Stuck in the middle again. I go back to middle school Monday when my twins start sixth grade.
I am going back to middle school.
It's back to middle school for me Monday, when my twins begin sixth grade. I am not looking forward to it.
My twins begin sixth grade Monday, going to the same middle school that my older two children attended.
I found middle school the weak link in my children’s k-12 education, which opened with a fantastic elementary school and concluded with a strong high school experience.
Middle school was another story, in part because their school went through a series of principals in six years, each bringing a short-lived flurry of changes that destabilized the school and the teachers.
The school boasted some wonderful teachers, but the overall experience was a disappointment and the atmosphere off putting.
Parents often felt they were entering a prison under lock down when they visited the school during the day, half expecting to be checked for contraband themselves.
I know that many people argue that middle school is of small importance because the students themselves are so addled by hormones that they can’t concentrate.
As a result, middle schools have long been seen as holding pens until the young teens and their hormones simmer down.
Whenever I voice any misgivings about middle schools, advocates sent me scolding messages that the problem is not with the fundamental model, but with how poorly districts have put it into practice, not fully funding it or not faithfully adhering to the principles.
There is a national effort to improve middle schools, but the results remain unimpressive, suggesting to me that the concept itself is flawed.
Anything that is this hard to repair may not be worth fixing, sort of like my beloved canary yellow Mustang that ended up costing me more to fix than it was worth. Looking at a second camshaft in less than a year, my mechanic counseled me it was time to move to a new model.
I hated to see old “Yeller” go to the scrap heap, but my new car was more reliable, safer and far less costly to maintain.
I suggest that we ought to consider new models for educating adolescents, including k-8 schools that offer the nurturing environment of elementary school to children for these critical adolescent years.
The average middle school in Georgia houses nearly 900 students. While educators complain that parents step back in middle school, the research suggests they are also pushed back a bit.
Parental involvement is strongly influenced by a school’s treatment and view of the parents and by whether teachers believe parents can make a contribution.
The problem is that teachers dealing with 150 students a day in a big, impersonal middle school can’t really connect with them. When their children don’t bond with teachers or the school, neither do the parents.
One of the selling points of middle schools is the team concept in which a group of teachers have the same collection of students every day, and the classrooms are often located in the same wing of the building.
As one middle school manual explains: “This middle school team approach allows teachers to more closely ‘follow the child,’ i.e., develop stronger ties with individual students and therefore better able to monitor their progress and offer quick feedback and assistance…which in turn allows students and teachers to establish the stronger connections.”
But I never saw this team approach in action. Yes, my children were on a color-coded team, but beyond scheduling, the team didn’t seen to serve any other function in their daily lives or interactions.
I remember my first meeting with my child’s “team.” It was clear that the teachers had never had a single conversation about my daughter. This didn’t surprise me as she was a good student who would not have created a need for too many huddles.
But the teachers couldn’t even answer my basic questions about her schedule or her classes: How does the school assign students to elective classes? No one had any idea. How do band and chorus work? Again, no clue.
Later, a friend who teaches middle school counseled me that her colleagues concentrate their efforts on the kids who are drowning, that a student who does well, shows up and turns in her homework is probably going to be considered a gift and left to her own devices.
I understand the focus on students who are struggling, given what is at stake in middle schools today.
In its report “The Forgotten Middle,” ACT researchers concluded: “Our research shows that, under current conditions, the level of academic achievement that students attain by eighth grade has a larger impact on their college and career readiness by the time they graduate from high school than anything that happens academically in high school.”
But I also think that it is disheartening to drop off your children at a building that resembles a Russian prison and hope that somebody notices them.
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126 comments Add your comment
Is Neal Boortz right?
July 31st, 2010
1:54 am
I doubt few if any teachers use school supplies to consciously indoctrinate their class in the tenants of Marxism, but does he have a point about what nefarious message may be sent, as he writes in his Saturday AJC article?
“Wait just a minute here! Why am I putting my stuff into that box? My daddy took me to Walmart and bought that stuff for me! It’s mine! You can’t take it away from me!
You think?
As your child sits in stunned silence, the teacher tells him and his classmates that these supplies now belong to all of the class. What was once private property has been seized and transformed into everyone’s property. The teacher says it shall be so, and so it shall be. The teacher’s demands amount to a virtual government mandate. There is no due process. No rule of law. No property rights. In school the teacher is the law. It’s time for some school supply redistribution.
As Karl Marx said (with some license): “From each according to their ability to purchase school supplies, to each according to their need for those school supplies.”
Writer Gal
July 31st, 2010
2:39 am
I just read through that ACT report, “The Forgotten Middle.” Interesting. But did you notice this? Near the end of the article, they gave the stats regarding their sample group, ethnicity, race, etc. What was predominantly noteworthy to me (and I was searching through the report exactly for this) is the regions of the US used for the study. There were four: the East, Midwest, Southwest, and West. The Southeast (and the North) were not included in the study. This, I feel is because the Southeast is far worse than the stats they report. The underacheivement nature of the educational system as a whole in states like Georgia and its surrounding neighbor states is so very terrible. Our schools are horrible here in Whitfield County. This is why we have removed our child from public school and I will be homeschooling this year instead. This child is profoundly gifted and would be entering the fourth grade after skipping the second and entering the third. As you say, clueless teachers and left to one’s own devices. I know I have to take the proverbial “bull by the horns” to insure my children’s success in life. I can’t hope for the “best” in northwest Georgia–the best simply does not exist. It would be interesting to see what the breakdown was for middle schoolers here in the Southeast by ACT. Beyond horrible, I would assume.
36 years in education
July 31st, 2010
6:14 am
Two of my three children were on teams that really “watched and cared” about every child. They knew my children better than I did. My daughter didn’t have this same experience. She had a “rock and rolling” good time in middle school and I don’t know if she retained anything that she learned.
NWGA teacher
July 31st, 2010
6:41 am
My child had an excellent middle school experience (also in Whitfield County). She loved the school, and her teachers seemed to know her well. It is a fairly small school. I’m far more concerned with the prospect of her large high school (and that notorious math program).
LSH
July 31st, 2010
7:18 am
One of the main problems with the implementation of middle school is the issue of ability tracking. Current PC protocols will not allow the teachers to track the students at this age. As a result, the teams spend all of their time working with a small handful of children and the average and gifted children are really left to their own. The teachers are not stupid or uncaring; their butts are tied to a small handful of underperforming students- who usually come with underperforming parents. Meeting are held often and the teachers struggle to develop strategies to work with a small handful of students or parents. Throw in an extremely high number of non academic specials that take time away from teaching and planning- think: “Career Day, Red Ribbon Week, Drug and Alcohol Awareness Week, Guest Speakers and performers, etc, etc, etc…. you have a recipe for very little learning going on.
Middle School Mom
July 31st, 2010
7:50 am
The whole concept of the team approach is kind of out the window this year. Most middle schools (at least in 8th grade) are going to curriculum areas, and doing away with teams. This presents less of a scheduling dilemma. I do not know how we are going to keep up with “who is drowning,” when we don’t have weekly team meetings to discuss our concerns…but we’ll figure it out. I agree with the poster above about underperforming students with underperforming parents. Most of the time this is true, but not always. At the “hormone hotel,” you just never know what you’re going to get…often great parents end up with very rebellious kids who see no value in education. The kids think one day they’ll wake up and be either a professional athlete, rap star, or a motivated student. Ah, with school starting in about a week, it’s time to dust off my wand and gather the pixie dust….
Jim Snell
July 31st, 2010
7:51 am
Ask a middle school teacher why they chose to teach at that level. If he/she does not immediately respond with a positive comment then there is a problem. Teachers who do not genuinely identify with the uniqueness of middle school students will probably not successfully connect with them. I can’t remember who said it but the quote that “students don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care,” is perhaps more true for middle school students than any other grade level. Beyond this, dedicated teachers must work in a building where administrators know how to support their efforts (minimize classroom interruptions, avoid temptation to jump on board with the latest staff dev. fad, etc.). An administrator who doesn’t get it can destroy the efforts of an otherwise effective teacher at any level.
oldtimer
July 31st, 2010
7:52 am
After 30 tears of teaching 4-8, I believe the old way in Dekalb was reat. k-7 and 8-12. I loved grade 8 at Tucker and 7th grade in ele. was great. later as we converted to MS model you could not keep teachers in grades 7 or 8. I also believed we lowered expectations, a lot. In my last 3 years in Clayton County we lowered expectations even more. The one thing I disliked the most was the changes in social studies education. I taught 180 or more and saw them every other day. It took two weeks to learn all the names.
You are so right..Middle Schools are a weak link..But then so was Jr. High……
Julie
July 31st, 2010
7:53 am
I taught middle school and found it to be a both challenging and rewarding group of children to work with. Several things I wish: 6th grade remained in the elementary school and 9th grade remained in the middle school. These are truly ages that need the “most attention” Looking at discipline records and academic success, these two transition years suffer and I believe the students are trying to grow up too fast. Our middle school takes a very hands on approach, that being said, we only have one middle school in the county and everyone knows everyone. Morgan County. These are the years for parents to really be involved in their school.
