Junior High Classes

["Sylvia L. Adair" <adair@EXECPC.COM>]

Dear Everybody:
I have had a very trying week (already!) and need some advice from people
who regularly teach Junior High/Middle School classes in the media center.
My principal, who is fairly new, asked (told?) me I was teaching a junior
high class this fall in "Library Skills".  I meet with the three sections
of 7th grade once per week each, during what would have been their study
hall time.  He doesn't seem to care what I teach, although he seems at
least mildly interested in connecting the library skills work to
classroom assignments.
Our first classes were held this week, two on Monday and one on Tuesday.
The students did not know they were not going to have study hall during
this period.  They have lots of homework in junior high, and even our
"good" students were resentful about having study time taken away to do
"library".  Their attitude is not particularly good anyway, and they've
been a challenging class the last few years.  (I am K-8 in their
building, so I know most of them.)
I know their social studies teacher is going to have an assignment that
uses the almanac soon, so after the basic introductory stuff, I started
with an almanac lesson.  It did not go well, to put it mildly.  I went
home questioning my motivation for teaching, my credentials, and my
sanity.
Here are my questions.  How can I use this class to help these kids?
Originally, I was tailoring my lessons to the state standards that they
have to reach by 8th grade, but now I'm rethinking that.  What's the
point of teaching if nobody's learning?  That's not really teaching.  I
could also use some discipline strategies that work at this level.
If you teach junior high, what do you teach them?  Are they involved?  Do
they get a grade?  (I think I'm supposed to be grading them, but I don't
know for sure.  That's how organized this is.)
Strangely enough, I genuinely like these kids (well, most of them).  I'm
not thrilled at being asked to do this class, but since I'm doing it, I
want to do it right.
Thanks for any insights you have.  I'll post a hit if anybody's
interested.
Sincerely,
Sylvia

Sylvia L. Adair, Library Media Specialist
Lomira, Wisconsin
adair@execpc.com
"Do or do not.  There is no try." Yoda

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