Morning Meeting: Navigating the Murky Middle School Years

One major connection I drew from reading this last section of The Morning Meeting Book was how the Morning Meeting structure builds from early childhood on. This reminds me a lot of how the Common Core is designed. The same concepts are present, but a shift occurs as the students get older and can handle more responsibility and complex objectives. In other words, "many of the details and emphases change to reflet the unique needs of middle school students and the structure of their school day" (Kriete, 1999, p.105).

I think I am in a unique position among my cohort in that I have regular interactions with middle school students. Every Friday I work with the middle schoolers in "Language and Technology", and it has been a challenging and fascinating feat to travel between preschool and 8th grade in the span of a week. I feel I can say with experience giving me authority that our middle schoolers could really benefit from the climate the Circle of Power and Respect (CPR) is designed to provide. Many of my TIP lows focus on how to deal with the hurtfulness and rudeness with which these students treat each other. It's clear these kids need a consistent community building safe space such as the CPR so that they can "learn to treat each other with respect; communicate with power and authority without putting each other down; and listen to each other's stories, hopes, and fears" (Kriete, 1999, p.105).

Middle schoolers intimidate me because their issues become so "real" to me. I often feel like I don't have the authority to help them because my own adolescence was such a messy chaotic time: I don't have any answers to their very authentic pains and angst. Just the other day I was reflecting on a certain middle school boy with his teacher, and we mused over how he can be so delightful in some instances and so out of control and explosive at others. I really feel for these kids going through puberty, where "familiar ten-year-old child bodies become unfamiliar and sometimes scary fourteen-year-old young adult bodies" (Kriete, 1999, p.106). I was saying to my colleague that it seems pretty unfair that just as soon as you start to get the whole "being human" thing down, your brain goes and unleashes a whole bunch of confusing chemicals that make you feel and act like a crazy person. I felt like I was reading my own mind when I came upon the passage, "just when [kids] are becoming capable of abstract, theoretical thinking-- and of higher level moral thinking-- they also become emotionally volatile, preoccupied with physical changes, and immersed in a peer culture that often says it's cool to be 'bad' and uncool to be smart. All these can impede intellectual and personal growth and achievement" (Kriete, 1999, p.109). It must be a world-shattering moment when you learn just how brutal and nonsensical "real life" can be, and I think that is what sometimes intimidates me about working with middle schoolers. I myself am constantly coping with this understanding, and went through my own share of negative backlash while finding my feet at this age. What can I possibly offer to kids going through the same messy transition, other than my sincerest "good luck and call me when you land."

That's why it must be so helpful for these kids to have a consistent and safe place to join with their peers and face the very real trials that face them with the support of their community. It reminds me of the African proverb Dr. K shared with us: "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." As the book points out, "planning for CPR does take time. But it's time that pays off in the long run" (Kriete, 1999, p.131). Perhaps the regular CPRs could result in other academic goals not being met as speedily, but that time results in a classroom community that can "go far" together.

I really like the ways the book shows how academic goals can be worked towards in the context of the meetings, like in providing a framework for sharing. According to Kriete, giving them a format such as "one sentence that states the topic and two more sentences that give details about it" (Kriete, 1999, p.115), can make them more comfortable with the process while also providing them "a chance to practice the skills of focusing on and developing a topic-- skills they will need for successful writing and public speaking" (Kriete, 1999, p.115).

Keeping this in mind in my last Language and Technology class, when my original plan had to be thrown out the window, I turned to some of the Group Activities from the book. Even in one small session, I saw students who were often at each other's throats working together and enjoying each other, and it was one of the best lessons I ever had with them. I know that it's really up to their teachers to make CPR a part of their routine, but I was happy to see the small impact I could have. This experience proves to me that if I ever DO find myself at the helm of a middle school group, I will absolutely make CPR a non-negotiable part of our day.