Secrets from the Middle : Making Who You Are Work for You

You are who you are. You have a personality, a background, a belief system. To survive in a classroom with adolescents, you cannot turn on or off who you really are. That would be incredibly exhausting. Of course, you can make modifications and adjustments that is called survival. The key is to make who you are work for you and ultimately for your students.

Elyse S. Scott's book about what she learned from her 30-plus years teaching middle grades provides support for practicing teachers and anyone else who faces the challenge and joy of spending their days with young adolescents. Be inspired to tackle the nitty gritty of real-life teaching experience by marshaling your inner strength and tapping into all available resources. Learn how to take the risky step of thoroughly investing your authentic self with students to forge a relationship essential for their learning.

Learn how to:

• Establish trust with your students.
• Be honest and share your real self with them.
• Gain their respect and cooperation.
• Keep them engaged and enthusiastic.

Whether in PLCs, workshops, or staff meetings, educators can use this book as a guide to self-assess their interactions with adolescents, their view of their role in the classroom, and their place in the middle school community.

Elyse S. Scott is a retired English teacher who began her career teaching at the community college level but found her true passion: teaching middle school.

With over thirty years of experience teaching at the middle level, she served as mentor for new teachers and cooperating teacher for many student teachers. Her years as an eighth grade team leader gave her invaluable insights into the realities of the multi-dimensional experience unique to middle level education.

With wit and wisdom, she writes about what she learned as her career progressed and through decades of guiding teachers through their sometimes overwhelming challenges in the middle. She now writes and consults in the Hudson Valley of New York and is about to see her granddaughter begin her own journey in the middle.