Question 2In the classroom, teachers can teach with a student-centered approach or a subject-centered curriculum approach. In general, a student-centered approach focuses on individual students, while a subject-centered curriculum focuses more on the material taught in the classroom. According to Manning and Bucher, a student-centered curriculum prioritizes the student's needs, well-being, self-esteem, and attitudes (83). The emphasis is on what students need to succeed, and in the context of a middle school classroom, this often means that attention needs to be paid to the development of these early adolescents. Student-centered curriculum also focuses on the individuality of students, not just the students themselves. Again, regarding development, this is important for middle school students: as individuals, all middle school students are at a different stage of development. So, when deciding how the course material will be approached, the student-centered curriculum focuses on individual students or small groups. Because of this, students become closer to the material they learn and instruction becomes more practical. A fourth characteristic of the student-centered curriculum concerns the content of the teaching materials. According to Manning and Bucher, teachers in a student-centered classroom focus on “personal and social problems that young adolescents may face” (83). Instead of focusing only on academic content, individual students' lives and experiences become classroom topics. Finally, the student-centered curriculum allows for student input in deciding what content should be covered in class. Students are given the opportunity to contribute their ideas to lessons prepared by teachers. A classroom with too much emphasis on being student-centered was something I experienced when I was in seventh grade. My geography