MIddle school student-teacher interaction

On Wednesday's class, a group presented on the book Not Much Just Chillin' by Linda Perstein. This book talks about the hidden lives of middle schoolers and what's going on in their minds, bodies, and in our society that causes them to be the way they are. Beside reflecting on my own middle school experiences, I got thinking about how I, as I future teacher, will impact the stereotypical middle schooler. I think there is currently a cyclical relationship between the middle school student and the teacher. Because of the stereotypes of middle schoolers being difficult the teachers may be more strict or not as excited about courses that they assume their students will not try at. Students see these attitudes of their teachers not expecting much of them and in return don't give the teacher much attention or effort in their classes. Teachers need to have more faith in the students and expect much of them. I think if the students see that the teacher is in invested and believes in them, then they will put forth more effort and get more educationally out of their middle school experience.