Week 9: Post 1

One of the topics that really grabbed my attention this week was the section on middle schools. I found it interesting that our textbook’s author chose to describe middle school as a time that “forces[s] children to step backward” (Berger 420). That statement caused me to think about my personal experience with middle school. Thinking back, I can honestly say that between elementary, middle, and high schools, I can recall the least amount of memories from my years at middle school. I think this can be attributed to the fact that middle school was definitely the most socially and developmentally challenging time of my life so far; I think that I both consciously and subconsciously block out memories from that time. This is not to say that I didn’t have an overall good experience with middle school; I met many great friends during this time. But between a new school and environment and heightened emotions from young adolescents, middle school years are often the most difficult for people to go through. The longitudinal study reported on James really showed the negative effects of middle school. James excelled in his early years of school, but once he reached middle school, he started acting out, and eventually dropped out of high school (Berger 419). While James’ case is very sad, I think that overcoming difficult middle school experiences can benefit a person and make them stronger and more independent.