|
I agree with Cluey. I don't like the idea of K-8 and I REALLY don't like the idea of 7-12. Like Sheila said, it may work well at smaller schools but I can't see it being a change for the better in most larger districts.
I know that I was nowhere near ready to be put in a school with high schoolers when I was in sixth, seventh or maybe even eighth grade. By the time I was in ninth I was fine and I had no troubles with the transition. Earlier than that I would have been scared out of my mind. There were definitely some things in my high school environment that I don't think I was ready to be exposed to at age 11 or 12 -- and neither were most of my classmates. I guess it's one thing if there is little interaction -- two separate wings of the same building, different lunch hours, etc. -- but in general I think that the negatives would outweigh the benefits at most large schools. The only real guaranteed positive result I can think of is that seventh and eighth graders would have better access to advanced classes.
But Cluey is right when she says that middle schoolers do best in a completely different environment from either elementary schoolers or high schoolers . . . I don't think that it's a good idea to push them into the high school learning environment or to force them to stay in the elementary school environment longer than ideal.
|
Threaded Mode