The Middle School Mess

The majority of tweens find themselves being educated in middle schools between the fifth through eighth grades.  This article takes a look at the history, wisdom and current trends of middle schools.  The article targets principals, teachers, and parents as its audience. It seems that the idea of middle schools historically came about after educators, not mistakenly, identified tweens as suspended "between childhood and the adult world”, and that “pre-teens have been called the toughest to teach."  As we have discovered, tweens do in fact hold a unique place in the physical, intellectual and emotional development of human beings. The article aptly describes tweens as youngsters whose "bodies and psyches morph through the most radical changes since infancy, leaving them torn between anxiety and ardor, dependence and autonomy, conformity and rebellion. "The middle school model was to provide this unique group of students with a safe and nurturing environment where they would have more opportunity for self-discovery, exercise, exploration, resources for their growing needs and a lessened emphasis on academic subjects.

Perhaps the grand experiment has failed. The deemphasis of academic subjects, not surprisingly, has left middle schoolers, in general, scoring low in both math and English on standardized tests. Several studies cited in the article confirm the low academic achievement of students enrolled in middle schools.  A powerful conclusion is that “These statistics about young adolescents' poor academic performance suggest that many middle-grades schools are failing to enable the majority of their students to achieve at anywhere near adequate levels."

With the evidence mounting, many parents are leading the call to eliminate middle schools and return to a K-8 and 9-12 model for education.  The K-8 model is also confirmed through studies as an environment where tweens actually have higher academic achievement.  Studies also support the finding that K-8 schools reduce behavioral problems.  A study as recent as 2010 in New York concludes that middle schools are not the best way to educate students and that “ the effects are large, present for both math and English, and evident for girls as well as boys.”

There is a trend across America to move away from the middle school. In 2005, there were 9000+ middle schools and today that number is down to 7,950.  My sense from the article which is well written and research supported is that a return to the K-8 model is worth considering.

Meyer, P. (2011). The Middle School Mess. Education Next, 11(1), 40-7. Retrieved from                

             Education Full Text database

Coming Out in Middle School

This New York Times article has impacted me greatly.  I am reminded, as set out in the article “In Search of the Roots of Adolescent Aggression”, that is included in another of my professional reading log entries, “We go through seven profound biological changes during our life, and three of these generally occur from ages 10 to 14 - the middle school years!”  The three which occur in a portion of the tween years are; shifting from childhood to puberty (the beginning of reproductive capability), shifting from concrete to formal operations (the maturation of intelligence) and shifting from an authoritarian to consensus morality (the maturation of personal and social identities).”  As if this weren’t too much for tweens to cope with already, add grappling with being gay to a tween’s life and it seems daunting! 

The author spent time with a 13-year old gay middle schooler named Austin who lives in the heart of America, Sand Springs, Oklahoma.  One of the disturbing aspects revealed is that for gay youth, “middle school is more about survival than learning.”  A parent of a gay teenager compares her child’s middle school as a “war zone.”  This would not sound like an exaggeration when confronted with the statistic that 81% of gay middle-schoolers report that they are “regularly harassed on campus because of their sexual orientation.”  The severity of the burden for openly gay students who experience gay bullying is evident in the significant number of suicides attributed to this behavior.

Thankfully present in the article are many trends in schools to positively support openly gay students.  Shifting attitudes among teachers is vital.  Using the expression “That’s so gay” should be dealt with as seriously as if the expression were  “That’s so Black” which would never be tolerated. At least 120 middle schools across the country now have active gay-straight alliance (G.S.A) groups. These G.S.A.’s are providing much needed awareness, anti-bullying programs, gay issues resources and organizing events like the Day of Silence. 

As a public school teacher, I feel a need to not only continue my tolerance, but to be more aware of this student population and do everything I can to support them in many of the ways described in the article to assure equality and help students to navigate the incredibly murky journey of being a gay tween. Please click on the link below for a mind opening reading of the full article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/magazine/27out-t.html

Bully, Bullied, Bystander...and Beyond

     I have become acutely aware of the prevalence and seriousness of the reality of bullying in the world of tweens. Please visit the blog “Non-fiction for Tweens: Bullying” http://nonfictionfortweens.blogspot.com/ of which I was a part of a collaborative process to bring awareness to and offer support for the topic of bullying. 

This article is provided by the Teaching Tolerance project and offers teachers an opportunity to impact the solution to this problem.

The article begins with (not to be minimized) examples of children ages 11 to 19 years old who committed suicide after being relentlessly bullied. They felt alone with no solution and made tragic choices to end their pain.

