NYT Middle School Article

This article is about whether schools should switch to K-8 or 6-12 and get rid of middle schools. There are several people on both sides of this debate and they range from parents to teachers to principals. Some of the parents, students, and teachers like having a K-8 that way 6th graders wouldn't have to jump right in with high school seniors. The students like it because they can relate and talk to the teachers that they feel comfortable with instead of approaching a perfect stranger. The students and most parents/teachers like it based on the fact that it is a comfort thing for the students. Other parents and principles like it because they feel that the students are able to perform better and are more serious when it comes to going to college. Some principals like the fact that they have the students for seven years that way it gives them more time to prepare the students for what they want to become. They feel that K-8 have a tendency to baby the students instead of making them young adults. In the article there are some facts about the progression of students in different schools. In a K-8 school the teachers are more capable of seeing that a students is missing as opposed to them being in a middle school. Also the article mentions that grades are better in a K-8 school any way. This is pretty much the whole summary of this article!

I would much rather have the schools set up as a K-8 and a 9-12. I like this setup because that is what I am used to have seeing. I believe that this would help the younger students feel better about themselves if they were separated from the high school students. I always felt safer when I was in a K-8 and not only did I feel safe, I had several teachers that I knew and could talk too. I also think that students don't need to be treated as adults when they are 11 or 12 years old and this would happen if you made a 6-12 grade school. Those children need to have a fun and typical kids life. Why take away all of their fun and suck the life out of them. I believe that a student would perform better in a K-8 than a 6-12 because they wouldn't fear school. They would love school and that would make them want to come back and learn more everyday. The biggest concern for these students is safety, which influences learning. Most people know this, but are just afraid to say so. Get rid of middle schools and have a K-8 and a 9-12. In most places in Maine this is how schools are setup and they have been proven to be effective, even if it was a hundred years ago. I always say don't fix it unless it is broken!