Young Adolescent Development

Teaching Students Responsibility

For as long as humans have lived on Earth, generations of adults have bemoaned the lack of due diligence in the upcoming generation: “They’re indifferent and don’t work hard,” they declare. “We have to teach them self-discipline and how to be responsible!” This is followed quickly with a list of punitive measures sure to instill

Read More… from Teaching Students Responsibility

The effectiveness of lunch detention in middle schools.

I’ve heard mixed opinions about the effectiveness of lunch detention in middle schools. Is it appropriate and does it work? Lunch detention is not a harsh punishment, but it does provide students with accountability for their actions. In my school in rural North Carolina, students who are assigned lunch detention sit at a separate table

Read More… from The effectiveness of lunch detention in middle schools.

Middle School, not Junior High

We are a middle school, not a junior version of high school. To be effective in our teaching, we are developmentally appropriate for young adolescents, not for 16- to 18-year-olds nor for 8- and 9-year-olds. There is an expertise to teaching middle level students that is different than that needed to teach elementary or high

Read More… from Middle School, not Junior High