Middle school
July 31st, 2010
8:05 am
My children’s experience in middle school was fine, but I thought that those parents who didn’t enjoy school themselves would have been highly intimidated havintg to meet with four teachers at a time. I would deliberately circumvent scheduled meetings in order to address a single subject with a single teacher more quickly. It saved loads of time for everyone involved.
Dunwoody Mom
July 31st, 2010
8:15 am
As a student of the old “traditional” K-7 for ES (actually in early DCSS, Kindergarten was not provided) and 8-12 for HS and now as a parent of the ES, MS, HS model, I have to agree that these MS years seem “lost” to me as well and my children attend(ed) a good MS where there were academic “teams”. These are tough years emotionally and physically for children. There is a world of difference between a 6th grader and an 8th grader. I wish they would go back to the old model.
Jim Snell
July 31st, 2010
8:25 am
Ask an educator why they chose to teach at the middle school level. If he/she does not immediately respond with a positive comment then there is a problem. I cannot remember who said it, but the quote that “students do not care how much you know until they know how much you care” may be more applicable at the middle school level than any other. Beyond this, dedicated educators must work with building level administrators who understand that their primary responsibility is to support the efforts of teachers to reach their students. Administrators at any level must minimize interruptions that take time away from classroom instruction, reduce the load of administrative paperwork, and resist the latest staff development fads for starters. (apologies if this comment shows twice…my 1st attempt seems to have gotten lost in the blog filter)
Chris Murphy, Atlanta, GA
July 31st, 2010
8:33 am
Twins in middle school!! Oh, we’ll say a prayer for ya!
Mother knows best!
July 31st, 2010
8:35 am
Middle schools in GA are too large…in Gwinnett a small middle school is around 1200 students, but most are 2,000-3,000. That’s ridiculous! In the Midwest (best schools in the country) a typical middle school is 600 students. However, I still yanked my child out of the Midwest MS and placed in a gr 7-12 private college prep. Best decision ever!
Teacher&mom
July 31st, 2010
9:06 am
Ah… middle school. I taught at the middle school level for 12 years and my youngest will be in the 8th grade this year. People often ask me ask me what I miss about middle school. I don’t miss the constant “silliness” and drama that seems to go hand-in-hand with this age. If you want to develop a teacher’s discipline and classroom management skills, place them in a middle school classroom for a couple of years. It’s like being thrown in the deep in of the pool to learn how to swim ☺
Children First
July 31st, 2010
9:09 am
40 years ago, when I was a tween, elementary school went through 6th grade. My “junior high” — an antiquated term — was grades 7,8,9. High school was 10,11,12. 40 years later, and being the parent of a 16 year old, this model seems to make so much more sense. At my son’s middle school, 6th grade was the most turbulent year, and the kids would have done much better without being in a school environment made up of three “hormonal” groups of 6,7, and 8. We benefitted from 9th grade in a smaller environment, and high school was a pleasure. Not everything from the “old days” was a mistake!
Teacher&mom
July 31st, 2010
9:13 am
I agree with other posters that 6th grade belongs in elementary school. At our local middle school, reading is no longer taught as a separate subject. It is combined with the English/LARTS standards. One of my biggest complaints about middle school is the huge decrease in the number of books they read each year. The focus shifts from reading to grammar and literature. I understand why there is a shift but many middle schoolers still need a reading class.
Teacher&mom
July 31st, 2010
9:32 am
Here’s my idea of an ideal middle school:
1-Grades 7-8 (possibly 9th)
2-Small classes (no more than 20) that are grouped by ability levels.
3-Small teams of two teachers (at least in the 7th grade)
4-PE every day! You have no idea how important MOVEMENT is to this group and what a difference it makes in helping them settle and focus during class.
5-Loop students in 7th and 8th grade (same team of teachers for 2 years in a row)
6-More cultural and educational field trips (start exposing them to colleges, technical schools, etc before they reach high school).
7-Allow high achieving students to earn high school credit. (Math and physical science credit could easily be earned in middle school)
8-Provide some type of program for students who don’t pass the 8th grade CRCT (especially those who have a long history of failing the CRCT). Acknowledge that their chances of survival in a regular high school program are slim and they would be better served by offering them an alternative route that will eventually lead to a technical diploma.
Teaching in FL is worse
July 31st, 2010
9:53 am
Thanks to my fellow posters for not letting the Boortz fan highjack the blog.
I taught in middle school off and on for 7 years. I have never felt anyone who worked there saw it as a “holding cell” for kids. As a matter of fact, we saw it as crucial since that is when their personalities and independence are starting to form.
I’m sorry your experience was not good, but it is not an indicator for all middle schools is GA.
As a disclaimer, I will say I went back down to elementary school because I felt that discipline was less…”complicated.”
Teaching in FL is worse
July 31st, 2010
9:54 am
BTW, the model in Japan is 1-6, 7-9. 10-12.
Teacher&mom
July 31st, 2010
9:57 am
@Jim Snell..I’ve heard that quote used many times in middle school staff meetings
I loved teaching at the middle school level and will probably return in a few years (after my youngest graduates high school). Middle school is challenging and exhausting. Teaching at the high school level is SO MUCH EASIER. I don’t have lunch duty, hall duty, after-school bus duty, etc. The number of parent conferences drops dramatically at the high school level. The maturity level of high school students makes my job so much easier. The pressure that comes from preparing students for the EOCT is nothing like the pressure that comes with the CRCT. Oh how I DO. NOT. MISS. the CRCT 
This next observation always gets me in hot water at the high school but here goes….at the high school where I work, the most well-rounded, successful teachers are those that were also successful at the middle school level. I think every high school teacher should be required to teach at least a year or two at the middle school level. If you can successfully (emphasis on successfully) teach at the middle school level, you’ve got what it takes to be an outstanding high school teacher.
J.B. STONER
July 31st, 2010
10:28 am
YALL WANNA KNOW WHAT I THINK??
CHECK BACK TODAY AND SEE WHAT I SAY !!!!!!!!!!!!
Concerned 1
July 31st, 2010
10:33 am
Thank you for these comments. A relative is going to Middle School this year and APS is piloting their transformation at her school. She is gifted and excells on violin and in ballet. She also made straight A’s in elementary school. Her school was not targeted for a CRCT probe and made distinguished AYP. Why do they keep using our kids as guinea pigs? I will find a second job to send her to private school if this tampering hurts her education. I just can’t see more emphasis on drilling kids in 6th grade for tests. Why can’t school be pleasant?
I hope the teachers are caring people, that will make a difference. Her parents are also very responsible and are active in the PTA and school programs despite their work schedules. Enough said.
ScienceTeacher671
July 31st, 2010
10:43 am
I agree with those who say the elementary 1-6, Jr. high 7-9, and high school 10-12 model worked best, particularly when you had subject-certified rather than “middle grades certified” teachers in those schools.
In my opinion, 6th graders don’t quite have the maturity needed to be thrown into the great hormonal pool of middle school, and do better as “the big kids” in elementary school, and 9th graders do better with the additional structure of the junior high.
I also agree with Teacher&mom that there should be some sort of special program for those 8th graders who can’t pass the CRCT. Throwing them into high school, especially with Georgia’s single-track diploma, is a recipe for failure.
Iggy
July 31st, 2010
11:01 am
Most 6th graders are NOT ready for middle school, with 7 classes, 2-minute locker breaks, and near complete responsibilty for being the conduit of information between the teachers and the parents. My son, and like many boys especially, was not developmentally prepared when he started 6th grade. It didn’t seem the school takes that much into account. Unlike the elementary schools, where there are packets going home to parents on a weekly basis, and teachers closely communicating directly with parents, most of the work never comes home (it remains in their class “portfolios”) and teachers very rarely communicate with parents. So parents are left decoding an 11-year-olds interpretations of what is happening in his classrooms. I recognize that part of the reason for the reduced personal communication is that the teachers now have up to 100+ students vs 20-30, but why place 10-11 year-olds in a situation where teacher-parent communication drops to near zero, yet the demands on student organization and study skills are so much higher?
Just keep them in 6th grade, put the 9th graders with 7th and 8th, and you will have more neurodevelopmentally homogeneous groupings. Everyone will be more serene.
Atlanta mom
July 31st, 2010
11:08 am
Bless the middle school teachers. I can’t imagine anyone doing that willingly! It takes a very special person.
Atlanta mom
July 31st, 2010
11:09 am
As for PE everyday in middle school–bring it on. And bring it back to elementary schools as well.
