Teaching in the Middle School

There is more support for change in education now than at any other time in my memory . . . . A number of trends . . . will indeed bring about the kind of fundamental change that has long been needed. If we do not assume the initiative, however, the gains we have made and the supportive climate are likely to fade, and several more decades would pass before another time as ripe for reform would come along (John H. Lounsbury). This statement was made, during an interview, by John H. Lounsbury (Manning, 1997), one of the founding fathers of the middle school movement. As Lounsbury indicated, the events of the past 10 to 15 years have placed major emphasis on understanding young adolescents and implementing effective middle school practices. Several state departments of education, the Children's Defense Fund (CDF), the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, the National Middle School Association (NMSA), the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), and the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) have led the way. The result has been the increasing acceptance of middle schools, the increasing knowledge about young adolescents and their developmental period, and the increasing recognition that middle school teaching methods need to be developmentally responsive. This does not mean that the battle for acceptance of the middle school concept is over; rather, it means that middle school educators need to take advantage of the momentum and to continue to implement genuine reforms in middle school education. Our challenge in writing this book was to find a way to take all of the information about young adolescents and middle schools and translate it into a 10chapter book. We also wanted to balance the practical and the theoretical, for it is our belief that a mixture of the two is necessary. Thus, in this book, we wanted to provide both preservice and in-service teachers with basic information about young adolescents, ages 10 to 15. We also wanted to provide a solid core of essential knowledge about middle schools, including information about young adolescent development, middle school organization, core and exploratory curricula, middle school instructional strategies, and essential middle school concepts. Our aim was to emphasize young adolescents' diversity (developmental, cultural, gender, and sexual orientation) and the importance of these differences reflected in educational experiences and guidance efforts. In determining "what effective middle schools and teachers do," we used respected documents such asThis We Believe(the official position paper of the National Middle School Association, 2003),This We Believe . . . And Now We Must Act(National Middle School Association, 2001),Great Transitions: Preparing Adolescents for a New Century(Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, 1996), andTurning Points: Preparing American Youth for the 21st Century(Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, 1989). Last, we wanted a strong research base, and a focus on teaching methods, strategies, materials, resources, and technology. This book is the result of our work. It is our hope that through our scenarios, case studies, and anecdotes we have captured the practical essence of young adolescents and middle schools. We also hope that our narrative, explanations of research, references, and recommended readings present both the philosophical and the pedagogical foundations of middle school education. RATIONALE FORTEACHING IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL As we wroteTeaching in the Middle School,our overarching goal (albeit lofty, we admit) was to improve the lives and educational experiences of young adolescents. Reflecting this, our specific objectives were to (a) tell readers about middle schools today--what they are and what they can become; (b) describe young adolescents and their developmental perioManning, M. Lee is the author of 'Teaching in the Middle School', published 2004 under ISBN 9780131132016 and ISBN 0131132016.