What Drives your Spirit and Commitment to Middle Level Education? Exploring a Middle School Mindset

Over the past two years, middle school advocates have been sharing their thoughts on the following prompt: “What drives your spirit and commitment to middle level education? ” The purpose has been to capture ‘the spirit’ of middle school educators? ’ From these stories five characteristics emerged that can help us consider how to promote the next generation of middle school leaders. Perhaps using the findings from this exercise can help us advocate for the next generation of middle school leaders. For the purpose of this study, middle school refers to those who work with 10-15 year olds and includes intermediate schools, a K-8, middle schools, junior highs, or 9th grade academies. Introduction and Background In 2018, Southeast Middle Level Professors held a symposium in South Carolina to share ways to promote middle level education within our respective institutions and districts. A small group of middle level professors and graduate students began to explore the possibility of promoting a middle level mindset to advocate for the next generation of middle level leaders (Coleman & Ruppert, 2019). While there is a growth mindset and a fixed mindset (Dweck, 2006), we were referencing the inner spirit of middle level educators as a middle school mindset and “seeking ways to promote a middle school mindset in theory and in practice” (Ruppert, 2019, p. 19). Later that year I invited colleagues to share “What drives your spirit and commitment to middle level education? ” and “How can we capture ‘the spirit of middle school educators? ” I received feedback from 24 middle level advocates. In spring 2020, Southeast Professors of Middle Level Education (SEPOMLE) designed a symposium in North Carolina to celebrate and advocate for the next generation of middle school leaders. We had planned a two-day drive-in conference in Asheville, and along with many venues and presentations, COVID 19 disrupted our plans. One of my roles in the conference was to share insights from our previous symposium and the stories of people who participated in a survey. The purpose was to help broaden our inspiration by describing a middle school mindset. Related Research to A Middle School Mindset The Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) provides us with guiding principles, essential attributes, goals and characteristics of what makes exemplary middle schools. This we believe (in press), originally published in 1993, has been a document that has been revised and grown as middle level education has blossomed and research has deepened what we know about how to serve 10-15 year olds in exemplary middle schools. We, as 41 Ruppert: Exploring a Middle School Mindset Published by Digital Commons@Georgia Southern, 2020 professors, look to this document as the foundation for implementing middle school practices and use it to prepare the next generation of leaders. We are thrilled that AMLE has updated this document and will be sharing it this fall. Additionally, AMLE provides electronic resources including research, webinars, articles, summaries, professional development and support for our preservice teachers, principals, schools and professors on all topics related to middle level education. As an AMLE affiliate, our own Current Issues in Middle Level Education Journal supports our work as Professors of Middle Level Education (NAPOMLE) so that we have access to current and past research and literature that contributes to the field of middle level education and preparation. A middle school mindset has been described in our AMLE literature for decades. In 2003, John Lounsbury and Gordon Vars described the first 30 years of the middle school movement, including the following: “The future of middle level education, of public schooling, indeed, of all life on this planet depends on the human spirit. [and] middle school educators have correctly been recognized for the degree to which that spirit characterizes their work” (p. 13). Paul George (2011) describes the characteristics of sharing, cooperation, trust, and personal care that initially drove and still drives a middle school mindset. Sandy Camelli (2017) describes mindset as a classroom teacher as “an attitude with intention” (n.p.). Dru Tomlin (2019) shares a webinar on creating great middle schools for principals by being a building “mover”. He provides teachers and administrators with specific skills needed, including: advocacy and agency, humor, and a school that implements multiple curricular tools for creating caring environments. Andrew Maxey (2019) shares how his school district embraced three ways of thinking: knowing and sharing research, advocating for middle school as an opportunity, and being the change. In 2015, I interviewed principals in North Carolina and found they looked for teachers who were joyful, patient, loved middle school students, understood the middle school concept, were collaborators and embraced reflection and positive