The article identifies three main characters in the act of bullying which are not new, yet deserve to be mentioned: the bully, the bullied and the bystander.  Bystanders play a critical role in supporting, even if apathetically, the act of bullying. For me the most important aspect of the article is the identification of a “fourth character.”

This fourth character is the “anti-bully”, that person who will summon courage and have the strength to assume one or more of three vital roles to taking a stand against the bully: resister (who stands up to and speaks out against the bully), defender  (who aligns their self with the victim)and witness (who makes public the bullying that usually escapes adult detection.  It is here that teachers can influence students to make a difference and begin ending the cycle of violence. “It is a daunting task but a necessary one. 

I support and believe the foundation of this article.  My concern, when I look at this objectively, is that there is no research cited to support the data. This is clearly more than just a passionate opinion offering one possible solution to a complex problem that should be addressed with many different solutions, however the addition of citations would greatly increase the credibility.  

Coloroso, B. (2011). Bully, Bullied, Bystander ... and Beyond. Teaching Tolerance, 51-3. Retrieved from Education Full Text database

Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale

Rapunzel’s Revenge. by Shannon and Dean Hale; illustrated by Nathan Hale. Bloomsbury, 2008. 144 pages.

Plot: This is not your mother’s Rapunzel.  Yes, she is locked away in a high tree and yes, she has incredibly long hair, but that is about the end of the similarities.  This Rapunzel is set in the wild west.  Rapunzel has a privileged life living with her mother Gothel, in a grand villa with beautiful garden courtyards. Rapunzel has never seen beyond the extremely high wall that encircles her home and her curiosity of what lies beyond, although forbidden by her mother, is revealed as she escapes to the outside. There she finds a bleak landscape inhabited by slaves which turn out to be controlled by her mother, who she discovers is not her real mother after all.  So Gothel locks Rapunzel away in the top of a hollowed out tree to live alone as punishment. Rapunzel escapes and begins a quest to find her real mother, set her free and seek revenge on Gothel.  She meets Jack, who joins her in the journey. Together they encounter danger in the forms of bandits, sea monsters and wild animals. Rapunzel uses her long hair as a whip and lasso to save herself and Jack.  There is a beanstalk and a goose that lays a golden egg thrown into the mix.  Will good triumph over evil?  Will Rapunzel and Jack live happily ever after?

Review/Personal thoughts:  This is the first graphic novel I have read and I enjoyed it immensely.  In can see the appeal that a reluctant reader might experience in this genre.  Of course, much of the appeal of graphic novels has to be the illustrations and I don’t have a lot to compare, but the artwork in this book is brilliant.  The reader is swept up in a visual adventure that moves seamlessly between events evoking danger, heroics, suffering and on top of it all, some laugh out loud humor. Rapunzel is a strong feminine character who embarks on a journey of self-discovery and triumphs over life threatening challenges.  There is action, romance, injustice, mystery and more in what appears to be a comic book for tweens. Do yourself a favor and read this one for sheer enjoyment.

Genre: Fantasy, Graphic Novel

Reading Level: 3.7  Interest level: Ages 10 to 13.

Awards:  ALA 2009 Great Graphic Novels for Teens

Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award 2011: Grades 7-9

Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award Nominees 2011-2012: Grades 3-6

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

Maniac Magee : a novel. by Jerry Spinelli. Little, Brown, 1990. 184 pages.

Plot: Jeffrey Lionel Magee was orphaned at age three when his parents died in a trolley accident. Then began eight years of living with an aunt and uncle in Pennsylvania. It was like living with zombies and Jeffrey couldn’t take it anymore. He stopped in the middle of a school performance jumped off the stage and ran.  He kept running and never came back.  This was the beginning of the legend of Maniac Magee. The legend grew as maniac performed unbelievable feats of courage and athleticism. He saves a boy from Finsterwald’s backyard, a place more dreaded than a graveyard at midnight. He hits home runs off of the biggest baddest little league pitcher who holds the record for strikeouts. He beats “Mars Bar” Thompson in a foot race -running backwards!  All the while, Maniac is moving between the white West end and black East end - two extremely racially segregated parts of town. He is homeless. He finds kindness and compassion among the people of both sides of town. He finds hatred and intolerance as well. Although Maniac is “color blind” when it comes to people, the characters he encounters are not so easily swayed - they see color first.  Maniac moves with grace through shelter in homes on both sides of town, at a zoo or in a park, but never having a home.  Is this the way it ends?

