Chaotic Middle Schools part 2

• "The schools share the premise that the way to reserve years of abysmal middle school performance is to get rid of middle schools entirely."

This is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard of. I went to elementary school (k-6), middle school (7-8) and then high school. I absolutley loved every school I went to and although I had some adjustment problems, that's a fact of life that my mother was not going to shelter me from. Keeping students in the same building from k-12 may be good for some students, but I think that overall teenagers need to be exposed as to many people, cultures, learning styles, and enviornments as possible. I truly think that if I did not have the chance to experience different teachers, different schools, different schedules, and have the chance to make new friends, there is no way I would be who I am today.

• "Should the nurturing cocoon of elementary school be extended for another three years, shielding 11 year old from the abrupt transition to a new school..?"

NO!! They said it all right here themselves : Cocooning and Shielding. That is exactly what they are doing to these students and it is not going to help them when they need to go out into the real world. I cannot emphasize enough how horrible of an idea this is. Everyone goes through rough times in there life. It is something we all have to deal with and cope with. Trying to hide teenagers from this fact of life is a horrible idea.

• There is mention of students being able to turn to teachers they had years back for advice by staying in the same school from k-12. Well I have news for you, I have been to 6 different schools in my life already and I still keep in touch with my 1st, 2nd, 5th and 8th grade teachers who were all from different schools and different neighborhoods. It does not take much to form a relationship with a teacher and then maintain that relationship throughout the years. Why is this article making this idea of students turning to their former teachers sound like rocket science?

• "There is a lot of drama in the 6th grade" says a 12 year old girl. Drama in the 6th grade? I didn't even know what drama meant in the 6th grade. Perhaps all of the hours these young teenagers spend on their cell phones and on the internet gossiping to one another is a main cause of the drama. There is no reason for 6th graders so have so much drama and so many distractions in their life. They are still children at that point as far as I am concerned.

• "The uniform was easy to digest as a sixth grader because your mom is still dressing you at that time..by ninth grade, it was just a part of life", says an 18 year old girl. I'm sorry, but I was not only dressing myself in the 6th grade, I was extremly exposed to so many different culters, ethnicity, different teachers, and changing classrooms thoughtout the day. Why are parents hovering, sheltering and failing to allow their children to explore? I went to an all girl high school simply because the crime and theft in the Brooklyn public schools at the time were hurrendous. I did not weep or stomp my feet when I had to wear a uniform, it was what it was. Trying to adjust is a way of life and we are putting students at a disadvantage my limiting their ability to do so.