Legal vs ethical
July 31st, 2010
11:12 am
Developmentally, I also am leary of putting 9th graders in with 12th graders. I have heard the hope was to gradually introduce students (and parents) to the idea of driving, working, etc. via that first 9th grade year. However, I think what has happened is that the younger kids get lost in the high school and the teachers have trouble making the jump from 18/19 year old issues to 14/15 year old issues. It’s too broad a canyon to jump. Also, just when kids and parents have “figured out” MS, it’s time to leave. It’s hard to support the school as a parent when you are not there long enough to really make an impact. How about k-5, 6-9 and 10-12?
Really amazed
July 31st, 2010
11:23 am
Why would you send these two precious gems to a school that you know is and has preformed poorly in the passed, willingly?? You only get one chance with them This isn’t your yellow car.
Really amazed
July 31st, 2010
11:39 am
I meant, Maureen why would you send these two precious gems to a school that you have found in the past as the weak link in your other children’s education? You only get one chance to educate them. This isn’t your yellow car. Please don’t respond you believe in public education. This apparently just isn’t so for any of you. I very rarely see anything positive about public school written in any of these blogs. The only time I do is for some of the traditional ones like Walton. The new math itself puts everyone over the edge. This is where the top math students start getting lost, fast MIDDLE SCHOOL. It happened to my nephew, top notch student in 6th grade. Got a d in math but somehow report card time it was a B. Give me a break!
TW
July 31st, 2010
11:52 am
My oldest went to middle school in east Cobb and IT WAS AWESOME!
Those communities who use the school correctly for their kid’s education are able to activate the magic of public schooling.
Go Raiders!
Teacher, Too
July 31st, 2010
12:28 pm
This will be my 22nd year teaching middle school. I love it. I wouldn’t drop down to elementary, nor would I jump to high school. I totally agree with the other bloggers who have suggested moving 6th grade back to elementary and dropping 9th grade to middle (or junior high).
I have always thought that 9th graders do not need to be around seniors.
My best advice for parents with middle schoolers? Keep the lines of communication open with the teachers. Don’t helicopter, but do e-mail when you have questions or concerns. Also, as John Rosemond commented in one of his columns, keep an open mind and give teachers the benefit of the doubt. I’ve had parents tell me that their children don’t lie. Yes, they do. Kids lie. Please love your children enoughto allow them to accept the consequences of their behavior.
If schoolwork is late, don’t e-mail, call, or send a note. Usually, due dates are given in advance (at least in my class, they are). Unless there is a legitimate emergency, let the child suffer the consequence of the teacher’s late work policy. If an emergency does happen, then let the teacher know. I try to be flexible with legitimate emergencies, as do most of my colleagues.
Use the resources that schools/ teachers provide. My school provides agenda books for students. I put the class agenda on the white board and on my blog every day. Students are responsible for copying it into their agenda. Check your child’s agenda to see what he/she is doing in class. If the agenda is empty, as a parent, you might want to give a consequence. As a back up, check the teacher’s blog. I know I post upcoming due dates and test dates, as well as class/homework assignments. It’s a rich source of information, and it eliminates you having to call,e-mail, or send a note asking for make-up work, if you know that the assignments are posted on the teacher’s blog.
FInally, check your child’s grades often. Many school districts have links for parents to check their children’sgrades.I know there are some teachers who do not update their gradebooks as often as they are supposed to (my school requires updates at least once a week, but there are teachers who do not do this). However, many teachers do, myself included. Check the gradebook. Ask to see the work if there is a low score- if your child says that his/her teacher did not give back the paper– ask the teacher. I don’t keep student work. If it’s graded, I give it back, with the exception of major essays. Those go in the writing portfolio. But, students may take those essays home as long as they return them to the portfolio.
Bottome line– use the resources that you have available to you as a parent. You can’t imagine how many parents will call and complain, “You didn’t let me know.Now my child can’t bring his/her grade up to passing.” Umm, why are you just now noticing? If I keep the blog and gradebook up-to-date and have sent home at least one progress report (I actually send a minimum of two each quarter), why aren’t you checking on your child’s progress? And, please, don’t ask for extra credit at the end of the quarter (at the last minute) when your child hasn’t done the required work throughout the grading period.
Having said all this, I can’t wait to see my students next week. It’s going to be a great year. Maureen, I hope this is a great year for your twins.
Nothing We Can Do
July 31st, 2010
12:33 pm
I’ve taught a both middle and high and found that I preferred high school. I really like being able to teach to a higher level, with that being said, I once taught on a two-man team in the 6th grade and those students became like family. They are 30 now, but they will always be my little 12 year olds.
MS Man
July 31st, 2010
12:53 pm
As a middle school educator, I have mixed feelings about what we do and don’t do well with our tweeners. There are many challenges with having 10-16 year olds in the same building (albeit most are 11-14) and at differing levels of ability, maturity, and motivation. I don’t think the structure of the buildings has so much to do with it as the demands that the principal and the district put on academic success and rigor. The MS model does ask that you educate the whole child, and some places spend more time on the child and less on the academics to the detriment of kids. I love the awkwardness, the exploration, the social ineptitude and the craziness that is a middle schooler as I equally enjoy watching them grow to be able to think abstractly, to clarify who they are as a person, and to establish an identity. I tell parents at my school that there are three things they need to do to make middle school successful for themselves and their kids. 1.) Stay involved in your child’s academic and social life. Your kid will naturally push you away because they are teens, but stay involved and stay a step ahead by contacting teachers and knowing all your kids friends in person and on facebook. 2.) Listen more than talk or question. Middle Schoolers are very wary of adults who address them directly, but share a lot when you just let them talk. Another good trick is to car pool kids places and just listen as you are driving. You will learn a ton. 3.) Set limits and stick to them. You are not your kid’s best friend, you are their parent.
Good luck, Maureen.
Really Amazed
July 31st, 2010
12:55 pm
You probably shouldn’t worry about the twins because at least you seem like the type of parent that will supplement were needed. Might want to start with a great math tutor. I also never said their weren’t any good public schools. I am just stating that I very rarely see positive blogs about these schools. I know the whole education thing starts with the parents!!
Mom and substitute teacher
July 31st, 2010
1:25 pm
Middle schools in Gwinnett are way too big. Sixth graders would do better to have one more year in elementary, away from the “hormonal” 7th and 8th graders. Unlike many posters here, I think middle school should be just 7th and 8th grade. Moving 6th back to elementary would help reduce the size of the middle schools and would hopefully help middle schools be able to better serve the unique needs of the 7th and 8th graders. They are at what is probably the most difficult age of their lives, and don’t have that much in common with either 6th graders or 9th graders developmentally.
A lot of maturing takes place in 9th grade. I think the older students are positive role models for them. Ninth grade is also a year for students to find out more about what they really like. They have many opportunities to become more involved with sports, music, art, and foreign languages, as well as the academic areas. They have 10th through 12th to persue that interest more intensely and perhaps find that spark that sets them on their career path, whether that involves college or not. By the time a student reaches 9th grade, the vast majority of them are ready for the extra responsibilities and the extra opportunities that come with high school. It would be sad to hold them back.
yes teaching in fla is worse, yes!
July 31st, 2010
1:40 pm
Yes let’s go back and forth and back and forth on in an endless cycle of dysfunction, and let’s not even entertain questions of whether the entire educational bureaucracy is fundamentally flawed and in major need of being dismantled for the common good.
How dare the AJC even provide a forum for someone like Boortz to ever question the public education system, when it’s working so wonderfully, with so much integrity, and so little waste.
Online Reader
July 31st, 2010
1:51 pm
Maureen: “Teacher, too” hit the nail on the head. If you follow her suggestions you and your children should do well with middle school. You might want to think about printing her post, it will come in handy for reference later. I found middle school to be the time when so many parents start enabling their children. Due to a lack of planning kids will get their after school activities in and not get homework done. THEN the parents send a note to the teacher telling them that their child had a concert or a game and was unable to do their homework or outright lie and say their child was sick and couldn’t get the assignment done, even though they were seen at the event the night before.
"profoundly gifted"
July 31st, 2010
2:04 pm
writer gal, i speak for all teachers who won’t have the pleasure of working with your diving gift: THANK YOU!!!!!!! now we can spend time teaching the non-profoundly gifted teachers instead of catering to your li’l angel’s every precious whim. as far as middle school goes, i agree that the benefits of a team approach are cancelled by the crushing number of students each teacher must deal with on a daily basis.
"profoundly gifted"
July 31st, 2010
2:07 pm
make that “divine gift,” not diving gift. need an edit function for this blog…
Georgia Teacher
July 31st, 2010
2:08 pm
You have just outlined the reasons that many people stretch for private school in middle school years, even if they use the public schools for other years. Precisely because kids are going through such big physical changes, they need a high level of structure and a lot of caring, to come out the other end as future scholars/athletes/artists/whatever, rather than just older, bigger 5th graders intellectually. Don’t pull back on involvement–your children may think they are adult, but they are not. I’ve so often heard “Well, he’ll just have to learn…”, when teachers are annoyed at older children. But kids never learn just by “having” to learn–it’s our job, as parents and teachers, to guide them and teach them at every step of the way. Pick the best teachers for your kids and agitate till you get them: have family meetings to mull over what happened during the week; enjoy your kids’ whackiness; and never lose focus that the main job of a school is to educate children. Don’t settle for less!
