Chapter 12 of Meet Me in the Middle tells the account of a middle school teacher who brought his students on a hike and ended up getting caught in a downpour and freezing temperatures. The story is meant to highlight the value of students working together to overcome an obstacle, and that even if something goes wrong, there can still be a positive outlook on things. This teacher turned the horrific weather into a bonding experience, with students looking out for each other and helping each other stay safe and warm. In the end, almost all of the students enjoyed the experience and were happy that they had gone on the trip, despite the weather.
This chapter also talks about the benefits of something called a “teacher advisory” program, where one teacher is assigned to a group of 12-15 students, and the group meets during the week, and does activities together. The trip that is described in this chapter is part of the advisory program, and is referred to as a full day advisory trip, where that one teacher takes his students on a field trip that isn’t related to any of their school subjects. The reason that this kind of program has a benefit, is that it allows students to bond, and allows them to explore the world outside of the school with their classrooms, without the pressure of being in a school setting.
Since in the middle school that we are creating, we want there to be a strong connection between our students and the outside community, and our students with each other, something like the teacher advisory program could have a significant positive impact.
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