Middle School -
What Kind of Bridge?
Michael Mitchell - Ph.D.
I believe that the middle school is the bridge between the elementary and high schools. The middle school is also a bridge between childhood and adulthood. Individuals enter the middle school as children and exit as young adults. Is it also possible that the middle school can be a bridge or link between parent and child?
Abrupt changes are detrimental to children 10 through 15 years of age. Puberty is sufficiently traumatic without any additional troubling issues. Anxiety that is caused by the change from the secure elementary to the large, seemingly indifferent middle level school can become intolerable for the child having normal problems with puberty. To ease this change, the middle school must mimic the elementary school for its youngest pupils - i.e. become a bridge to the elementary school. Elementary schools tend to be child-centered places with one-teacher-per-group structure. Here, the children move around the building in teacher-protected lines. The children usually belong to one peer group per day. As the middle school should attempt to incorporate many of these features for incoming students, they ought to strive to involve parents in all aspects of their programs, as do elementary schools. Middle schools should also try to approximate that characteristic of American High Schools wherein parents involve themselves in specialty or booster groups to support aspects of the school’s program.
Middle school children are actually drawn to structure that is constant and reasonably predictable. That is why they seek certain peer associations and even wear the same style clothing. The middle school must be structured with constancy and stability in mind. All manner of activities and functions can occur as long as the essential structure is predictable by all. The involvement of parents in this essential structure will increase its familiarity and stability.
Because of the powerful drive for autonomy of the early-adolescent, communication between the middle school child and his or her parents tends to weaken at this time. Even though middle level children need parent support now more than ever, a gulf can develop and grow between them. Because of this potential gulf and because these children are most vulnerable to "other" influences, parents belong in middle schools. Parents who are meaningfully involved in the middle school are able to share a large element of the child’s world -- in whatever manifestation, parents have been in middle level education before -- to bridge the gulf and support the child during this difficult time.
The middle school can a bridge the gap between the elementary and high schools or between childhood and the adult world. Middle school should also be a bridge between parents and their early-adolescent children. Students enter the middle school as parent-orbiting children, and exit as young adults, often (sadly so) having spun completely out of that parental orbit. However, middle school students who have attended a real middle school frequented by involved, supportive parents, will enter high school much better prepared to succeed.
