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Wednesday, September 7, 2005
That Wayward Middle Child
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Okay guys, I’m trying something new - pre-arranging for posts to appear each day this week at 8 a.m. By the time you read this, I should be on my way to Ft. Lauderdale to visit middle schools using the College Board’s SpringBoard program, which DeKalb schools are trying this year.
So what about middle schools? I have my theories as to why they struggle so much. Elementary schools can usually do okay, even with the most challenging of populations. Kids of that age generally enjoy coming to school and want to please their teachers. And by the time high school rolls around, many unmotivated students are poised to drop out if they haven’t already.
That leaves middle schools to educate all kids, including those who no longer have any desire to participate in education. A parent at Tucker Middle School lamented at a recent meeting: “I had to practically sit on my middle-schooler to get him to do his homework.”
Alas, many parents are unwilling to sit on their children. So what’s the answer for middle schools? Are they doomed to languish as they have for years? What can teachers do when the home support is not there and the child has mentally checked out?
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