a day or week or school year. Some
students have physically or emotionally abusive parents. Others have parents who do not hold
education as a high priority. When this type of situation is brought to his attention, a teacher
must do his best to advocate the student's best interest by being an empathetic listener and
connecting the student with appropriate advisors and counselors. The teacher must give his
best effort to help the student, while still being realistic and understanding that not all social
issues in front of him will ultimately have happy solutions.
A bully is also a potential barrier to the student. Today's students are not only being
faced with the physical and verbal abuse that has been present in schools for centuries, they
are also falling victim to cyberbullying. Froeschle, Mayorga, Castillo, and Hargrave state (2008),
"Cyberbullying has moved bullying behaviors from the schoolyard to a worldwide audience.
This exposure ensures that students receive the greatest humiliation possible both during and
after school." (p. 30) Most districts and schools have anti-bullying programs and policies in
place, but as long as the messaging and social networking devices are available to adolescents,
incidences of electronic harassment and slander will occur. Although it seems like a losing
battle at times, teachers must be resilient and continue encouraging students to make
respectful and responsible choices both on and off the internet. School administrators should

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set a tone of positivity and good will by implementing programs that reward students for their
positive actions and good deeds.

4b. What are the potential barriers to the teacher?

The expectation that the teacher will put most of his efforts into making sure that his
students achieve the state and national benchmarks can be a barrier to the end in mind of
encouraging confident decision makers. Educators need to be held accountable for teaching
their students content knowledge and critical thinking and reasoning skills, but there is much to
be said about student accomplishment outside of their performance on standardized tests
based on targets set forth by lawmakers. We teachers need to be certain that we are teaching
our students the skills and knowledge that they should be gaining from our curriculum; not just
teaching to the tests that the students will be asked to take after completing our courses.
When attempting to relate to his students, a teacher may come across cultural
differences as a barrier. In order to form a meaningful relationship, he will have to spend extra
time getting to know his students and their cultures through conversations, asking questions,
and perhaps independent research on the worlds in which his pupils live. This can be a
daunting task, and even if he does not succeed in being able to completely relate to his
students, the research done will help him understand more students that share that cultural
background. In addition to this, evidence of his efforts may make a good impression on the
targeted students and show them that he cares enough to learn more about them.

4c. What are the potential barriers to the school?

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The barriers listed above can also be applied to the school as a whole, as can the
potential inability to retain faculty and staff members. If an administration does not recognize
the importance of employee morale, the school will have a high turnover of faculty and staff
members. In the fallout of teachers leaving, returning students lose connection with the adults
at school with whom they had formed significant relationships. This could cause the school's
students and families to become discouraged and harbor feelings of resent toward the school.
However, even if the school is doing its best to provide a healthy teacher environment, it will
still occasionally lose valued members of its staff when they earn graduate degrees and elect to
pursue other opportunities. A school that values its employees will treat them with dignity and
respect, listen to and act on their concerns, recognize their achievements, and take many
opportunities to express its gratitude towards them.

4d. What are the potential barriers to the community?

A barrier to the community is the lack of a relationship between the school and the local
businesses and industries. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills states,
Students spend only a limited portion of their time in school, but the world beyond the
classroom can offer significant teaching and learning opportunities as well. Educators
and states should partner with the business community and community-based
organizations to develop a broad consensus on the 21st century skills they value. (p. 15)
Since being informed is part of having the ability to make good decisions, middle school
students will thrive by gaining connections to professionals in their community. The
community will benefit in the long-run when its citizens take necessary steps to gain the

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knowledge and skills that make them valuable employees of local institutions. The problem is
that there are far too many communities that don't have this type of positive relationship with
their schools.
The common theme among all of these barriers to achieving the end in mind of
encouraging students to be confident decision makers is a teacher must do the best he can with
the students, time and resources available to him. His situation will always be less than ideal,
but his goal is to strive to learn from the trials that arise in his path.

Works Cited
Froeschle, J. G., Mayorga, M., Castillo, Y., & Hargrave, T. (2008, March). Middle School Journal Strategies to Prevent and Heal the Mental Anguish Caused by Cyberbullying. Retrieved
May 31, 2015, from National Middle School Association:
www.nmsa.org/Publications/MiddleSchoolJournal/Articles/March2008/Article4/tabid
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2006). Results that Matter. 21st Century Skills and High
School Reform, 1-28.

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5. How will your teaching contribute to the end in mind?

As a teacher, I will strive to give my students opportunities to teach themselves new
skills and discover unique methods of manipulating mathematical information in order to arrive
at a solution. Piaget (1972) said "...the essential thing is that in order for a child to understand
something, he must construct it himself, he must re-invent it. Every time we teach a child
something, we keep him from inventing it himself." (p. 27) This constructivist mindset is a
good reminder that each student will arrive in my classroom with his own set of beliefs and
personal experiences that shape how he learns.

a. How does general pedagogy contribute to the means to the end?

I will, along with my students, establish guidelines and expectations to create a safe and positive
learning environment for our classroom community. Allowing my students to take ownership in the
process of developing these standards will give them a sense of ownership and accountability. As a
result, they will be more likely to encourage one another to exercise respect and responsibility in my
classroom.
I will strive to let my students teach themselves. I plan to employ instructional plans such as "I
Do, We Do, You Do" and "Getting Ready, Task, Discourse" on a regular basis. These methods charge the
teacher with introducing the new topic, supervising and evaluating group work sessions, and moderating
whole group discussion. The students are then allowed to ask questions and make connections during
the introductory segment, discuss and work through exercises and problems together with their
classmates, and share their thoughts and findings with the whole group. Some students shy away from
sharing answers with the whole group, for fear of being embarrassed if their answer is incorrect. The
intimacy of the small group will encourage my students to try, even when they are uncertain of the

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result. I am excited to watch my students thrive as they bounce ideas off of each other and we learn
together.
In theory, letting my students teach themselves sounds wonderful. However, many students
will arrive in my classroom in need of scaffolding before they are comfortable with the idea. I will meet
each student at their particular level, and help them determine how to make decisions based on the
resources available to them. We will work together to draw on their personal strengths and get them
comfortable as independent thinkers.

b. How does my content area contribute to the means to the end?

