Junior High or Middle School: Success and Failure

The Transition

8th grade was a transitional year for me in many ways. My classes were more demanding. In 7thgrade I did well in pre-algebra. I got the feeling that Mrs. Coleman was getting frustrated with me in algebra. I must have learned something because I did well on the geometry placement test at the end of the year. Yet, Mrs. Coleman had me take Algebra again in 9th grade. My English Teacher, Mrs. Kissinger, was firm as well. I struggled a little at first but got my bearings and did ok in the second semester. My writing improved while my teacher and I began to connect.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Mr. Hutchinson represented my first encounter with a Black intellectual…

My Earth Science class was my favorite core class because of my teacher, Mr. Hutchinson. He was entertaining yet challenging. I had to work hard to succeed in that class and in the last quarter I stumbled a little. He was among the best teachers I encountered throughout my time as a student. Mr. Hutchinson represented my first encounter with a Black intellectual and this helped me overcome the bias that came with the legacy of the segregated South.

100 Pounds Wet

I was a year older than my classmates but remained small at around 5’2” weighing under 100 pounds. I made the 8th grade basketball team that fall. Basketball was played that fall because busing was to begin in the winter term. We went downtown to Howard Junior to play where Jungle Boogie by Cool and the Gang pulsed through loudspeakers in the gym rafters. I thought it was great while thoroughly intimidated by the environment. We got crushed. I do not think I dribbled once without them stealing the ball. I spent most of the time on the bench watching in awe.

Later, on the first day back from Christmas break, it looked like that entire Howard team got off the first bus as I walked by. I then realized my scholastic basketball career was over. I tried out the next year because Dad made me. Most of my white classmates who were better than me didn’t even try. It was a trend that would continue through high school. We were integrated as a school but not in relationship to one another. There would be some racial tension while many of both races were cordial, but most friendships remained segregated.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Once students arrived from Howard lunch tables were assigned and transitions

were strictly monitored.

I often wondered what it was like to be dropped in a school that was not familiar. Prior to busing we had freedom in the halls and at lunch. Once students arrived from Howard lunch tables were assigned and transitions were strictly monitored. The student body believed we all should be allowed to prove we could keep the same privileges and those who violated rules should be held to account. It felt like we were on lockdown for no reason.

An Assistant Principal

In March of 1999, I took the job as assistant principal at Francis Bradley Middle School with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools. 8th grade was now the final grade for early adolescents before moving to high school. The justification given for this reset was that 13-year olds were closer in development to 11 year olds opposed to the traditional junior high arrangement between 12 and 14 year olds. I worked with 8thgraders in middle school for 5 years. They behaved like 9th graders I taught at junior high. 9th graders I taught in high school demonstrated that the lowest grade in secondary school, whether 6th, 7th or 9th, all showed a similar degree of intimidation and meek compliance. It wasn’t the age, but the school’s pecking order that determined status.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Instead, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools simply took steps to present

secondary structure a grade earlier.

Middle school and junior high school staff had similar expectations while preparing students for the rigors of high school. The need for a more personal education for early adolescents determined by the social struggles of pre-pubescent students was never addressed. Instead, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools simply took steps to present secondary structure a grade earlier. This included moving Algebra from 8th to 7th grade.

Anyone Can Learn Algebra

Traditionally the first test in algebra involved negative integers. The 7th grade algebra class at Bradley Middle School represented advanced students who had breezed through math in 6th grade. They quickly discovered that Algebra was different. According to the theories of psychologist Jean Piaget there is time in a where about 10% of adolescents move from concrete operational thinking to abstract reasoning. Algebra requires abstract reasoning. The school district assumed all students would master abstract reasoning at the same time. Thus, the parable of negative integers.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

This intelligent young man could not get his head around the logic

involving negative integers.

A young man came into my office in tears. He had received a 35 on his algebra test. Algebra requires a degree of accepting truths that cannot be logically explained to a 12 year old. The 7th grade students who did well in Algebra learned to accept what they were taught through various algorithms that now included the foreign concept of variables. This intelligent young man could not get his head around the logic involving negative integers. What made matters worse for many of his peers, was that parents refused to accept that their brilliant children could struggle. These students at Bradley had an excellent teacher who invariably got most of them through Algebra successfully. However, because the students in this class never struggled with any subject prior, parents blamed the teacher. The parent teacher conferences in the fall were always tense. The good news was that most of the parents came around as the year progressed once learning that their child could still take AP Calculus in 12th grade if they had to repeat Algebra.

Success Requires Struggle

True learning requires struggle, whether through social change or academic challenge. The middle school concept was developed to address this in preparation for later academic challenges. An academic culture that fears failure means that students who are used to success will quit when unsuccessful just like students who struggle. Giving students the opportunity to recover from failure would be a good justification for middle school if we provided the resources to make it happen.

©Paul A Bonner