change. But how do we share a middle school mindset with those who may be new to teaching and/or new to working in middle schools? And who would we look to for sharing this idea of a middle school mindset? Methodology I conducted a qualitative survey study, using grounded theory (Charmaz, 2001), and to collect data, I started with convenience sampling (Cochran, 1977) and included the use of a snowball sampling method (Wright & Stein, 2005). My questions were and still are, “What drives our spirit and commitment to middle level education? ” and “How can we capture ‘the spirit of middle school educators? ” I asked people to share their thoughts about middle school children, their teachers and staff. the magic of it. and why it matters. I invited middle school professors, middle school advocates, middle school alumni of our institution and asked those I reached out to share the link with people they believe portray the idea of a positive spirit and commitment to working with this age group. Initially I reached out to 113 middle level advocates. To date, AMLE Keynote leaders, Legacy Leaders, AMLE Board Members, Beginning and Veteran middle level Teachers, Principals, Professors, have shared their views. Elements of grounded theory (Charmaz, 2001), a qualitative approach to identifying themes and patterns guide researchers through a process of reading, re-reading, and looking for themes, was used. In the first round, I collected 24 stories. Some of the middle school advocates had over 40 years of teaching experience and other advocates were in their first few years of teaching. It didn’t seem to matter. That simple question, “What drives your spirit and 42 Current Issues in Middle Level Education, Vol. 25 [2020], Iss. 1, Art. 7 https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern. edu/cimle/vol25/iss1/7 DOI: 10.20429/cimle.2020. 250107 commitment to middle level education? ” revealed beautiful imagery of who young adolescents are, how advocates came to be teachers and administrators, and just how precious this age group is, and how precious the gift of working with them is. As we develop a middle school mindset, these stories capture what it looks like. In my first read, I was looking to see if there were any patterns that jumped out to me, a qualitative tactic. Using grounded theory, I took several first reads, then began looking for patterns. I found five. The stories, like I had hoped, were personal and insightful. I have tried to summarize findings and share a few quotes and insights into what I believe characterizes a middle school mindset. Findings Mindset 1: Many Roads Lead us to Become Middle School Teachers While some of us made the decision early to work with young adolescents in middle schools, there are more than a few who accidentally stumbled into her nest. What if we hadn’t landed in a middle school because “that was the only job open”; or what if we hadn’t happened to be with a professor who said, “You know, you might love middle school! ” Or what if that middle school teacher we had hadn’t said, “You would make a great middle school teacher! ” Perhaps we need to provide more intentional opportunities for K-6 and secondary licensure candidates to experience middle school students. Our Collegiate Middle Level Association (CMLA) is an excellent place to start. I would imagine as university professors we have seen the spark in pre-service candidates’ eyes, the wild side, the mavericks who will help set middle school students’ learning and experiences on fire. Perhaps we need middle school clubs for those interested in becoming teachers. Perhaps we as middle school teachers and leaders need to become mentors and advocates for our own profession. Our first element associated with a middle school mindset encompasses the idea that if we had not seen middle school, or someone hadn’t pointed it out to us, we may not have realized its value. Hear our colleagues’ words: I didn’t choose middle school teaching, it chose me. After having taught all the elementary grades from first grade forward, I got “promoted” to teaching at the middle level. Suddenly I had the “big” kids, and instantly I fell in love. My sixth graders not only got my jokes, they actually laughed at them. They were just finding their voices in the world and were passionate about making it a better place. (Keynote Speaker) I began my college education convinced that I was going to be an elementary school teacher. Then junior year came around and I realized that I should probably be involved in some sort of club or activity at my university rather than just working and going to classes. The club that I found was CMLA-CMU, sponsored by Dr. Norma Bailey. Norma had such a passion for middle level education that I was immediately hooked in. I have never looked back. (AMLE Board Member Teacher) Middle School Mindset 2: This Magical Age Inspires Hope and Passion When I asked people to share what drives your spirit and commitment to middle level education the plethora of adjectives provide a vast array that exa