Really amazed
July 31st, 2010
2:14 pm
Georgia Teacher, can I sign you up to be my children’s teacher if we come back to public?????!!!! You sound perfect! We need more like you.
atlanta123
July 31st, 2010
2:18 pm
I happen to teach in a college-prep middle school here in the Atlanta area, and I can tell you that we have only 7th and 8th graders here and we keep class size below 20. It works amazingly well. Our teachers (the majority of whom LOVE our students) can keep a close eye on all students and catch problems before they become insurmountable. In addition, we have very supportive parents who realize that middle school is indeed time for their children to begin to take on more responsibility, and most of them realize that that will involve some mistakes and even “failures.” The parents’ reaction to the set-backs determines (in most cases) whether or not the child learns from them and moves on or is completely disabled by it. I cannot wait to meet my new batch of students in 2 weeks. I’ve had a restful summer break (thank you antiquated, agricultural school system) and am ready to get back to the task of educating, nurturing, and learning from my great students!
SALLYB
July 31st, 2010
2:19 pm
I am speaking as a long time Middle School Teacher……Who is the genius who thought it was a good idea to corral all of these confused students with their insecurities and raging hormones for 8 +/- hours in one building WITHOUT the benefit of older , more mature teens as roll models????
How much better it would be to have grades 1-7 or 8 and 8 or 9 through 12.
@Maureen, your mediocre/less than positive experience with your children in Middle School is quite common. There are moves throughout the country to do away with Middle Schools, but my guess is GA will be among the last to recognize its inherent difficulties.
catlady
July 31st, 2010
2:31 pm
When we were K-7, 8-12, our 8th grade girls kept ending up pregnant in large numbers by the junior and senior boys. Now k-5, 6-8, 9-12, they get pregnant by their classmates AND the older boys. I always LIKEd having 6 and 7 at the elementary school. They provided good leadership for the other kids. Of course, that was 20 years ago.
SALLYB
July 31st, 2010
2:32 pm
One of the major problems : students that have been passed along in elementary school…and the numbers are shocking..arrive in middle school still reading/writing at 3rd and 4th grade levels. AND students with special needs arrive only to be mainstreamed in to classes in which they cannot function well. AND students who speak little or no English are also mainstreamed into regular classes. This situation just does not lend itself to optimum teaching or optimum learning.
Legend of Len Barker
July 31st, 2010
2:50 pm
And the rural model of education was (K) 1-8, 9-12. A lot of counties experimented with the 10-12 model in the early 1970s, but I think it had more to do with figuring out how they could get the most use out of former segregated schools than anything else
There are times when I feel sixth graders don’t belong in middle school, but from my experiences it’s been moreso because of a physical standpoint; some of these kids are tiny. Sixth graders tend to be more irresponsible than eighth graders, but I didn’t see a huge overall difference.
Perhaps it’s a geography thing. We’ve spent about 30 years with the K-5 and 6-8 (with the rural schools being K-8 until the state forced us to close the three remaining ones in 1994). We’ve also used the team approach since 1993. It works for us and sometimes can be quite useful. If one student is bothering another, it’s easier to limit their contact.
Maureen, please don’t judge the team approach totally by your experience. Perhaps it’s because my school had 700 students, but I could have answered any of the questions you asked your child’s team. And I wasn’t a classroom teacher.
Sometimes the smarter kids did get lost in the shuffle of trying to bring everyone up to speed, but I blame CRCT and NCLB for that more than anything. Neither cared nearly as much about excelling than they cared about not failing. There are no bonus points for percentage of students who exceeded the standards.
Time to grow
July 31st, 2010
2:52 pm
Stop babying middle school students and put them in junior high schools—the middle school concept has failed miserably. the u.s. education system is a laughingstock around the world and a big reason is low expectations from students in all grades, especially the “tender” years of 6-8th grade. Change something–what these geniuses are doing now doesn’t work.
Karen
July 31st, 2010
3:15 pm
I have taught middle school for 5 years. Not because I grew up wanting to teach middle school (I am an accountant turned teacher), but because I enjoy this age group of kids and think that I understand them more than the average person. Why? Because my middle school years were awful…..oh wait a minute….they were great….but on Mondays it was bad……when friends liked me, it was better…..when I made cheerleading …….when I didn’t get the grades I wanted……when my friends mom passed……when my mom couldn’t afford milk…..ummmmmm wait……I can’t remember if I like my middle grades years or not.
Do you get the picture here? Middle School aged kids are dealing with a lot more than we will ever know. If I thought my middle grades years were confusing, imagine what kids deal with today. I teach severly at risk students in a “not so great” area where over half are raised by siblings or grandparents and who have no money at all. My greatest challenge is not “getting them to learn”……they are some of the SMARTEST kids I have ever come across. My greatest challenge is getting them to know that I care about them outside of school and that they can trust me, that I will understand if they stayed up taking care of their 1 year old baby brother and pulled momma off the streets to put her in bed. I care that they didn’t quite get that homework done and I give them time in school to do it. I give time in school for everything they need so that they don’t have to RELY on anyone “out there” to be able to handle it with them.
As soon as they trust me and realize that I will work with them, they usually will get it done! However, this means I have spent a lot of my planning time, my time after school, my own money for supplies, etc., gas money for a kids momma to get him to school (I am not lying) because he didn’t want to miss standardized testing…….So, this leaves no home life for me……well, maybe a little bit
I say this to make the point that in my area of the state, there are things that work. I have found them. My math CRCT scores have been above 70% every year in these low income areas. I will keep improving my strategies until 100% of my students exceed CRCT every year. (Although, I am not a teacher who believes that a child’s academic knowledge should be defined by one test grade). In other areas of GA., other methods may work better. School Systems (who are usually run by people who have never taught or haven’t visited a classroom in a looooong time) always want to jump on the “newest model”. I say……let US…..THE TEACHERS…..who care…..decide on what can work for the kids in the area that we teach! And I say….PARENTS……please know that one of the greatest things you can ever do in life is to be involved with your child so much so in their middle grades years that they might actually get annoyed with you! If you do this……you won’t have to worry so much about them in high school and they might actually become your friend in those years!
Thanks!
catlady
July 31st, 2010
3:44 pm
I’d be interested to hear how big your middle schools are. Ours are 550-650 students–wwaaayy too big to me. We don’t save money by “saving money” in education!
My kids had good to okay experiences in middle school. In Athens, while I was in grad school, the two older ones did well and had excellent teachers; unfortunately the teachers had very little support for discipline, and I was disappointed and angry about that. My younger daughter had middle school here in the mtns. She did very well and the level of instruction was okay to very good.
Sorry to say, one of the “saving graces’ for my kids was the gifted classes they had. It wasn’t the classes themselves, but the chance to be around other similarly bright kids who were a little more competitive academically and whose parents were more supportive.
On the “not getting attention unless your kid is in trouble”–that is true. But, nonetheless, I went to the conference days and made sure from day 1 that my children’s teachers knew who I was and that I was interested. When they would say, “But we don’t need to see you” I would say, “Well, I wanted to hear directly from you that there are no issues I need to address at home.” I would also ask if there was anything they needed–anything I could be a pest to the administration or CO to advocate for. Finally, I would share things that my child had told about that happened in class–things that were especially interesting or engaging or difficult. I know that kind of feedback has always helped me!
catlady
July 31st, 2010
3:51 pm
stuck 3:45
LMMS Parent
July 31st, 2010
4:32 pm
I suggest that parents encourage middle school students to involved in the music program @ your school (if it still exists depending on the school system). The different types of students involved in these programs create a more realistic environment for peer to peer development and gets students out of their “clicks” for a time each day. Music teachers are one of the few teachers who will see your child each and every day of their middle school experience and can really get to know them and guide them through their time in middle school.
My 2 children are in the band program at their middle school (Lost Mountain MS in Cobb County) and it is the best thing that could have happened to them and the other students involved! The directors are so good with the kids and really care. It seems to be this way almost everywhere as the music programs in high schools are littered with great kids who I would trust my kids being around and the teachers there are wonderful too.
It often seems that too little is expected of middle school aged kids, but it isn’t like that in all schools and with all teachers. Parents who invest their time in the school themselves can find where the gems lie if they try.
Atlanta mom
July 31st, 2010
5:50 pm
To all the parents of middle school students, Teacher, too hit the nail on the head
“If schoolwork is late, don’t e-mail, call, or send a note. Usually, due dates are given in advance (at least in my class, they are). Unless there is a legitimate emergency, let the child suffer the consequence of the teacher’s late work policy”.