Review/Personal thoughts:  I became a fan of Jerry Spinelli after reading Stargirl.  I am still a fan after reading Maniac Magee.  He seems to be able , through his characters, to strike a chord in my emotions that ultimately has me always pulling for the triumph of the human spirit.  I was especially moved by the scene where old man Grayson has just read The Little Engine That Could after Maniac taught him to read.  To acknowledge this triumph, Maniac gives him a big hug. He settles in for sleep and understands that “The blanket was there, but it was the boy’s embrace that covered and warmed him.”  I was “covered and warmed” by this story... perhaps you could be as well.

Genre: Fiction

Reading Level: 5.0 Interest level: Ages 8 to 15.

Awards: Newbery Medal/Honor 1991

A Case of the Worries (Tween)

     It is no surprise that this article is published in Scholastic Parent & Child magazine because all parents of tweens should be aware of this topic.  The article is about anxiety  in tweens.  Although all tweens will likely experience natural anxiety, this age group is especially susceptible to anxiety that can spiral out of control. Some of the direct causes for this might be problems in the home, having to move, dealing with middle school, friendship issues, puberty or bullying. As has been pointed out in the article In Search of the Roots of Adolescent Aggression, there are profound biological changes that occur in this age group.  The one that stands out especially for this topic of anxiety is that children are shifting from concrete thinking to formal operations, the maturation of intelligence, which puts them in the position to be “able to think ahead more clearly and anticipate more problems than before.”

The author has astutely set out signs and symptoms for parents to be aware of which might indicate an unhealthy or unmanageable situation for the tween experiencing high levels of anxiety. When experiencing anxiety, tweens may feel insecure, uneasy and frightened. They “may act withdrawn, inattentive, clingy or aggressive.”  Difficulty sleeping, headache and stomach problems, loss of appetite and withdrawal from social activities are also possible indicators of an anxious tween. They may be unable to take their mind off their troubles and can even reach the point of throwing up. 

The author offers practical ideas for supporting tweens experiencing anxiety. Communication with the tween is vital. The need to feel safe to express their deepest feelings. They need to know they are not alone. They need to feel loved and supported. Coping tips include, taking small steps to help solve the problem and give opportunities for success to improve self-image.  

I am encouraged that this topic is brought to awareness.  I am concerned that not every parent has a subscription to this magazine or is seeking the information through library resources.  It seems that there is a great opportunity for librarians to take an active role in providing parents with the awareness/resources they need to help their tweens with anxiety through community outreach.

HARTLEY-BREWER, E. (2011). A Case of the Worries. Scholastic Parent & Child, 18(5), 68. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Uglies. by Scott Westerfeld. Simon Pulse, 2005. 425 pages.

Plot: The story is set in a postapocolyptic future.  Two friends, Tally and Shay, are in the twelve to fifteen year old age group classified as “uglies.”  Children from birth to age eleven are known as “littles”.  At age 16, literally on your birthday, you get an operation that makes you into a “pretty.”  Everyone waits with joyful anticipation to become one of the “pretties” not only to be physically transformed, but to gain all the privileges that accompany the change. Or does everyone want the operation?  Shay has decided that she wants to remain her natural self and avoid the change, but this society does not allow for the option of refusal.  Shay is forced to run away to a settlement called the Smoke, whose location is unknown to the greater society and is occupied by rebel refugees.  Individuals travel by hoverboards and many technological advances are available.  In order to find Shay, the government refuses to grant Tally her much desired operation unless she secretly helps them locate Shay.  Reluctantly Tally sets out to find Shay, who has left her a note describing where she is and an invitation to join her in the Smoke, and is being electronically tracked by the government. She reaches the settlement, betrays Shay and the government is alerted and sends full battle response to destroy the settlement and capture the renegades.  What will happen when all are returned to Prettytown? What mind altering transformation takes place with the operation that only the government knows about?  Will Shay and Tally become “pretties’? 

Review/Personal thoughts:  I don’t usually venture into science fiction.  I was not disappointed by Uglies.  It will certainly appeal to tweens with the main characters being young girls.  The author does a great job of keeping the reader’s interest with exciting scenes like using hoverboards to sneak into Prettytown and the government’s crackdown on the rebels.  The characters are adequately developed, but I was not particularly drawn to them, although I was pulling for Shay in her quest to resist the conformity. Conformity is one of the themes explored in the book for tweens to consider as well as, body image, the rights of the individual, betrayal, friendship, peer pressure and uncontrolled technology.  I am not in a hurry to read the next book in the series, but my guess is that tweens who like this one will be. 

Genre: Science Fiction

Reading Level: 5.2  Interest level: Ages 11 and up.

Awards:  ALA Best Books for Young Adults 2006