Month: July 2014

Congratulations on finishing elementary school! Middle school is awful. There is a ton of homework and expectations are extremely high. You are never going to have any free time and everyone is mean.
Let me just say I am SICK of hear this. I am TIRED of adults being emotional bullies. There is nothing wrong with preparing students that life is going to change. Yes, middle school has it challenges. However, given how much elementary school has changed since the current teachers were in school; it’s probably not the big step it used to be. The kids are dealing with high stakes testing in 3rd grade! Really do you think that changing classes is going to rock their world? I seriously doubt it. The kids have been told you will fail if you can’t read War and Peace by Christmas of 5th grade. Seriously people times have changed. It’s time to change how we introduce the transition to middle school.
Students should not be so terrified of middle school that they feel the need to drop extracurricular activities that they enjoy. You want a child to stop music lessons because you scared them to death with tales of middle school woe? Young musicians begin dropping out of lessons in May, June, and July, because school might be more difficult. They don’t wait to see if it really will be. Parents, I encourage you to make your child stick with lessons until at least Christmas break. A music teacher who is understanding will flex some in the requirements if necessary. We want students to continue learning music.
The same principal applies to high school only the transition doesn’t seem to be quite to extreme. Please do you students a favor and lay off the scare tactics.