It is a universal truth of teaching that, much as we enjoy the extended summer vacation, there's always this nagging feeling that something is lacking. In between good times spent relaxing with family and friends, we read professional journals, participate in workshops and discussions, outline the opening weeks of class and decorate our classrooms, but all is anticipation. Then, even more welcome than the first robin of spring, the first student arrives on campus and within days the school is bursting with energy and back to normal. As the full Stoneleigh-Burnham faculty gathered together in late August for a day of meetings and preparation, a number of themes for the year emerged which are particularly germane to middle school teaching, including warmth, accountability, and community.
    Young adolescents are hungry for connections, and research shows that the quality of their connections to their teachers can affect how much they learn. When students feel known, accepted, valued and respected, they can most fully immerse themselves in their learning. While this is true of young adolescents in general, it is especially true for girls, for whom the amygdala, the emotional center of the brain, tends to be more involved in their learning than for boys. A warm and supportive community is fundamentally important to creating a context where good learning can happen for these girls.
    Young adolescents are also at a time where they are rapidly increasing their awareness and understanding of other people's perspectives. As part of this process, they become aware that accountability can take many forms - accountability to parents and caregivers and accountability to teachers, certainly, but also accountability to friends and peers, and accountability to themselves. As important as connections are to young adolescent girls, if they are to fully develop the sense of confidence and competence that helps lead to self-esteem, they must develop that internal motivation that accompanies accountability to themselves. External rewards and punishments, research suggests, may bring about quick results and/or short term changes in behavior, but to develop true habits of mind, body and soul, young adolescents must feel the drive coming from within.
    The school year is off to a good start, full of hope and promise. There will be many joys and victories, and there will also be inevitable bumps along the way. Together, we will work to create and sustain an atmosphere of warmth, to support these girls, and to help them develop that internal motivation and sense of competence that will carry them far in life.