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What's a True Middle School?
QUESTION: I am a middle grades education major. We are discussing the different
philosophies of middle school teachers. I am interested in what some of
the philosophies of current middle school teachers are. For instance, what
do you believe a true middle school's "mission" should be. Any
responses will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
Lisa
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Lisa,
What do you mean by a "true middle school"? We don't say a "true
elementary school" or a "true high school". Are there "false
middle schools"? I think too many people have fallen into the trap
of believing there is a cookbook recipe for what a "true middle school"
should be. It's not that easy!
Dick
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Dick,
You know what Lisa is referring to, why clobber her? In other words, a middle
school and not a junior high school. There is a difference, at least from
my experience, as well as noted by many educational historians. Maybe the
word "true" should be replaced with "exemplary" as stated
by an NMSA research paper?
Skip
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Skip,
I wouldn't have any problems with that, but I still think we need to get
away from the "cookbook recipe" for middle level schools. Just
because you have a program, doesn't mean that your neccesarily meeting the
needs to kids in that area. Conversely, if you don't have a special program,
such as advisory, doesn't mean that you're not addressing kids' needs in
that area.
Dick
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Lisa,
A "true" middle school -- or school in general -- to me is one
that is built literally and figuratively around kids - around what we know
about their development, their brains, their maturity, and matched with
our expectations for learning and membership. A "true" middle
school (to me) is one that is based on a set of PRINCIPLES which guide practice
-- and the "guide" part of that, to insure consistency, are the
systems we put into place that promote conversation and relationships (teams,
team areas, block schedules, etc.). A "true" school is one that
doesn't confuse means for ends (e.g., a lot of schools do advisory for the
sake of advisory instead of as a means to an end that could be achieved
in other ways). Anyway -- just a few thoughts.
Susan
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Lisa,
An important new report from NASSP, which you can find on-line,
cuts through some of the fog. A quote from the report, "Through the
Looking Glass: The Future of Middle Level Education":
"As the middle level school matured, it misplaced its focus on meeting
the needs of early adolescent learners and instead became enveloped by a
shroud of orthodoxy--the need to conform to an established doctrine that
dictated programs, procedures, and organizational structure. . .Reponsive
middle level schools [today] embrace a range of organizational and learning
models, monitor and adjust their programs, and are comfortable challenging
the orthodoxy of the middle level movement."
John
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In another IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, one expert offers her ideas about "some
characteristics of a good middle school."
Many of the essays at the Hayes Mizell Reader page
discuss the meaning of middle school.