Middle school is when they have to figure out that mom and dad will not bail them out. And, you don’t want to be chasing after your high school student to be sure he has completed his homework. If they need to fail to figure it out, middle school is where you want that to happen–not high school. Grades actually matter in high school.
David S
July 31st, 2010
6:06 pm
Once again, parents as the victims of the failure of government education. It should not matter which side of the street you live on, or even what city you live in. Quality educational services would be available to everyone if we had a truly free market in education with thousands of smaller private and charity schools competing for customers instead of a failed bureaucracy that continues to receive ever more funding despite poor outcomes and a complete lack of customer accountability.
So yet another year begins. This blog will be filled throughout the year with more stories of failure, more stories of disappointment, and more calls for “parents to get more involved.” Yet nearly nobody will be calling for any real change from a system that has been disappointing for decades and nobody will be calling for any sort of system that forces the hand of parents by making them directly responsible for both the choice and financing of their child’s education. The inevitable economic collapse of the dollar and the american economy will send devastating shock waves through every sector of society that has become dependent on government. The government school system will not be immune. If parents would get their heads in the right place and start seriously considering a non-governmental approach to their children’s education, they would find themselves far better off when the crisis really hits.
ASHLEY
July 31st, 2010
6:10 pm
I agree with children first middle school is a big waste for a broken school system . I went to a junior-high school there was more structure and kids were better prepared for high-school everything was gradual. The teachers knew how to deal with 12-14 year olds. A sixth grader doesn;t really belong in a class of hormone raging teenagers, they just don’t have the maturity level. Although they changed to middle schools when I was in ninth grade alot of the junior -high teachers move to high -school teaching level . I personally never understood why. but the idea of middle school did’nt make a lot of them happy. Some things are best left the way they are , it was called junior-high for a reason.
irisheyes
July 31st, 2010
6:57 pm
@David S, I’m going to ask you the same question I asked earlier. If the demise of public schools occurs (as you seem to hope for), what will you tell that single mom with three kids who is not receiving child support from her ex-husband and is barely making ends meet? How she can educate her children? Even if she has to pay no money in property taxes, that certainly won’t cover private school for three kids. While I’m assuming that you don’t use the public school system, and consequently don’t feel you should pay for it, that’s the case for most public institutions. In my entire adult life, I’ve only called the fire department once, but I certainly don’t feel like I should get all of the tax money I’ve paid to support it back. There are just some things in this world that the public pays for to support the public good. Public education is one of them.
irisheyes
July 31st, 2010
7:06 pm
BTW, just read Boortz’s column, and he’s an idiot. While I am one of those teachers that does put all of the supplies together, what he doesn’t seem to understand is that those supplies are to replenish the ones already in the classroom when the students come in. That’s right. So far I’ve bought a class supply of crayons, scissors, glue, dry erase markers, composition books, pencils, and enough folders for every child to have two. Then, I replenish as needed throughout the year. Plus, where would he have students store all of these supplies they’ve bought? Have you seen the size of kids’ desks lately? I challenge Boortz to spend a week at an elementary, a week at a middle, and a week at a high school. He should go to a variety of schools in a variety of areas with a variety of socio-economic status. We’re not all the Marxist brain-washing institutions he thinks we are. But, in his case apparently, ignorance is bliss.
irisheyes
July 31st, 2010
7:06 pm
filter!
Zachs Mom
July 31st, 2010
7:17 pm
I also went to school in Dekalb County in the 70-80’s with the K-7 and then 8-12. Egith graders were called “SUBBIES” for sub-freshman and I remember being with my peers for most classes but a good mix when it came to electives.
We moved to Habersham when my son was in the 9th grade. They have a whole seperate school just for the ninth graders. They also pull the 6th graders out and they have their own school also. So far we have been very happy with the school system and the attention that he has received. One of the best parts of a smaller system, and I know people will disagree, is that there is ONE High School in the whole county. That was a novel idea for us after living in Gwinnett where there is a monster size on on every corner. Yes, we might not have everything that bigger systems have but we are very happy here.
Educator for Life
July 31st, 2010
7:27 pm
The bottom line is that we need to go back to K-7 and 8-12. It worked then and it may work now. NAEP data suggests that our 4th graders are on par with the rest of the 4th graders internationally. But, by 8th grade, our students are far behind. Sure, there are other factors, but the creation of a “middle” school has intensified the problem.
Really amazed
July 31st, 2010
7:31 pm
@Atlanta Mom, I finally agree with you!!!!!!!
J.B. STONER
July 31st, 2010
7:50 pm
?????
J.B. STONER
July 31st, 2010
7:51 pm
I’M think on what I want to tell you people…
Cere
July 31st, 2010
7:53 pm
When we bought our house in the Lakeside district in 1994, Lakeside was one of the best schools in the state. Back then, students went to Oak Grove or whatever ES for K-7 and then to Lakeside for 8-12. Ever since DeKalb enacted the middle schools, things have steadily deteriorated. I’ve had experiences with three different DeKalb middle schools and they all seemed as if they were teetering on the edge of disaster. None was remarkable. I will say though that there were two or three individual teachers who really impressed me. Then again, there were two or three who were the worst I’ve ever encountered. Sadly, it’s easy for bad teachers to “hide out” in a middle school environment. As a parent, it’s extremely difficult to suddenly have to deal with 7 different teachers for each child. It’s very hard to maintain any kind of open communication. They have over 100 students to teach – and you get very little of their attention. If I had to do over, this is the point at which I wish I’d gone private.
ScienceTeacher671
July 31st, 2010
8:04 pm
If the free market educational system worked as David S. says it would, we’d have never gone to our current system of public education — and if all parents wanted to ensure that their children were well educated, compulsory education wouldn’t have been necessary.
@ScienceTeacher671
July 31st, 2010
8:30 pm
ScienceTeacher671 was there ever a time in our country that free market compulsory education has been tried?
Legend of Len Barker
July 31st, 2010
9:04 pm
The closest we came around here to the idea of free market education began in the 1960s when private schools were built to avoid integration. Most of them closed by the mid-1980s. Some of it could be chalked up to realizing that integration wasn’t a terrible thing. Some closed because they just couldn’t get the community support necessary after a few years.
If my hometown was forced to pay for its own school system, we wouldn’t have one. Not much money to be had in a county where the per capita income is $24,000, the population is 16,500, and the only major business is a boat plant on the brink of death.
ScienceTeacher671
July 31st, 2010
9:23 pm
In the early years of this country, there were local schools run & funded by the parents. In some locales, there was a “poor tax” or other method of funding education for students whose parents couldn’t afford to contribute. In other cases, if the parents couldn’t afford to pay the students received no formal education, and frequently the children had to go to work instead of school.
I don’t know of any compulsory free-market education.
Free Market Educator
July 31st, 2010
9:44 pm
Home schooling eliminates the age-grouping problems. Home schooling with siblings teaches them to deal with vastly different ages on a daily basis. The older ones are given more responsibilities and are taught to set a good example for the younger ones. Mine are not allowed to date and church /home school activities provide well supervised opportunities to mix with their peers. My kids don’t watch television, nor do they use online chats (Facebook) or cell phones. They can hold mature conversations on interesting subjects as well as tell (clean) jokes. One child is developing an i-Phone app so he can hopefully earn money for college. Being able to filter out corrupting influences on young impressionable students is a real plus for home schooling and “teen rebellion” becomes rare. Home schooling K-8 is great! Then, depending on the child’s maturity and future goals, home school, private, public, or charter for 9-12.
First Alert
July 31st, 2010
10:58 pm
The APS report on the CRCT will be out soon. You’ll see a lot of righteous indignation from various AJC staffers, but the one thing you will not see anybody ask at the AJC is what did Beverly Hall know, and when did she know it.
Now let’s see someone from the AJC come on here and claim that the highest levels of AJC management aren’t in communication with members of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.
Here's a thought...
July 31st, 2010
11:06 pm
@Free Market Educator… Some people would say your method is terribly old-fashioned but I totally agree with you! Too much “freedom” is the demise of many young people who need their parents to help and guide them. As a high school teacher I’ve seen some very sad situations. Your children will thank you when they are grown up and successful.
Nothing We Can Do
July 31st, 2010
11:36 pm
Once again “Free Market” teachers everywhere thank you for home-schooling your children.
Meme (retired)
July 31st, 2010
11:46 pm
One of the things I hated about teaching middle school was taking up the supplies of the kids and sharing them with the class. I didn’t understand that part especially when the subject teachers didn’t share any supplies with the ’specials’ teachers. I bought tissues, paper, pencils and other supplies for my students because they would tell me that, “My parents sent all that stuff at the first of the school year.”
