The middle of the night. The middle of a road trip. The middle of the day; and the middle of the week. Each of these spaces is easily overlooked as crucial in the continuum of here-to-there.
For example, the beginning of a journey is exciting, and the end of a journey is held with anticipation. My daughter began Kindergarten this year – the beginning of the journey of education is hyper-exciting for her. She loves school, she loves learning and she begs to do her homework, read and write stories. My professional experience, until recently, had me working in a high school setting where every year Graduation marked an amazing celebration of success for students who had made it to the end of their K-12 journey. But between elementary school and high school lies an exceptionally important experience, with deep implications for the rest of one’s life, at an early age. That experience? Middle School. Middle School matters. A lot. Because if you don’t make it through the middle, or if your path takes a wrong turn, goes off course, or you lose direction in the middle of any journey – you are bound for troubles, pot-holes, and problems. This week’s post features excerpts from the research literature, and my own research findings to further elevate the importance of middle school in developing the academic resiliency that is proven to be so essential to close the achievement gap for low-income, Latino youth. In the students I did my work with – none of them decided in high school that they were going to be successful and college-bound. That decision was made earlier. The middle matters…. Reason 1: Middle School is a pivotal point in the academic futures of students. It was stated by Shiu, Kettler, and Johnsen (2009) that “the middle school years are a critical time in students’ lives. These years are the foundation for students to learn more about themselves, select their close friends, and form educational aspirations for the future” (p. 58). In addition to this, middle school offers a prime opportunity to reach out, particularly to Latino students and parents because when planning for their futures, middle school students need “detailed information about which curricular programs lead to college admission” and it would “greatly assist many students in making choices that promote higher levels of educational attainment” (Schneider et al., 2006, p. 201). It is also where students get aligned for which courses they will take in high school. The middle matters…. Reason 2: A specific barrier facing Latino youth that often begins in middle school is centered on the experience of Math. Schneider, Martinez, and Owens (2006) shared that in middle school, segregation in math classes begins to track students differently, and those students who do not make it to Algebra by eighth grade are less likely to take advanced math classes in high school and are less likely to express “higher educational aspirations in the tenth grade” (p. 200). A key barrier to access for students in the public university systems of California is the successful completion of Algebra II as a minimum requirement. The middle matters…. But why else does the middle matter? In my research, 100% of the high achieving Latino youth that were studied began their educational journey as English Language Learners (ELL’s) in elementary school, or upon schooling in U.S. schools following their immigration. Insomuch, they were relegated to English Language Development (ELD) courses. What is really key for educators to take note of, however, is that 96% of those students were reclassified from ELD during their elementary or middle school years. This turned out to be a critical factor, because the longer it takes for a student to be reclassified to an all English program in school, the wider the gap between them and their White peers grows. Gandara and Contreras (2009) stated, “If children are not exposed to the English of the classroom—the vocabulary and rhetorical style that make up academic English—they will find it very difficult to decipher academic texts and write essays” (p. 125). The middle matters…. As school systems begin to assess gaps in achievement between different groups, it is an important highlight to note that the development of academic resiliency is important for all students. It is exponentially critical for traditionally underserved youth. And as explained here, there should be an urgency for developing those protective factors that foster academic resiliency by middle school. The middle matters… Comments are closed.
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CritRes..."Critical Resilience" This work is dedicated to the equal and fair education of all children, locally and globally. Archives
January 2014
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