I will encourage my students to be confident decision makers by equipping them with the
information and tools that they need to be accomplished mathematicians. An understanding of the
academic vocabulary of algebra and other branches of math is a vital ingredient in the recipe of a math
student's success. More generally, Buehl (2011) states,

Mentoring students as insiders means they gain the ability to talk the talk of an
academic discipline; they can access communications in particular subject areas through
reading and listening, and equally important, they develop the facility through writing
and speaking to communicate in the ways that insiders such as historians,
mathematicians, biologists, musicians, or accountants do. (p. 11)
Disciplinary literacy is vital to a student's success in being able to read, understand, and discuss different
topics in high school and college. Therefore, I will guide my students as they make connections between
their prior knowledge and experiences and the new material presented in my lessons.
I will also support my students as they hone their decision-making skills by solving multi-step
word problems. Rickard refers to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2000) statement
that, "Problem solving is central to inquiry and application and should be interwoven throughout the
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mathematics curriculum to provide a context for learning and applying mathematical ideas." (p.1) Many
adolescents put undue stress on themselves when they are presented with a complex problem.
Therefore, I will ingrain in my students the idea of simplifying a large problem by breaking it into small
easy-to-manage steps. This is a skill can be applied when unexpected difficulties arise in many other
areas of their lives.

Works Cited

Buehl, D. (2011). Developing Readers in the Academic Disciplines. Newark, DE: International
Reading Association.
Piaget, J., Wolff, P.H., and others (1972). Play and Development. In J. Piaget, Some Aspects of
Operations. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Rickard, A. (2005). Evolution of a Teacher's Problem Solving Instruction: A Case Study of
Aligning Teaching Practice with Reform in Middle School Mathematics. Research in
Middle Level Education Online, 29 (1), 1-15. Retrieved June 5, 2015 from
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ807421.pdf

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6. When do I know I have achieved the purpose in education through my

teaching?
I am looking forward to the times when I am working with a struggling student, and when it
seems like our efforts are in vain, I can see the light bulb come on as they finally grasp the elusive
concept. I cannot wait to witness these "Eureka" moments. However, I do not expect such epiphanies
to arrive in my classroom on a regular basis. I will know when I have achieved my purpose of
encouraging students to be confident decision makers when I evaluate them and see their success via
technological software and applications, special unit-end projects and demonstrations, and traditional
tests and quizzes.
"I believe," along with the National Middle School Association, "that every young adolescent
must have access to the very best programs and practices a school can offer." This means that I will
utilize technology available to me and my students via SMARTBoards, laptop computers, and iPads.
When I see my students enjoying activities involving relevant mathematical subject matter via
technological media, I will know that I have achieved my goals of encouraging them to explore and enjoy
mathematics and instilling confidence in them. When I evaluate their progress and see that they are
using the apps and software to successfully solve problems, I will know that I have achieved my goal of
guiding my students to make decisions based on available information.
During my clinical hours at John Adams Middle School the eighth graders in my classroom spent
some of their time working on special projects related to the algebraic knowledge that they had gained
throughout the school year. The students were required to complete two projects, including options
such as: constructing a crossword puzzle using 20 key vocabulary terms from the chapters their
coursework covered; making a poster that defined and illustrated the key terms from a chapter; and
making a flip-book of ten different algebraic concepts complete with illustrations. (Observation, 2015)
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There is value in assigning culminating projects like this because they allow students to demonstrate
their knowledge of the topics covered in class in a way that they can make their own. These projects
allow them to express their individuality along with their knowledge of math concepts and vocabulary.
They also allow the artistically gifted in the class to shine and create a masterpiece with mathematical
undertones. Evaluating my students' special projects will allow them to show me their confidence, and I
will see the decision-making process at work based on how they are able to translate what they know
about math into their work on these projects.
Along with the non-traditional methods of evaluating my students, I will also assess my students
by means of tests and quizzes. Although many children experience test-taking anxiety, such
assessments will give me a picture of how comfortable my students are with the material that we have
been studying. I will give my students the option of re-taking quizzes and tests if they perform poorly on
them. The re-take will provide them with extra skills practice, extra test-taking experience to work
through their anxieties, and more confidence in their abilities as mathematicians. When they see their
results improve, the students efforts will be rejuvenated and they will be encouraged to persevere as
they continue on their journey to mastery.
Another statement from the NMSA says, " I believe that every young adolescent faces significant
life choices and needs support in making wise and healthy decisions. " Through my role as a math
teacher, I will push my students to continually develop their problem-solving skills that can be related to
choices they will make in other academic and non-academic facets of their lives. I will know that my
teaching has encouraged my students to be confident decision makers when I evaluate their work via
technology, in-class discussions, daily skills practice, and traditional tests and quizzes.

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Works Cited
National Middle School Association, (n.d.). This I Believe. Retrieved June 10, 2015 from
https://winona.ims.mnscu.edu/d2l/le/content/2817978/viewContent/23216133/View
Student Observations. (2015, June) Middle School Student Observations at John Adams Middle School,
Rochester, MN. (S. Luepke, Observer)

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