What happened to junior high? I went to junior high. *waves cane*
Me, too.
Good question.
Middle school is a model that takes into account the "toddlerhood" that grades 6th-8th are. It's a little different in philosophy and actuality.
DS attended a fabulous middle school. Some things that made it consistently one of the best in the state-
Each grade was divided into 4 "houses", each with their own team of academic subject teachers. This allowed them to meet regularly and coordinate test schedules to avoid overwhelming students and to coordinate their curriculum so that kids were reading literature in English that supported the history they were studying and also making sure they had the math concepts needed for their science labs. Kids who were exceptionally advanced in math were able to start their day earlier at the high school.
The teachers there were probably more highly qualified and professional than those he had in high school and elementary. Many were dual certified to teach elementary as well as their secondary subject. They were a creative bunch in terms of getting grants and spent them on things like 130 mountain bikes which allow them to do PE outside in the local park. They also use the park for science and to re-enact battles from the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.
The schedule had some unique features- an activity period started the day before homeroom which meant kids had a 50 minute block of time for band, clubs, academic support. They built in a twice monthly block where the entire team would participate in some activity- a hike, a movie, a visiting author.
They anticipated middle school hormones and poor choices, but discipline was not as zero-tolerance draconian as at the high school. Because they were very proactive about bullying, there seemed to be a little less over it than in the late elementary and early high school years- they anticipated and damped it down.
DS started school at a K-8 indie. I loved the idea of one building for nine years, but in practice having 5s and 14s in the same building is not ideal. Often the middle school teachers there were certified as elementary teachers and were a bit out of their depth. There was a lot of friction between the parents of younger kids and the older kids over age appropriate young teen behavior and the allotment of resources within the school.
Can I just say that middle school should be abolished on account of it SUCKING so much? Gah, those 2 years were miserable and awkward.
Someone on here (I want to say it was a teacher - Irish, maybe?) said that middle school is where you see all the true assholio behavior because the kids are all hot messes.
FWIW, at our school I see behavioral issues in third grade (the boys start breaking the rules and DGAF) and 6-7 (the girls take their cliquishness to a new level).
Post by EllieArroway on Jul 13, 2014 8:26:35 GMT -5
My school didn't have a true middle school. They were k-6 and 7-12. But within the schools the populations were divided enough that we didn't really have a chance to interact with anyone outside of our group. The groups were k, 1-3, 4-6, 7-8, 9-12. 7-8 was definitely the worst. The kids hated it and the teachers hated it. I don't see how that would change by moving them back to the elementary school though. It's just a sucky age.
Can I just say that middle school should be abolished on account of it SUCKING so much? Gah, those 2 years were miserable and awkward.
I am pro K-8 for this reason. My schooling was K-6, junior high and highschool. Junior high was miserable. My kids are in a Catholic K-8 and I like it. The older kids have a lot of interaction with the little kids. They sit K and 8, 1 and 7, 2 and 6 and so on for mass twice a week. They team up with all different grades for projects. IME, it gives the older kids responsibility and keeps the younger ones interested and feeling included. The older kids get a strong feeling of leadership. I also think it does a wonderful job in keeping the older kids from growing up too fast.
Post by jordancatalano4ever on Jul 13, 2014 9:28:35 GMT -5
I teach 6th grade and I have serious reservations about sending my kids to public middle school. It's just not ideal for all the reasons stated above. In my experience the vast majority of 6th graders are still children. They have a strong desire for continued play and activities. They aren't ready/mature enough for the full level of responsibility that's required. And to make matters worse most parental responsibility drops off the charts as well. I once had a parent in a parent conference with all her child's teachers tell us that because he was their last child and because they had worked on his issues throughout elementary that "they were done". At 11. They had had enough of making an effort to ensure their child had a good education and simply wanted no part of it anymore. Which is probably how a lot of parents of children who are the youngest feel. Not all of course, but many.
My dream job would be a 6th grade teacher who worked at an elementary that had a sixth grade year transition program. I went through something similar in 5th where I had a home room teacher (social studies) and we rotated to another home room for math, and another for language arts. It gave us an idea for what it would be like to have a schedule. Of course I would include a science rotation as that's what I teach. Sixth graders just need that continued support of have one teacher who regularly communicates with parents and that they can form a relationship with.
I see no problem for eight graders moving to a high school set up as maturity wise, most are ready for that anyhow. 7th would be tougher but I think 7th is the worst no matter what situation, lol.
Post by dutchgirl678 on Jul 13, 2014 12:09:56 GMT -5
I grew up in the Netherlands where they don't have middle school. You go to elementary school until your are 12 or so and then to high school. The firs year of high school we were in a separate building from the rest of the high school so we didn't interact that much with older kids. The years after we did, but there were hardly ever issues. I much prefer this system over having a middle school.
Post by mominatrix on Jul 13, 2014 12:38:16 GMT -5
My elementary was K-4, then middle for 5-6, then junior high for 7-8, then high school
It was the total suck. While there were a number of elementaries, all the kids in town were brought together for middle and jr high, and the bullying and behavioral issues were just just awful.
DD's school is currently a K-5, but will be transitioning up to a K-8, and I'm delighted about it, mostly because I like the school and want to be in it as long as possible, but also because my kids are both physically small and slower to develop (like, DD is 7, done with first grade, and STILL has all her baby teeth)... I think the extra time in a younger environment will be better for both of them.
