… is the transition from eighth grade to ninth grade: middle school to high school.<\/p>\n
Attending the National School Boards Conference this weekend, I’ve heard from some interesting folks, and learned a few things already (having only arrived at 5 a.m. EST — putting me in a rather sleep-deprived state).<\/p>\n
In the transition from middle to high school, kids move from a task-oriented situation to one that is ability-oriented; it’s not just whether you do what you’re told, but how well you do it that matters. Simultaneously, they’re moving from being the uppermost echelon of their society, to being the lowest caste. All while their brains are undergoing a massive change, resulting in a very short attention span and irrational results.<\/p>\n
Three studies using the Harter Student Self Perception Survey found that students’ perceptions of themselves declined between 8th and 9th grades in the following areas:<\/p>\n
So, just as they’re going into a more socially and academically challenging situation, this group suffers a blow to their self-esteem: they perceive themselves as ugly, incompetent, unlovable, bad, and worthless. Gee, who would do well under those circumstances? It’s mostly a matter of brain chemistry, partly a matter of the transition taking place at a non-optimum time.<\/p>\n
The things they tend to fear about moving to high school are:<\/p>\n
There was no difference found in any of the three studies between rural and urban students.<\/p>\n
Finding ways to mitigate the emotional trauma is critical, because the US Department of Education’s own statistics show that, of students who fail one grade K-12, 40% do not graduate. Of those who fail two grades (K-12), 90% do not graduate. And, while it costs roughly $9,000 per year to educate a child, it costs about $40,000 per year to keep him incarcerated if you fail to educate him.<\/p>\n
Of course, citing the problems was not the end of the session: some solutions were offered. However, I do think it was the clearest, most concise evaluation of our weakest link, and I do plan to pass along the information to the rest of the school board (as they do, sharing information from the sessions they attended). <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
… is the transition from eighth grade to ninth grade: middle school to high school. Attending the National School Boards Conference this weekend, I’ve heard from some interesting folks, and learned a few things already (having only arrived at 5 … Continue reading