Thursday, February 15, 2007
Middle School Misunderstandings
I came across this posting from Laura. Clearly, someone doesn't understand what middle school is all about. The author uses "middle school" and "junior high" interchangably. I'm not sure if it the difference was ever communicated to Laura. But it does lead to the discussion, just what should middle school be? Maybe this would be a good topic for us to start a discussion about. What do you think?
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4 comments:
I think this is a good springboard for a couple of issues.
One is the need for a transition program. Laura's primary objections and the social aspects of middle school, not the academics or the teaching methods. Ironically she cites the Jr. High model as being worse. It isn't uncommon for people not to want to relive their transescent years because of all the change and feeling of awkwardness.
Would be a good spot to fit in advisory items as well.
There was the State Dept. of Fla. education paper that came out attacking middle schools. That would supply hours of material also.
Could springboard into classroom practice, socialization & standards, as well as many others.
I'm game if you are.
Note: This comment identical to the one removed. Previous entry posted without a couple of sentences making it rather strange ...
Hi there, and thanks for your link.
I am aware that there are some differences between middle school and junior high; both school "formats" exist in my area, but they appear to be quite similar and thus parents tend to use the terms interchangeably. I used them alternately in my post as the semantic difference seems minor based on my experience; my points related to each form of schooling.
The chief difference here in So. CA seems to be that "middle school" begins in 6th grade and "jr. high" begins in 7th, sometimes (as when I was in school) going until 9th grade instead of 8th. Each type of school is similar, however, insofar as each child having multiple teachers, typically one per subject. My friend's daughter in a "middle school" a couple miles away has exactly the same experience as those students in our neighborhood "junior high"; she just started a year earlier.
Due to another friend I am aware of another form of middle school in an Eastern state, in which students move to middle school in 5th grade but still have one teacher at that grade level.
I would be curious if you feel that there other differences between middle school & jr. high which are significant, in terms of number of teachers per day or otherwise. Do you feel that there is such a difference that the thoughts in my post would relate to only one form of school and not the other model?
It's partially because of "change" and "feelings of awkwardness" that I believe middle school/jr. high is not the best option for students, as detailed in my post. I believe other options (such as extended elementary school) may provide a more supportive environment for students going through this time in their life. We found the administration and teachers unable or unwilling to invest much effort into dealing with the children's social issues. For instance, behavior (such as foul language or teasing/tormenting) that resulted in sitting in the office at the elementary school was ignored at jr. high level with "They learn it at home/Everybody does it/there's not much we can do about it." It was as though the adults left the building once the kids hit jr. high. Also, when a child has one teacher per day, that teacher is obviously able to be much more in tune with the social dynamics in his or her room than a teacher who sees students 50 minutes or so per day.
I do have "issues" with the academics and teaching methods in middle school/jr. high, as well. In part it was dissatisfaction with my daughter's experience in jr. high -- academically as well as socially -- which helped lead to my considering homeschooling. For instance, for reasons too long to detail here, she basically "lost" two years of English literature/composition due to poor teaching. There was virtually no writing for two years. Parents attempted to addrss this with the principal and district, but got nowhere. Fortunately in our case we were able to cover this at home so she was ready for high school. This is one example of difficulty at one school, and obviously every school will have its strengths and weaknesses, often depending on individual teachers. However, the issues were significant enough, and the lack of response disheartening enough, to cause us (as well as other families) to look elsewhere.
Although I disagree with the jr. high/middle school idea and unfortunately have had more than our share of academic difficulties with our local schools, I certainly commend you for attempting to do the best possible job in your chosen vocations. You obviously have a love for your job if you are passionate enough about it to want to blog about it. I appreciate you allowing me to offer a response here. Good luck in your new venture.
Best wishes,
Laura
Laura's Miscellaneous Musings
Thank you for your thoughts. We are all involved and active in middle school and believe in the middle school ideology and process. Unfortunately, many educators either don't really know what middle school is supposed to be about or are unable to effectively implement the middle school model. It is not really surprising to us that parents often don't know the difference between middle school and junior high. There are deep, fundamental differences. Unfortunately, the reality does not always match up with the research, best practices or concepts. This is usually the case for middle school.
Frequently, junior highs have changed their schedules (start at 6th grade instead of 7th) and call themselves a middle school. Sometimes, schools will start "teams" and call themselves a middle school.
In terms of numbers of teachers, there is not a hard an fast rule. One of the concepts that is important in middle school is the concepts of teams. Here the students may have several teachers, however, those students are in grouped together with teachers. Most importantly, those teachers have time and a willingness to work together. This leads to a much better understanding of the students and their needs. The students should feel like part of a family.
The middle school years are a time of change for the students. However, this is not necessarily bad. This is an important opportunity for students to establish who they are. It is a time for them to truly begin the process of becoming an adult. The research shows that if students are working with a small group of teachers, those students benefit. I don't know of research that shows a single teacher is any kind of benefit. With the passage of No Child Left Behind, the demands on teacher knowledge have been raised. Quite frankly, most teachers will not be able to be highly qualified to teacher more than 1 or 2 subjects. The expertise that students need requires teachers who are experts in a field.
There are poor teachers everywhere (including home schooling and the most prestigious schools). The curriculum is under constant review. I'm sorry that you've had such a bad experience. Education is undergoing huge changes (so is the rest of society). I guess I won't blame a bad experience on all of middle school. Just like I wouldn't say the democracy doesn't work because of one bad politician.
If you are interested, we could point out some of the basic research about middle school. We are open to discussion. We want to serve our students, our parents and our communities with the best possible education.
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