The Importance Of Middle School Transitions

Transitioning from middle school to high school now college. Hardships and victories I have experienced it all. I have gone from the shy student to one of the most involved and active student in my school.

Middle school to high school is a big jump from not only school to school but also new people coming into our school, harder academics, sports are now a part of your school life, and a jump from school to school. My thoughts on high school have really changed over the past few weeks. When I first realized that we we're going to be in high school shortly, I got a little freaked out. Although I know alot of high schoolers and specific people that go to West I still feel overwhelmed by the fact that i'm going from a 600 person school to a 1,200+ person school. For the longest time I felt if high school would be the hardest part of my life and getting accustomed to the new setting would be hard for me, I thought the people there we're mean and

There are many issues that cause life stress to children and their families e.g. bereavement, separation /divorce, long-term illnesses. This report will employ a holistic approach, incorporating life span development, and will focus on transition within early year’s education. It will assist practitioners in supporting children and their families and will focus on the effect it has on their lives.

The transition from Grady High School had become a starting point of a new life. Slowly but surely, it found its way into adulthood. Where I embraced a new sense of responsibility and maturity. At this given time and day, I was responsible for following the rules and regulations. These set of rules was being enforced by the principal named Dr.Bockman. Students did not appreciate her position as being principal, yet her job was to support the Grady community. She had a very strict job and she took it very seriously. Nevertheless, I made my first entrance into the steps of being in high school. I walked into Grady High School with an overwhelming fear of anxiety and depression. I had no idea what the expectations was gonna be. So, I knew that

Once again I found myself at the bottom of the food chain entering 5th grade. I had just moved back to Eureka as my mom realized she wanted to be closer to family, and I remember how scared I was. I came in the middle of the school year yet again, so there I sat in the library as I waited for my teacher to come grab me. I remember seeing familiar faces from the prior year pass by me on their way to first hour. I waited patiently, still no teacher had come to claim me for their homeroom. I realized I had been forgotten. What a great way to start off the new year... not. Finally a teacher came and got me and laughed about the fact that I was forgotten, which I failed to find as funny as she did but oh well. Looking around my homeroom I anticipated seeing all the same faces, quickly I noticed that there were A LOT of new faces,

As I went through 1-9 grade school I finally found grit. Going to St. Mary’s during 1-6 grade school getting up at 6:30 every morning just wanting to hit the snooze button so I could get that extra hour of sleep in. After getting ready for school, I would get on the bus, three stops later we would pick up these annoying foster kids that gave me a headache every day because they would shut their mouths that I would have to push through school with. Then building up all the energy sitting in 1-2 classrooms the whole day waiting for recess so I could let it all out. Since I pushed through those challenges, I was able to move on to middle school. During my two years of middle school three out of the five days of school, I would get up at 5:30 and

Transitioning has always been a difficult for me. My freshmen year of high school experiences varied from disappointment, to complete chaos. Freshmen year of high school is tough, you worked yourself to the top to be placed in the bottom again. Not to mention middle school and high school are two different types of environments. I was aware that they were two different types of environments, so when my middle school offered a summer course at Carl Hayden High School I took the opportunity to help me adjust. The course was a reading comprehension class, I did not need help with my reading comprehension but took it to get a feel of how high school would be. Judging high school by one course was ignorant of me to do. From that short experience

To me freshmen year can go either way, depends on what middle school you went to. If you went to a school like the one that I went to then the transfer is going to be a pretty difficult because in my middle school there were only 3 periods, english/history, p.e/art, and math/science. So going from 3 periods to 6 the transition is difficult because you are not used to getting homework for more than two classes or taking test for more than two classes. However if you come from a school that has already 6 periods then the transition should be quite easy. In order to adjust to the 9th grade you just need to manage your time properly and most importantly do all your work if you don't want to fail because in high school they are a lot more strict

An additional life changing experience such as a school transition can cause more distress in the students’ lives (Blythe et al., 1983; Gonzales et al., 2004). Low income underrepresented students are two times as likely in reading, and three times in mathematics, to underachieve when compared to their wealthier peers (National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2005). Researchers have shown that these students’ academic achievement in reading and mathematics declined after transitioning to middle school (Alspaugh & Harting, 1995; Midgley et al., 2002). Ultimately, transitioning from elementary to middle school can result in negative academic and societal outcomes for low income disadvantaged students during and beyond middle school if

Middle school was a drastic change in my life. In elementary school I didn't have to worry about wearing makeup or what I wore but once I entered middle school, it all changed. The classes became harder, the testing became more frequent, the teachers started to care less, and having to change classes every hour and a half was very confusing.

Fifty percent of students’ state that middle school is a struggle and has changed them, here are some reasons why and how. Did you know usually for the first few days of school the student doesn’t have any or only a few friends! Another thing is it’s a big change from having one class to having six classes every day. Another reason is there is more classwork and homework to get done. To be fair, I am one of the students who stated that middle school was hard and changed me, let me explain why it was a struggle and how it changed me.

Transitions are changes that take part of our lives and are out of our control. Transitions are essential part of every person’s life but can be harder to adjust in early years. Although in early years’ transitions are supported by family, friends and practitioners/carers. Children’s early experiences of transitions can have a big effect on how they handle transitions in adult life.

The Middle School years reflect on the child falling into patterns of certain behaviors and habits. This is the age where students will begin to form their study habits and focus on their social groups and connections, which in some cases can take president over their schooling. However, when a child applies themselves great growth can occur. According to School and Children: The Middle School Years, “children are thought to be functioning developmentally at what Piaget termed the concrete and formal operational stages. During this phase, basic literacy as well as computational and conceptual skills are acquired.” (Epps & Smith, 1984) Students during this phase of growth and development can work on harder skills and make greater connections between their education and their world.

The concept of Middle School as describe by Erb (2006), “remain unequalled as the most potent factor for improving the performance of young adolescents"(p. 10). Regardless of the model, K-8 or 8-12 or 6-8 we must address the unique adolescent requirements of the 11-14 year olds as they transition from childhood to the teen years.

Challenge has never been something that I sought. My certainty that I could succeed would always determine if I acted. My middle school had a math program where all of the students covered the same concepts, but the pace of the classes were different. I had always been the best in my class, often teaching people in my class what they didn’t understand. It had occurred to me that I could move to the higher class a few weeks ago. My test and quiz grades were very high, so I thought that I could convince my teacher to let me move up. Moving math classes would benefit me greatly in the future, it would however, be a challenge.