Elizabeth
August 1st, 2010
7:19 am
Re: the quote from Neil Boortz ( spelling?) : In all my15 years in middle school, my kids NEVER purchased school supplies and put them in a common box for all to use. We asked for donations above what parents purchased for their kids, but NEVER were kids required to give up all the supplies their parents had purchased for them. NOR DO I BELEIVE THAT THEY ARE DOING SO IN MOST MIDDLE SCHOOLS! Where does this man get this stuff? Obviously, he has nrver set foot in a school since his own school days. And that is the problem with 99 per cent of those who complain about public schools–they have not yet caught up to today’s schools.He has zero credibility with me.
Middle School Mom
August 1st, 2010
7:33 am
I don’t take up supplies in middle school (except for tissue and paper towels). All the kids seem to expect tissue, but hardly anyone brings it anymore. Every year I’ve scoured the sales and brought in supplies for those who don’t/won’t/can’t. Not this year. Unless you have the same last name as me and live at my house, you can buy your own supplies. If you need to blow your nose and no one brings tissue, use your sleeve.
bootney farnsworth
August 1st, 2010
7:47 am
middle school is important for its place in a kids
development. it serves as a transitional point in their lives.
I went to HS in DeKalb in the 70s. those poor subbies were
deer in headlites. any girl with the sightest bit of
breast mass was facing pressure from Jrs & Srs she just wasn’t
ready to handle. the geekier subbies were an ATM for the
hoods in school.
if a middle school (stupid name)is underpreforming, before
yapping about the quality of the teaching, look in the mirror
at the quality of involvment of the parents.
when parents get off their asses and acutually get involved,
schools and teaching improve. the quality of the education and
the personality of the school are ALWAYS a reflection on the
parents – not the teachers.
bootney farnsworth
August 1st, 2010
7:48 am
get me out of the filter!
bootney farnsworth
August 1st, 2010
7:50 am
@ first alert
don’t hold your breath. the AJC is so in bed with Hall I’m
amazed it hasn’t fathered her children
bootney farnsworth
August 1st, 2010
7:55 am
about Boortz….
get a stinkin’ life.
one of the reasons things like the Fair Tax get demagoged
so badly is because of stupid things like ranting about
boxes of kleenex.
maybe when the State of Ga. values what we do as much as
say, the college football hall of fame or Sonny’s fishin hole,
then we’ll be funded well enough not to have to ask for a
second box of cayons.
grow up, people.
bootney farnsworth
August 1st, 2010
8:03 am
to me the biggest issue is why on earth kids are going back
to school in July and August? we’re broke and about to get
broker-er, so we send kids to school in the three hottest
months of the year?
how much money could be saved by going with the old labor day
to memorial day schedule?
adam
August 1st, 2010
8:30 am
STOP PAYING TEACHERS MOST OF THEIR SALARIES!!! INSTEAD…..bring in trailers behind the gym and give them free housing. This way they don’t need cars and can eat for free in the home ec room and workout in the gym. Teachers today make way too much money. It accounts for most of the State budget. We are stealing from the taxpayers. Instead, give corporations more tax cuts and anyone making over $200,000 a year should have a big tax cut. HAHAHA
HStchr
August 1st, 2010
9:04 am
The problem is, as it has long been, a recognition of the fact that from age 12-16, kids are going through the biggest physiological changes of their lives. I have a 7th grader and a soon-to-be 9th grader. Talk about nuts!! But, puberty happens whether you’re ready or not. MS isn’t working- as a veteran teacher I can attest to that. In many districts, we’ve started Freshman Academy because we realize those kids still need the smaller community of learners and teachers focused on their success. Personally, I think MS should be 6th-7th and Jr. High should be 8th-9th. Then we’d be able to increase the rigor and help kids prepare for high school 10-12. We don’t expect enough of 8th graders and have to work closely with them in 9th to make high school successful. I’ve been teaching since before MS and I can tell you 9th graders are NOT ready for the independence and demands of high school. And they can’t help it- it’s a developmental phase that they have to get through.
Iggy
August 1st, 2010
9:19 am
Elizabeth, Neil Boortz is one of worst distorters of the truth I have ever had the displeasure of reading in a reputable newspaper. Column after column he makes gross “errors,” but even when shown to be wrong never corrects them. He diminishes the AJC.
Dunwoody Mom
August 1st, 2010
9:29 am
@bootney farnsworth – I also went to a DCSS HS when it was 8-12. The seniors did not bother the poor “sub-freshman” – heck, they would have been caught dead being seen or talking to one.
HStchr
August 1st, 2010
9:37 am
“maybe when the State of Ga. values what we do as much as
say, the college football hall of fame or Sonny’s fishin hole,
then we’ll be funded well enough not to have to ask for a
second box of cayons.”
bootney- you are soooooo right!! When the AD for UGA makes in one year what has taken me TEWLVE years to make, I have to think our priorities are a little skewed in this country!
Dunwoody Mom- I went to school in Fulton with 8-12 in high school. The seniors wouldn’t even acknowledge our existence or be seen in the vicinity of the 8th grade lockers. I’m not sure that’s the solution these days, but I know MS isn’t working.
J.B. STONER
August 1st, 2010
9:47 am
Open up the windows and cut off the AC….
When I went to school, we didnt know what an air conditioner was…
Yall should have paid closer attention to me.
random thoughts
August 1st, 2010
10:32 am
Japan implemented the 6-3-3 (ES, starting with Gr. 1, MS, HS) system because that’s what the US occupation office told them to do so. Their compulsory education coincides with the end of MS. Thus, students will have to take entrance exams to go on to HS – although 99% of Japanese students do go on to HS, they are, in a way, tracked by the ability and interest (there are some more “vocational” HS). So, what happened to that US system they copied from us?
In most states, including GA, a separate teaching license for MS is rather new. Many (most?) MS teachers (particularly 6 & 7) were elementary certified. Basically many MS teachers were either glorified elementary teachers or HS teachers who couldn’t get the job at HS. Even today, as colleges offer 3 separate tracks for future teachers, MS option seems to attract a similar group – ES inclined but relatively strong content knowledge in one or two area, or not strong enough in the content area but don’t want to teach at ES.
As long as people have the reaction “you teach at a MS!” you will not attract high quality candidates to a MS teacher preparation program.
bootney farnsworth
August 1st, 2010
10:56 am
Its good to know that Subbies somewhere were treated with
something resembling indifference. not where I went.
I’m a big fan of middle school, but think it should be 7-9.
6-8 catches them in at odd points in their growth and transition.
not to mention how big HS would be without them. sadly, like them or
not we need the overflow to keep HS classes from becoming like
college auditoriums.
Chris
August 1st, 2010
11:12 am
I work in a middle school – and our school is implementing some great ideas this school year that I believe will have an impact, if executed properly (our school is in it’s second year of operation).
#1 We are promoting parent involvement by having scheduled parent-teacher conference “days” where parents can work within their schedules to come in and check on their child’s progress. The idea is that they come in, no matter what, even if their child is acting perfect. To build the relationship.
#2 We are also having student-led conferences. The student must schedule the conference, and one teacher is there as an “Advisor” and will not even comment until the end. The student is expected to tell their parents about their progress, grades, behavior, etc. – and come with samples of work. The student must schedule the conference with the counselor’s office by a certain date. This, in my opinion, puts the ball in the student’s court, but also doesn’t leave them hanging.
#3 Looping – This will be my first year looping – I am moving to 7th grade with the 6th graders I had last year (well, many of them). Being a Special Ed co-teacher, I have the benefit of being able to build more one-on-one relationships with parents and students because I’m not stuck in the same classroom all day. If a student is having a meltdown, I can take him/her in private and just listen to what’s going on. At the middle school age they need that. I think looping is a great idea for middle school students.
#4 Positive behavior focus. There are consequences, but also to not leave out those who are doing what they are supposed to we are giving more incentives for positive behavior – in hopes that those exhibiting negative behavior will follow suit when they aren’t receiving the same rewards.
Middle school CAN work, with a strong administration and consistent staff. It’s harder right now with the cuts because we can’t do the things we want to. And more cuts are on the way, as long as Republicans are in charge and afraid to raise the sales tax. With teachers being laid off, and new ones brought it, it’s too much change – especially for the 11-14 year old child. They need some security and consistency..most of all they need to know that someone cares.
KIM
August 1st, 2010
11:16 am
I learned years ago that most bloggers are discontented. While many of you may have been disappointed by middle school, thousands upon thousands of parents are not. To the many wonderful middle school teachers and teams I yell out, “Thank you!” And for those parents who are unaware that middle school teams meet weekly to review their students’ progress….well, now you know. Keep your children’s teachers aware of your concerns. And they will keep you aware, too. Work together. Stop this us vs. them mentality. It never works to help students. Of my two children, one was on middle school teams; the other was not. Both approaches must have been OK because my children were successful in school.
ScienceTeacher671
August 1st, 2010
11:42 am
Random thoughts, I have a degree in a hard science. I have 2 different science certification fields for grades 6-12, but so far I have been told that I cannot work at a middle school without going back to get “middle grades” certification.