My dream job would be a 6th grade teacher who worked at an elementary that had a sixth grade year transition program. I went through something similar in 5th where I had a home room teacher (social studies) and we rotated to another home room for math, and another for language arts. It gave us an idea for what it would be like to have a schedule. Of course I would include a science rotation as that's what I teach. Sixth graders just need that continued support of have one teacher who regularly communicates with parents and that they can form a relationship with.
Our district does this. They keep 6th in the elementary buildings, and support them as elementary students while giving them middle school texts and a hybrid transition year.
They do a lot of transition work- changing classes, lockers delivered to the 6th hallway to practice on, district wide field day to combine the schools, tours of the middle school with an 8th grade sherpa assigned. They also hold all intermediate grade concerts at the middle school to get the kids used to the building.
Post by irishbride2 on Jul 14, 2014 8:24:20 GMT -5
We need people that are experts in that age group to be in charge ofthem. Most people avoid middle so when you mix them in with other grades the admins tend to be specialists in the other age ranges, not pre teen. Pre teens are tricky.
We need middle schools. We just need thenm to be run by people who specialize in pre teens instead if people hoping to use it as a stepping stone to high school or people who failed as high school or elem principalships
My school is preschool through 12th grade. Our mide school is 5th through 8th but 5&6 and then 7&8 are lumped together in seperate buildings. Our middle school principal is especially great with 7&8 and our vice principal is especially great with 5&6. It works wonderfully.
Post by irishbride2 on Jul 14, 2014 8:26:20 GMT -5
Short summary: we need more people who actually want to teach middle. It makes a world of difference. Some of us actually love that age.....but many iof our schools are filled wih angry bitter teachers who hate that age which is sad.
Post by irishbride2 on Jul 14, 2014 8:27:51 GMT -5
Also developmentally, different ages need different things such as different schedules. Having a 6th grade on the same schedule as k during the day makes no sense. Not does having a 6th grade on the same daily schedule as a 12th grader.
Short summary: we need more people who actually want to teach middle. It makes a world of difference. Some of us actually love that age.....but many iof our schools are filled wih angry bitter teachers who hate that age which is sad.
Yikes! Is this because it's a difficult age group?
Post by demandypants on Jul 14, 2014 8:34:22 GMT -5
I was in a school with elementary being k-6 and then our Jr/Sr high school was 7-12. It is a small district. But in any case, it wasn't scary being in the same building as seniors. They did seem so much older than us, but we didn't comingle much at all. Many of the 7th and 8th grade classrooms were on one floor, while the Sr high classes tended to be downstairs. But after that first month or so of just getting used to being the oldest in a school to the youngest it wasn't a big deal. Lunches were divided by grades, so really aside from halls between classes and bus rides there was little interaction.
DD will have two middle schools. One for 5th-6th grades and another for 7th and 8th.
Short summary: we need more people who actually want to teach middle. It makes a world of difference. Some of us actually love that age.....but many iof our schools are filled wih angry bitter teachers who hate that age which is sad.
Yikes! Is this because it's a difficult age group?
I think it takes a special personality (and training) to teach middle. So often what happens is people have a first choice of high school or elem and end up in middle by default. Then they get angrier every year with the kids because they don't like it.
Short summary: we need more people who actually want to teach middle. It makes a world of difference. Some of us actually love that age.....but many iof our schools are filled wih angry bitter teachers who hate that age which is sad.
Yikes! Is this because it's a difficult age group?
I would hate that age! lol, little animals.
But I would probably also be projecting my own shitty memories of junior high onto them all.
Short summary: we need more people who actually want to teach middle. It makes a world of difference. Some of us actually love that age.....but many iof our schools are filled wih angry bitter teachers who hate that age which is sad.
This was me. I loved grade 8, it was by far my favourite year to teach (I taught all grades 4-8, as well as some 'coverage' in k-3). People always looked at us 7 and 8 teachers like we were insane but I would pick grade 8 over any other grade k-8. They had attitude but they also had character, they were just starting to figure out who they were, we could laugh (oh how we laughed), and at times we cried too. They were awesome. I loved being at K-8 schools because my 8s were the leaders in the school.
What about starting to offer trade education in middle school? I think that would be really helpful for some kids.
That's one area that is sorely missing from today's middle school curriculum. When I was in middle school I took wood shop, home ec, art, music, typing (it became computers in 8th grade when the school switched from manual type writers to Apple IIes). Those classes were very useful to me. Some of my classmates did go to the Voke in 9th grade because they liked wood shop so much and academics not so much.
Why can't we have classes like that again? It doesn't need to be wood shop but what about an intro to computer programming or networking? or other more "modern" "trades".
Our school has stuff like this - we have robotics, Gateway to Technology, financial literacy, career education, keyboarding, and then other related arts (French, Spanish, chorus, guitar, band, p.e, drama, etc). I'd say 2/3, if not 3/4 of my students are enrolled in a high school credit course as well.
I teach 8th grade - no way would I want those kids with elementary age OR high school.
Short summary: we need more people who actually want to teach middle. It makes a world of difference. Some of us actually love that age.....but many iof our schools are filled wih angry bitter teachers who hate that age which is sad.
Yikes! Is this because it's a difficult age group?
I usually found 7s to be the worst. 6s were still 'kids', enthusiastic and young. The 8s had generally figured social stuff out (there were exceptions). But the 7s? I always found there was drama and so many hormones in grade 7.
The biggest issues I found in grade 7/8 were social issues, particularly emotional/social/cyber bullying on the part of the girls, and then the beginning of the 'opting out because this is boring' attitude. But if you worked hard to engage the kids you could usually address the latter issue.