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Exploring the Concept and Institution of Middle Level Schooling. Chapter 1-ITMS Turning Points This We Believe. MSBA Middle School By Accident MSBD Middle School By Design. Brief History of Middle School. 1909- first signs of bridge needed btwn elementary and HS
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Exploring the Concept and Institution of Middle Level Schooling Chapter 1-ITMS Turning Points This We Believe
MSBA • Middle School By Accident MSBD • Middle School By Design
Brief History of Middle School • 1909- first signs of bridge needed btwn elementary and HS • 20th century- present: HS -departmentalized by subject area • Changing classes often The junior high looked like a mini high school
Examples of problems of the junior high school • Curriculum too subject-centered • Teacher were inadequately prepared to teach young adolescents • Classrooms were teacher and textbook centered • Students were tracked (Anfara & Waks, 2000) THESE PROBLEMS STILL EXIST TODAY!
Contributors to rationale for middle schools • National Middle School Association (NMSA) • Turning Points • This We Believe • Turning Points 2000
National Middle School Association • Defines a middle school as one that is specifically structured to meet the developmental needs of young adolescents aged 10-15. • Various definitions that are continuing to evolve-ITMS p.3-4.
Turning Points • First Written in 1989 • Milestone in the transformation of educational policy and practices • Recognized as establishing a comprehensive research agenda in middle level education across America • Developed as a blueprint for reform in middle level education in the US
Turning Points • Called attention to the opportunities and risks associated with early adolescence • The authors argued that a high quality education for all adolescents in America was a “matter of social justice but also a matter of national economic self-interest for protecting America’s future within a global economy”. What do you think about this statement?
Turning Points • See pages 10 and 14 in ITMS by Sara Davis Powell for the principles of Turning Points • These principles will be met by improvement in curriculum, instruction and assessment, teacher preparation and development, and the role of parents and educational partners • The National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform further reinforces these principles
This We Believe • Position Statement by National Middle school Association (NMSA) • First Published in 1982, revised in the 1995 and 2003. • Provided a descriptive definition of middle school. • Provides Guidelines for developmentally responsive middle schools
This We Believe • See page 12 in ITMS by Sara Davis Powell for the principles of This We Believe (the latest version) characteristics of developmentally responsive middle schools. • In your own words, Turning Points…. And This We Believe….
Turning Points 2000 “The main purpose of middle grades education is to promote young adolescents’ intellectual development. It is to enable every student to think creatively, to identify and solve meaningful problems, to communicate and work well with others, and to develop the base of factual knowledge and skills that is the essential foundation of these higher order capacities.” Turning Points 2000, pgs.10-11