I remember my first day of middle school and how much I dreaded it. There were going to be new kids that I didn’t know, new teachers, and a completely different schedule. It was all so overwhelming that I didn’t know which area to even focus on. To top that all off my body was going through changes and I was having crazy mood swings. I think the feelings I had are experienced by many teens as they embark on their journey into middle school. Even though they are typical that doesn’t make the transition any easier. That is why it is up to teachers and administrators to create a school that supports adolescents (Inlay, 2005, p.42). This can be done by making small changes. One of the changes done at the River School in Napa was creating a democratic environment where teachers and students were treated with mutual respect (Inlay, 2005, p.42). This type of environment teaches adolescents that in order to be treated like an adult they need to act like one and also provide the teacher with the amount of respect he or she deserves. Another change that I personally experienced that helped with the transition was starting to change class in fifth grade. In my school during fifth grade we went to a different teacher for math, science, and language arts, and then had a main teacher for the rest of the day. This gradual change in going to different teachers really helped when I entered middle school where we were going to different rooms for every class. I already knew what it would be like because we had experience it so it made the process easier.
Inlay, L. (2005). Safe Schools for the Roller Coaster Years. Educational Leadership, 62(7), 41-3. Retrieved from Education Full Text.
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