As you are probably aware, “middle grades” certification requires less content knowledge than “high school” certification. Therefore, as far as I’m concerned, middle schools are rejecting more qualified applicants in favor of less qualified ones.
ScienceTeacher671
August 1st, 2010
11:43 am
(which is not to say that I don’t know some excellent middle school teachers)
Teacher&mom
August 1st, 2010
12:08 pm
@ST671..I’ve never heard of a high school certified teacher not being able to teach at the middle school level. I was originally a middle school certified teacher and my husband was originally a secondary certified teacher. He was able to move to the middle school level without any problem. I had to take GACE science test for high school science to teach at the high school. I wonder if in your school system it is because you are only highly qualified in science? That would limit which classes you could teach at the middle school level. It isn’t uncommon for a middle school teacher to teach in more than one academic area. All middle school certified teachers (or at least they did when I was in school) were certified in two content areas, and had to take at least a couple of reading courses.
Having said all of that….I wonder if the reason has more to do with getting you to pay a testing fee to take the GACE. I betcha’ this is just another way to add to the PSC coffers.
ScienceTeacher671
August 1st, 2010
12:15 pm
Teacher&mom, I don’t know the specific reason, but I do know that I’ve been told in two different districts that I’d have to get middle school certification to teach at the middle school. I thought they said they couldn’t get middle school funding unless all the teachers were middle school certified, but I could be wrong. This was back in Praxis days, so maybe things have changed?
understanding
August 1st, 2010
12:54 pm
@ST,
I wonder what it means for you to be certified 6-12 if you aren’t allowed to teach in MS.
Anyway, if you tried to move to MS before they instituted the separate MS certification, you would have been welcome to teach MS – but most likely you would have gotten Grade 8 assignment where teaching is usually done in a departmental way.
Lisa B.
August 1st, 2010
12:54 pm
For a teacher to be “Highly Qualified,” the teacher must be certified in the area(s) taught. In middle school, all teachers must be certified in at least two content areas to be “HiQ.” Until recently, schools had some flexibility to hire according to their needs, but now we’ve passed the deadline where schools must have all “HiQ” teachers, even in Special Ed.
Concerned 1
August 1st, 2010
2:13 pm
D-Day tomorrow for APS? I doubt it. The system is in flux. Everyone knows what should be done but who will do it? And the economy of China has moved ahead of Japan? A college drop out has more power than the tax payers In education and 1984 has arrived for teachers and students. Typical.
Profound thoughts
August 1st, 2010
4:43 pm
I came accross this wonderful graduation speech from the valedictorian of a high school in upstate New York. Wonder, inciteful and profound. Gives one a lot to think about. Certainly nice to see that she “gets it” despite the school system’s hard work at making sure she doesn’t.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/pr/valedictorian-against-schooling.html
ScienceTeacher671
August 1st, 2010
4:50 pm
@understanding – “I wonder what it means for you to be certified 6-12 if you aren’t allowed to teach in MS.” I wondered the same thing!
Economicwoes
August 1st, 2010
5:01 pm
THey do combine supplies in the elementary schools, primarily because the kids cannot determine who owns what…..he took my crayon etc. etc.
If our educational system is a laughing stock amongst the world, the administration should be replaced, superintendent all the way down to the directors who harass employees. Isn’t Gwinnett asking for more money from the feds simply because they are out of money after paying the high salaries to Alvin and his staff. It’s true, Dekalb fired senior staff, 15 or more teaching years to replace them with entry level. How is Gwinnett going to justify keeping open a middle school when enrollment starts to decrease?
in the midst
August 1st, 2010
5:03 pm
I attended school on the k – 7; 8-12 model and I have taught in middle schools for the past 13 years. Unfortunately, despite the best effort of teachers, administrators, and parents I do not believe the current middle school model is working. There is no true accountability for students in grades 6 and 7 and it is difficult to hold students accountable when there are no credits they have to earn to progress from one level to the next. I remember leaving the 7th grade knowing that entering 8th grade my future was in my hands. There was no time to “cruise” through classes.
The difficulty in finding an adequate solution is that the world is different that it was in the 70’s and 80’s when I went through school and children and their parents are different. How we have the school designed will not matter until the importance of education is established in this country from the top down. Our country does not place the same value on education as is done in other countries. We simply give it lip service.
oldtimer
August 1st, 2010
5:20 pm
In my middle school we shared supplies as so many would not bring them..And yes I am sorry to say we forgot about the specials. I am original certified 7-12.Then returned for the middle school….and reading certification. Because I did so well on the “Teacher Competency Test”,,,first statewide testing, I was also given the K-4 certification. Later upon moving to a new state they tried to get me to teach kindergarden..LOL. I spent 33 years 6-12…Who would want this old person in K…
By the way the TCT was the first of insulting tests. I have a masters in History and Education. I am certified to also do LA and remedial reading.
jat
August 1st, 2010
6:14 pm
Neil Boortz should go back to Kindergarten to learn how to share. Additionally, teachers have influence, not power (very different).
Toto: exposing the man behind the curtain
August 1st, 2010
6:37 pm
BIG BROTHER BLOG:
“We’re right there as it happens,” Ahlberg told Danger Room as he clicked through a demonstration. “We can assemble actual real-time dossiers on people.”
Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/exclusive-google-cia/#ixzz0vOdiYrPE
Larry Major
August 1st, 2010
7:03 pm
1984 has arrived???
Surely, I have not slept for six years. Oh! That flagon! That wicked flagon! What excuse shall I make to the ol’ lady?
jsmith
August 1st, 2010
8:40 pm
everyone knows when public education became a problem and why , but know one is aloud to talk about it without being labeled a racist!! people can talk all they want about why they send their kids to private school , but everyone knows the real answer!!!
Maxx
August 1st, 2010
8:52 pm
Re: jsmith
You said…”everyone knows when public education became a problem.”…Please help me out and explain it for me..I’m ignorant..please tell me.
Here's a thought...
August 1st, 2010
9:00 pm
@jsmith: That is just wrong… As a society we need to put the blinders on and educate EVERY child regardless of their race. The U.S. is made up of people from everywhere and with many different backgrounds. It is our responsibility to help young people grow up to be good citizens of this great country. The school system is not perfect but there are many of us teachers giving it our best and working our hearts out. Yes, your comment is racist and it is misinformed. There are many improvements to be made in public education but it is impossible to lay the blame on just one part of history. This is much more complex than that and I hope proactive, positive people take the helm and not others whose viewpoints divide and insult. I sincerely hope you will realize this and use your intelligence to help solve the problems.
Here's a thought...
August 1st, 2010
9:18 pm
stuck in filter
catlady
August 1st, 2010
10:00 pm
SC671: Do h.s. teachers have to take any child development courses or pedagogy courses? I know for elem ed I had a “methods” class in teaching everything: reading, language arts, science,social studies, math, music, health, art, pe. I needed one in teaching parents!
Future Educator
August 1st, 2010
10:22 pm
As someone who is in school to beome a teacher, I can safely trace my desires to educate others to the incompetence of my middle school. I want to teach at a middle school so that I can do a better job that those that worked with me.
Great article, I agree with it in it’s entireity.
ScienceTeacher671
August 1st, 2010
10:23 pm
Catlady, as best I recall without pulling out transcripts, to get certified I had to take a general pedagogy course as well as a science methods course. Had to take another science methods course for the masters degree.
I’ve had a couple of child development courses for either the masters or the Ed.S., and I’ve also had several classes dealing with learning disabilities and behavior disorders. For reasons I don’t quite recall I’ve also had courses in childrens’ literature, teaching math, and teaching art at the elementary level.
Odd that they don’t really give you classes in dealing with parents, classroom management, or dealing with the constantly changing educational fads…
Maxx
August 1st, 2010
10:30 pm
Re: jsmith…
I’m still waiting…tell me why, since you know the answer. Not only are you a closet racist but you are coward as well.
Concerned 1
August 1st, 2010
10:35 pm
APS does have some bright spots. That valedictorian from Washington was great and so were the Stock Market kids at Douglass. Their high school experiences at least were helpful. Two great high schools with traditions of excellence that go back decades. The teachers and parents behind them should be commended.
HS Teacher
August 2nd, 2010
1:52 am
Maureen,
I do agree with you on this one for the most part. Middle school education seems way too sensitive about hormonal changes. Sure, the kids are developing, but I just do not think that teachers need to dwell on that or allow that to be an excuse for anything. The students still have brains and can still learn if properly focused.
IMHO, a good middle school should have the same high standards of behavior and academic expectations as elementary or high schools. There is just no excuse.
Clay Boggess
August 2nd, 2010
7:49 am
Although K-8 may provide more elementary nurturing for this age group I do feel that a 6-8 grade environment is also beneficial in that this is the 1st break from the elementary school womb. Students need to start learning to make decisions on their own and feel that they are themselves a part of something different. In 6th grade the students are usually more cautious, in 7th grade they start to take more chances and as a result are learning from their mistakes and in 8th grade they get the opportunity to refine their newly formed skills before high school. As a parent of an 8th grader we are experiencing this first hand. Like anything else, parental involvement is important. Our middle school supports and encourages it.
