The Middle School Mind is Figuring Things Out

In my second year of teaching sixth grade English, I have been more perceptive of student behavior, as I have been less worried about and more experienced with the day to day responsibilities of teaching. I have noticed moments that I think say a lot about the middle school mind, and it has helped me understand my students better and in turn have become a better teacher.
In the beginning of the year, we took a diagnostic test on the computer for reading. Before the students take the test, their full name appears on the screen (middle name included). We have all seen our fair share of embarrassing middle name issues, but I noticed a problem with a few of my Korean students that says a lot about where the middle school mind is. On three separate occiasions, I had Korean students cover up their middle name on the screen. These students often have American first names, more common last names such as Kim or Kwon, but also have more eclectic middle names. This is at a very diverse school, with a large percentage of Indian, Korean, and Middle Eastern students, full of names that are very different from yor average Sarah or John.

In addition to the diversity, this is an International Baccalaureate School, where Global Citizenship and International Education are emphasized. One would think that students would be comfortable with their own names in this environment, but they insist on covering up their more Korean-sounding middle names. Middle School students are at a unique stage where they have recognized that they are different from others (which they may not have done in Primary School), but have not yet owned their diversity like one would expect a high school or college student to do. They are at a stage in their personal development where they are afraid of anyone knowing about their "funny sounding name" or the fact that their parent's English might be weak, but they have their moments of cultural pride.
The same student who covered up her name on the computer screen was the one to sign her name in Korean to our class constitution. She has even taught me some Korean words. Here we see the middle school mind trying to decipher the difference between what it feels is unique diversity and embarrasing differences.  So what does this mean for educators? How should this change we interact with students?
I think educators should always embrace the diversity of our student body, giving students every chance they can to celebrate their culture and teach their peers. My school does an excellent job of this. We should work to help them along to the point where they can own who they are while continuning to work towards who they want to be. At the same time, we should not force them to own parts of themselves that they are not ready to own. That will damage our relationship and put them in a place they are not ready to be, like a cold call on a student where they have to sing. Just as we look for that zone of proximal development in a students acadmeic learning, we need to be sensitive to that same area of cultural and personal growth. I didn't make the students take down their hands, but I did try and communicate that I thought their Korean names were unique and interesting. Educators have a great opportunity to enhance and develop our students' ownership of their personal identity, let's make sure we don't waste our moments!