Comments on: Why has there been a big push to include sixth graders in middle schools? http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-schools/why-has-there-been-a-big-push-to-include-sixth-graders-in-middle-schools Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:42:59 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: bR!3 http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-schools/why-has-there-been-a-big-push-to-include-sixth-graders-in-middle-schools/comment-page-1#comment-1618 bR!3 Sat, 06 Feb 2010 11:25:59 +0000 http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-schools/why-has-there-been-a-big-push-to-include-sixth-graders-in-middle-schools#comment-1618 Yes. I went to a 6-8 school, but my husband went through a K-8 school. I prefer the 6-8 school, because it better prepared me for high school because the schools I went to, people were often beaten up if they weren't really "tough enough". My daughter's currently going to a K-8 school, and don't really think she should go but since my husband went to the same school I trust it enough. I totally am for 6-8 schools because that's just the way I was raised.<br><b>References : </b><br> Yes. I went to a 6-8 school, but my husband went through a K-8 school. I prefer the 6-8 school, because it better prepared me for high school because the schools I went to, people were often beaten up if they weren’t really "tough enough". My daughter’s currently going to a K-8 school, and don’t really think she should go but since my husband went to the same school I trust it enough. I totally am for 6-8 schools because that’s just the way I was raised.
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]]> By: Monica K http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-schools/why-has-there-been-a-big-push-to-include-sixth-graders-in-middle-schools/comment-page-1#comment-1617 Monica K Sat, 06 Feb 2010 10:52:59 +0000 http://www.clintsmallband.org/middle-schools/why-has-there-been-a-big-push-to-include-sixth-graders-in-middle-schools#comment-1617 Having taught in both settings, I would say I prefer K-8 myself. In a K-6 school, sixth graders get the big ego because they're the at the "top" and tend to get really obnoxious. (I've seen a big drop in grades, too.) They start to get too obsessed with "growing up" and definitely get an attitude much earlier. The sixth graders, at the K-8 school I was at, knew they weren't IT and tended to be a bit more reserved and focused on academics rather than social status. Although the eighth graders were IT in that setting, they had a bit more maturity and could still focus on their studies since they tended to be more concerned about their success in high school. On a more serious note, the academic switch for seventh graders having left a K-6 setting can be a major shock and I find can really hurt their academics. If they are struggling students to begin with, staying in a K-8 setting allows for a more consistant quality of help and support since they aren't "new" to a particular school; the teachers know them already and know what to do to help. Unfortunately, they tend to fall into the cracks going to a separate mid-school. Comparitively? As a teacher, I'd rather deal with a K-8 eighth grader than a K-6 sixth grader. LOL Just my two cents...<br><b>References : </b><br> Having taught in both settings, I would say I prefer K-8 myself. In a K-6 school, sixth graders get the big ego because they’re the at the "top" and tend to get really obnoxious. (I’ve seen a big drop in grades, too.) They start to get too obsessed with "growing up" and definitely get an attitude much earlier.
The sixth graders, at the K-8 school I was at, knew they weren’t IT and tended to be a bit more reserved and focused on academics rather than social status. Although the eighth graders were IT in that setting, they had a bit more maturity and could still focus on their studies since they tended to be more concerned about their success in high school.
On a more serious note, the academic switch for seventh graders having left a K-6 setting can be a major shock and I find can really hurt their academics. If they are struggling students to begin with, staying in a K-8 setting allows for a more consistant quality of help and support since they aren’t "new" to a particular school; the teachers know them already and know what to do to help. Unfortunately, they tend to fall into the cracks going to a separate mid-school.
Comparitively? As a teacher, I’d rather deal with a K-8 eighth grader than a K-6 sixth grader. LOL

Just my two cents…
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