Chapter 1: Turning Points: A Decade Later

In chapter one of Turning Points the part that really struck home with me was a small section about how the emotional transition from elementary school to middle school was hard for children. It reminded me of when I was a long term sub in a resource room for fourth grade. One of my students was very mild mannered and the school was concerned that he would get socially “lost” when he moved on to the middle school. One day I took him over to the middle school and introduced him to some teachers and older students, showed him around the school, and in general got him a little more comfortable with being in a new environment. It can go unnoticed, but moving from being the top dog in a school to the low man can be very scary for children. I completely agree with this book that it is an important aspect to consider when designing middle school curriculum.