Eileen Bernstein - Middle School and the Age of Adjustment: A Guide for Parents

Cover

Page i

Middle School and the Age of Adjustment

Page ii

This page intentionally left blank.

Page iii

A Guide for Parents

Eileen Bernstein

BERGIN & GARVEY
Westport, Connecticut London

Page iv

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bernstein, Eileen, 1941
Middle school and the age of adjustment : a guide for parents / Eileen Bernstein.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0897899067 (alk. paper)
1. Middle school educationParent participationHandbooks, manuals, etc. 2.
Adolescent psychologyHandbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title.
LB1623.B48 2002
373.236dc21 2002018212

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.

Copyright 2002 by Eileen Bernstein

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the publisher.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2002018212

ISBN: 0-89789-906-7

First published in 2002

Bergin & Garvey, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881

An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
www.greenwood.com

Printed in the United States of America

The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.481984).

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Page v

Page vi

Page 1

Sex. Drugs. Puberty. Algebra. These are just a few of the problems that parents have to worry about when their eleven-year-old walks through the doors of middle school. The eleven-year-old, meanwhile, has to be brave in a scary new world filled with constant change that creates self-doubt and emotional turmoil. The child has just come from fifth grade, king or queen of the hill, in a warm, sheltered environment. Now, in middle school, these new sixth graders are peewees on a school bus, sitting with teenage boys who may be shaving already and girls with well-developed bodies. The teenagers tell the sixth graders where to sit, and there is no choice because the older children are bigger and stronger.

I am a middle school counselor, and I have been helping these children make their way through this difficult emotional minefield. I have written this book for parents to describe this rapidly changing time and give advice to help in their childs adjustment. As a counselor and teacher for nearly thirty years, I have watched class after class of middle schoolers experience this very difficult period in their lives. Changes in our society have deeply affected these young adolescent boys and girls.

School buildings and their occupants have changed dramatically over the last half-century. In the 1940s and 50s, elementary schools were comprised of grades K8, and children walked home for lunch. As the population grew in the country, junior highs for grades 79 were developed because elementary schools began to bulge at the seams. But a problem developed in the new junior highs: ninth graders did not take their grades seriously because they were still in junior high. This lack of ac

Page 2

ademic seriousness can impact the overall grade point average, affecting college choice. In addition, high schools offer sports and other activities, which also enhance college entrance possibilities and could lead to scholarships. It is much better for high schools to include grades 912, so that students can be more serious about how their education affects their future educational choices.

Thus, high schools became grades 912, and many communities developed the intermediate school, which includes seventh and eighth grade, although some communities still had junior high schools. As the school age population mushroomed, the middle school, comprised of grades 68, was created. Now, sixth grade, which was formerly in elementary school, is combined with the seventh and eighth grades, a time when hormones quickly develop. Currently, this trend is growing. In the past few years, however, middle schools have come to be thought of as a middle child: difficult to understand, in need of attention (but what kinds of attention?), and extremely variable in behavior.