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What is essential for  rural middle school students to learn in order  to be productive citizens within our communities?

An ongoing project by a middle school teacher.

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Essential Learning...A Gateway to Success

“What is essential to learn for the rural/Native American middle school student to prepare them for the work force or high school/college?”

Since working in this specific environment, we have a duty to teach essential learning skills to the rural Native American middle school student as a pathway to graduate from high school and further their education or prepare them for the workforce.

We are not preparing our rural/Native American middle school students for high school, college or the workforce. According to Tony Wagner, “Students are graduating from both middle school and high school unprepared for the world of work.” (Global Achievement Gap, 2008, p.xx) Rural schools are experiencing challenging times and the high school dropout rate within our rural communities is an indicator of this inadequate preparation. “The Native American high school dropout rate is 30%, second only to the high school dropout rate of African Americans which is 36.8%.” (www.kidsdata.org). The middle school should be a springboard into the next phase of their life.  We have the responsibility to prepare these students in a way that their learning is filled with the essential and not the non-essential curriculum.

Through the interaction of the community, parents, peers, administration, along with the state and local governments, we will be able to not only address the issue but put solutions up that will empower these students to be successful.

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