Middle School is one of the most challenging times in our students’ lives. They are growing, developing, and boy are they musty! I have a child in middle school so I can see the transformation that I often read about. During this time, I see my daughter trying to shred the naivety of childhood, but I see that she still does not fully grasp responsibilities and consequences. For the most part, I see her struggling, trying to find her space in the world and the social atmosphere is new yet intriguing. At her new middle school, teachers watch our babies walk in the building and there is a “dear in headlights” stare from all who are new to 6th grade. The transition from elementary to middle school is challenging and I do not know why the love for teaching and the passion for education slows for teachers and students.  

Where is the Breakdown from Elementary To Middle School?

Where did the student curiosity go, why aren’t teachers as excited about this new group of students as they once were in their first few years of teaching, so where is the breakdown? Even the school building’s very design can reinforce the idea that middle school is a traditional, yet liner place. How can middle school transform into a fun space, with projects, explorative activities, and real-world connections to problems and solutions? Well, as of now our school is standard; a student monitor observing for dress code, due to Covid19 a classroom with rows observed by a teacher who sits behind the desk trying to best support students through programs such as Edmentum, hybrid learning, and face-to-face learning. I get it, but why does it feel like the excitement my daughter once had has now turned into a lack of emotional connection between teachers and students. From the outside looking in educating middle schoolers while fostering their love of learning is now a monumental task.

Lets Re-Think Middle School

A change has to happen, in 2011, The Middle School Initiative was a program for teachers and other school administration members implemented in several schools to rekindle their middle schoolers’ education. It focused on finding new and successful ways to teach students and meet their emotional needs. It was also designed to raise proficiencies and grades in math, science, and language arts. Twenty-four middle schools took part in the Middle School Initiative. At 23 of those 24 schools, 95% of students were at the poverty level. 

Every school principal was required to take 100 hours of leadership training, and teachers had to conduct one-hour meetings to discuss instruction and trade insights into students’ thinking and issues. We know that once we ask students and families for input; great things start to happen. Some of the research found that there were many issues between departmentalized classrooms and self-contained classrooms.  Students who were in a departmentalized classroom had a higher quality of education because the teacher and student-developed trust and were emotionally connected in a self-contained classroom.

One significant issue that stands in the way of many students’ success at middle school and beyond is the student to teacher ratio. Overcrowded classes continue to have a severe strain on learning. The more student’s teachers have, the harder it is to identify student needs. It seems it becomes harder and harder to support, re-teach, and develop students every year (Bottani et al, 2019).

A New Middle School Experience

Teaching a classroom full of middle schoolers is not the same as teaching high schoolers, so it should be treated as a totally different field. Imagine if we worked to redesign middle school as a new experience separate from elementary school and uniquely different from high school.  Imagine electives that are based on student needs, a whole child interview on day one to meet the needs of all learners, and projects that solve real-world problems that will ultimately affect their generation! Now that would be amazing! Wake-up! That’s not happening, I pull up slowly to the door, the school bell rings and the monitor who checks their dress code has her clipboard. 

References: 

Bottani, J., Duran, C., Pas, E., Bradshaw, C., (2019) Teacher stress and burnout in urban middle schools: Associations with job demands, resources, and effective classroom practices. Journal of School Psychology, Volume 77, Pages 36-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2019.10.002 

Downey, Maureen (2019, April, 26) Challenge isn’t getting teachers into the classroom. It’s keeping them., AJC, https://www.ajc.com/blog/get-schooled/challenge-isn-getting-teachers-into-classroom-keeping-them/yWIs9ir03KNMTdyzOta7TN/