Clay Boggess
http://www.BigEventFundraising.com
AJinCobb
August 2nd, 2010
8:02 am
We moved from a K-7 system when our eldest child (now in high school) was a rising 3rd grader. I was so struck by the different atmosphere of the K-5 Cobb County elementary school, compared with the K-7 school we’d come from. The absence of those huge hormonal 7th graders made such a difference! The K-5 school seemed so much calmer, and completely focused on children, without any of the overtones of puberty in the air.
When our eldest reached 6th grade, I felt she was ready to move on to something new. I know that middle school is problematic and somewhat prison-like. I’d like to think it could be improved. However, having seen the K-7 versus K-5 difference at first hand, I’m not at all in favor of sending those big kids back to elementary school for a couple more years. The root problem with this age group isn’t really the schools, in my opinion, it’s the life stage. It’s a really difficult time of life for the youth, and for parents and teachers. Putting them back in elementary school doesn’t dial back the hormones. It just moves the problem to a different setting.
Also, middle school does offer the opportunity for more varied and enriched classes. My child was “gifted”. I wasn’t particularly impressed with the pull-out program in elementary school. The special class sections for gifted students at middle school were much more stimulating and helpful for her.
AJinCobb
August 2nd, 2010
8:02 am
Weird … can’t imagine what was in my post that caused the filter to grab it.
Proud Middle School Teacher
August 2nd, 2010
9:23 am
“But the teachers couldn’t even answer my basic questions about her schedule or her classes: How does the school assign students to elective classes? No one had any idea. How do band and chorus work? Again, no clue.”….. ummm, b/c that is not their job. I have no clue how the data clerk and counselors assign elective classes. Also, if you would like to know about band and chorus, ask the band and chorus teacher.
I teach over 130 students each year and I do KNOW them. With that many students you have to work at it. I do think middle school is a hard stage. Students require more work at home, so parents give less at school. Students are also there for only 3 years, so families do not feel school pride or invested. But, anyone who thinks students do not advance in middle school needs to come observe a 6th grade class and then an 8th grade class. I think the change and growth will be astonishing. I do not think the middle school model is the most effective for this age group. (I am a fan of the k-6 elem, 7-9 jr high, and 10-12 high school.) But, I promise you that most middle school teachers I know work as hard as they can to help this unique age grow academically.
Writer Gal
August 2nd, 2010
4:13 pm
“”"profoundly gifted”
July 31st, 2010
2:04 pm
writer gal, i speak for all teachers who won’t have the pleasure of working with your diving gift: THANK YOU!!!!!!! now we can spend time teaching the non-profoundly gifted teachers instead of catering to your li’l angel’s every precious whim. as far as middle school goes, i agree that the benefits of a team approach are cancelled by the crushing number of students each teacher must deal with on a daily basis.”"
This is exactly what I am talking about, and thank you for illustrating my point so efficiently. Grammatical errors, punctuation errors, spelling errors, and the apparent inability to write a paragraph with correct capitalization. This is why I do not want this type of teacher teaching my exceptional child. He writes a hundred times better than this as an eight year old. This is why many score so low on testing and end up going to work at a minimum wage job in the North Georgia mills–otherwise go on welfare, as the mill economy is dead and dying.
You’re very welcome. No one ever catered to our every whim. Quite the opposite, as he mostly was stuck in a corner on a computer and forbidden to even answer a math question because everyone else had to have a chance.
Ahhh–how very sad is the jealousy of those in the teaching profession when their own children cannot measure up. How sad to be envious of a little child blessed by God with ability. It’s okay, really…we will be laughing all the way to Harvard while you are miserable that blogs do not have grammar and spelling checks and you must forge ahead without them.
Teacher-Mom in Cobb
August 2nd, 2010
9:15 pm
Wow, Maureen, you must have had a really bad middle school experience yourself to come down so hard on middle schools. After 16 years teaching the “hormonally impaired,” I can honestly say that I have not seen any thing like what you detailed in your column. Sure it is hard to get to know 120+ kids every year, but most educators I work with certainly make the effort. Parents are an integral and welcome part of my classroom, and I communicate with them weekly to make sure that they stay informed and in touch with what we are doing. I wish your twins the very best in sixth grade. Should their teachers be AJC readers, I’m sure they will get some extra attention on a daily basis.
Maureen Downey
August 2nd, 2010
9:33 pm
@teacher-mom, Nope, no bad experience as I was in a k-8 school and had no middle school experience. Nothing changed from fifth to sixth grade for me. I just don’t think the model works. I have received a lot of responses to the column, which ran today in print, including six teachers, two principals and one superintendent. And they also have concerns with how middle school works. I think there are good middle schools. Sounds like yours is one. And the one that my kids attend may well be now. As I noted, the school went through four principals in rapid succession, and that added to the problems when my older kids were there.
Maureen
MS Teacher
August 2nd, 2010
11:08 pm
I love teaching middle school. I cannot put the exact reason for it, but I feel at home here. I have come into my own as an educator teaching middle school. I didn’t have a great experience as a middle school student, but it was not because of the teachers. My teachers were fantastic. I still talk about them to my students. I try to model myself after a few of them because they made such a difference in my life. Every team I have been a part of as a teacher tried to make it feel like a community or family. We found this important to our students’ success. I started 7th grade today, and I know they are challenging. I am totally ready for it and love it! I do hate it when people either look down at me or feel sorry for me as a middle school teacher. I think it is an honor to teach at this level.
OTOH
August 3rd, 2010
3:08 am
Over the ten continuous years I had children in MS, at Five Forks in Gwinnett, the admin did make it more prison-ish. But then, FFMS had the worst AsstP I have ever dealt with or heard about. I hear she is a full principal now in a different school. OTOH, the curriculum improved, at least for the gifted students. My last one was in a gifted pod. She has had no difficulty with the odd new Math. Her oldest brothers, unfortunately, had the same abysmal accelerated math teacher and both of them taught themselves and their buddies the math the teacher could/would not teach. The admin did not care at that time that the teacher did not know the math she was paid to teach. Mr. Munzenmeyer made up for all the defects of FFMS. Best teacher any of my kids have had. He taught gifted math and then gifted SS. In every class, he taught logic. I thoroughly enjoyed the test he gave us parents on the Constitution. So, the best and the worst, yep, that is MS.
Proud Middle School Teacher
August 4th, 2010
12:39 am
Writer Gal-
I am glad you have found the right educational setting for your child. I believe every child in unique and their educational plan should be treated as such. This might mean public, private, religious, or home school. My only argument I have for you is your seemingly superior and judgemental attitude. You and your child are not better because he or she was born with an intellectual gift and you have chosen home school. I am also disturbed that you state that “going to work at a minimum wage job in the North Georgia mills,” is something to be ashamed of. Someone working in a mill made the textile you are wearing, sitting on, standing on, or sleeping in. I hope you are not passing this attitude on to your child. Every job that meets a need is a job that is deserving of pride and respect.
Dr. Judith Hiles
July 29th, 2012
2:44 pm
Ms. Downey: Your impression of Middle Schools distresses me, as I spent 9 years teaching MS students. The MS movement started because the years between ages 11 and 14 constitute a period of huge change and growth in children. They grow more in these years than at any other period of life, except for 0 to 12 months. Changes occur inside and out, surprising the kids with their powerful effect on their physical and emotional selves. Yet, I experienced MS students as eager learners, thriving when some second chances were occasionally given to make up assignments, or even to re-take a quiz. They can be resilient and caring. My students enjoyed sharing their new knowledge, using internet sources to enrich reports and making Power Point presentations instead of poster board. And guess what subject I was teaching?? LATIN!!
When adults share in their reading and learning, Middle Schoolers learn even more. In June, my 12-year old grandson visited us from South Carolina. While here, I took him to the library so he could start on his summer reading. I was favorably impressed with the long list from which he chose 5 books. We both read a book called MAMBA POINT, about a middle schooler who moves with his family to Uganda, where his father enters the diplomatic corps. We searched google for Mamba snakes and the geography of Uganda; we discussed the challenges the young man faced in moving away from his beloved hometown in Ohio. Next we read, A LONG WALK TO WATER, about a Sudanese girl who walks 8 hours per day to retrieve water for her family, and a Sudanese boy who flees rebel forces in about 2003, loses his family, and walks to Ethiopia, where he stays in two different refugee camps…a “lost boy” of the Sudan. (I won’t tell you the end! But read it!)
Teachers and parents of middle schoolers can work together to make those years easier for everyone, and can encourage this energetic, eager group of children.
Judith M. Hiles, Ph.D.
Sandy Springs, GA
hilesj@bellsouth.net