Middle School Reform

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the concept of middle school reform. It specifically focuses on what a middle school is and what the original purpose of creating such an institution was. The paper looks at how the middle schools were created to meet the unique needs of young people who are neither young children nor sexually mature adolescents. The paper then looks at how teachers are often not specifically trained to meet the needs of the middle school students.

From the Paper:

"Rather than standardized testing other theorists have also stressed the need for more rigorous certification of middle school teachers in specific subject areas, combined with a team-based approach to learning, so that students can learn to see interdisciplinary connections between math and science, for example, or literature and the arts. Having more than one teacher teach classes solves the problem of striking a balance of a close classroom environment and creating a high school-like atmosphere where different teachers for different subjects (Clark & Clark, 1993). Team teaching is ideal to keep the holistic approach that is characteristic of elementary school and to prepare students for the segmented days of junior and senior high. Varied instruction techniques to help with transitioning to high school and the diversity of educational methodologies employed by different teachers, and allowing students to explore personal interests are all important in creating a positive attitude towards learning and school (Clark, 1993)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Clark, S. N. & Clark, D. C. (1993). Middle level school reform: The rhetoric and the reality. The Elementary School Journal. 93(5): 447-460. Cited by Banks, Ron. (2003). Middle School. Clearing House on Early Education and Parenting. Retrieved 16 Aug 2007 at http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/poptopics/middle.html#2
• Friedman, Adam & Richard Hartshorne, & Bob Algozzine (Summer 2005). Middle Schools Online. Meridian: A Middle School Computer Technologies Journal. 8 (2):1-6. Retrieved 16 Aug 2007 at http://www.ncsu.edu/meridian/sum2005/middle_schools_on_net/index.html
• Gootman, Ellen. (17 Mar 2007). For teachers, middle school is a test of wills. The New York Times. Retrieved 16 Aug 2007 at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/17/education/17middle.html?pagewanted=2&ei =5088&en=a041618672b57230&ex=1331784000

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