While i was reading this chapter on the "emerging middle school," i couldnt help but think about the effects of a school district that used the system of 5-2-2-3 system. I grew up in Menomonee Falls, Wi, which is about 2o minutes north west of UWM and this is the system we used. There were multiple elementary schools but all of them only went to fifth grade. And then we had one "middle school" that was 6-7th and then another "middle school" 8-9th and then the high school, 10-12. I personally believed that this was a good system. It divided up the ages in appopraite age levels to meet the needs for them. I think that having 8th graders in a school with 6th graders is a little belittling; 8th graders want to be treated like high school students and obviously 6th graders, who were just 5th graders a year before, are not ready to be treated like high schoolers. Sixth graders are not yet accostumed to having their own choices when it comes to picking classes or the developmental experimenation that goes on around the age of 14, like sex or drugs/alcohol. By dividing the schools like my district, allows the school to work closely with a smaller age group.
I also think that by having 9th graders in the same school as seniors is also a little dangerous. Allowing a young mind who is just starting to realize the independence and power they have to witness the life of a senior, who is being prepped for either the real world or college, is not going to understand fully what it means to have that kind of responsibilty. Seniors are allowed to smoke, for 18 is the average age of a senior and almost all upper-high school and college tv shows evolve around having sex. Allowing 9th gradestudents, who would be just leaving a school with students who were just in 5th and 6th grade, might be too much for them to handle; they might grow up too fast and try to impress others and act like the seniors. Letting the 9th grader out of the reaches of 6th graders but keeping them still with 8th graders gives them something to look foward to but not yet exposing them; and also being with an age group only one year younger does not make them still feel like a child.
Questions:
1. Does anyone see anything wrong with this set of 5-2-2-3 and if so what is wrong with it?
2. Do you think this is only to applicable to sub-urban districst and could not work for MPS or could it?
P.S. Go see Slumdog Millionaire! It is amazing!!!
1. I think the 5-2-2-3 system sounds like a really good idea. You made some excellent points about keeping certain age groups separate from each other. The only problem I foresee is that districts who do not have this system in place already may have a hard time making the transition. Extra buildings and resources may be needed, which cost money, and this is not something districts tend to have a lot of. In general, education systems have a history of being resistant to change. This is a shame because I think this system could be very effective.
ReplyDelete2. I think the success of this kind of system is applicable to all districts, especially MPS. MPS typically faces more social problems than suburban schools so I think they could benefit from this system even more.
P.S. I saw Slumdog Millionaire last weekend and LOVED IT!!! :)