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Final Paper

Middle School Philosophy

Middle schools (or sometimes called intermediate schools or junior high schools)

were formed in the early twentieth century and serve to function as the educational bridge

between primary and secondary schools. Middle schools have any combination of grades

sixth through ninth, with the exact grades varying based on education district.

Sometimes the term middle school distinctly refers to including grades sixth through

eight (probably most commonly seventh and eighth grades) whereas junior high distinctly

refers to also including ninth grade. In this paper I will use the term middle school to

refer to schools including any specific combination of grades sixth through ninth.

Middle schools have a very specific set of educational philosophies and

pedagogical goals separate from primary and secondary schools. Dickinson, in the article

“Reinventing the Middle School: A Proposal to Counter Arrested Development” (2001),

states that the founders of the middle school concept proposed six classical functions of

the middle level school: articulation, integration, exploration, differentiation, guidance,

and socialization (p. 3). Dickinson compares these first functions to Alexander’s classic

definition of a middle school as “…a school of some three to five years between the

elementary and high school focused on the educational needs of students in these in-

between years and designed to promote continuous educational progress for all

concerned” (p. 3). The most important function of middle schools is to address the

developmental needs of the students, who are transitioning and have a set of needs

different from elementary or high school students. The developmental needs of middle

school students include intellectual, social, emotional, and physical aspects, and all must
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be addressed for optimal student learning and well-being. Thus, middle school

philosophy can loosely be defined as intellectual, social, emotional, and physical

development for students. This middle school philosophy has been shown to improve

student performance and other areas when enacted successfully; however, many schools

do not fully implement middle school philosophy. In order for middle schools to be

successful, middle schools must implement a philosophy that address the developmental

needs of students including intellectual, social, emotional, and physical aspects across the

school community.

According to Dickinson, when middle schools do not enact policies which address

the development needs of students the students, faculty, and school community

experiences “arrested development” (p. 4). He uses this term to describe middle schools

across the board that aren’t fully finished implementing the middle school philosophy, no

matter how much progress the school has made toward it. Arrested development is also

“…a structural problem and a disposition problem of belief in and attention to the

concept” (p. 4). Dickinson describes a middle school under arrested development as a

school having the following characteristics,

Teachers organized into teams but who do not meet on a regular basis,

even though they have allocated time in their schedules, or when they do

meet they continually mire themselves in the rut of student difficulties and

failures; a deep cleavage between core and exploratory teachers—in

numbers of students, organizational structure, and curricular approaches;

advisory programs that look like administrative homerooms, or ‘seats-and-

sheets’ holding patterns; competitive athletics for the few; lack of parent
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and community involvement; and a curriculum dominated by classical

recitation, boring textbooks, and instructional blandness (p. 4).

This middle school may be making attempts to truly implement middle school

philosophy; however, a school such as Dickinson described has fallen short of true

implementation and is unsuccessful to its students, faculty, and school community. To

counter arrested development, Dickinson suggests enacting entirely the middle school

philosophy, improve organizational structure, and use the integrated curriculum model

with students as an active part of their education (p. 16).

According to Pitton in the article “The School and the Child and the Child in the

School” (2001), there are numerous studies to support improved student success in

middle schools which enact middle school philosophy (pp. 21-22). A longitudinal study

by Felner, Jackson, Kasak, Mulhall, Brand, and Flowers (1997) that looked at levels of

middle school philosophy implementation “…suggests that increased achievement, fewer

behavior problems, and easier student adjustment to school are associated with the higher

levels of implementation of middle level concepts” (p. 22). Several other tests are also

cited by Pitton, which results showing greater student success when middle school

philosophy is enacted.

Gallagher-Polite’s article “Hope for Sandy: Transformation Points: A Reinvention

Paradigm” (2001) summarizes the Turning Points: Preparing American Youth for the 21st

Century (1989) findings from the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development. Middle

schools were urged to develop small communities for learning; provide a core academic

program for all learners; ensure success for all students; empower teachers and

administrators in decision-making; hire teachers who are expert at teaching young

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adolescents; improve academic performance through health and fitness; reengage

families in the education of young adolescents; and reconnect with their communities

(pp. 40-41). These recommendations are essentially those found in middle school

philosophy, and the publication of Turning Points has made middle school reform using

middle school philosophy as a reform goal a national agenda.

How can middle schools, especially those experiencing arrested development,

reform to implement middle school philosophy to become more successful to its

students? Pitton suggests the implementation of self-contained classrooms (similar to the

structure of block scheduling), student-centered integrated and interdisclipinary

curriculum, and team teaching (p. 22). Additionally, a supportive environment must be

made for the student, and this includes flexible schedules, exploratory options, and

advisory groups. Middle school students’ emerging needs for self-management can be

addressed by giving students a voice in their education. Students should be allowed to

make choices in their education, such as the ability to pick which topic is studied.

Pitton describes assigning a formal research paper to her students. There was

much resistance to the assignment and out of frustrated Pitton asked her students what

they wanted to learn. After much discussion, she concluded that her students were

interested in traveling and dream vacations. Pitton assigned her students a project they

were truly interested in, a paper to research their dream vacations. The papers included

research about the country, travel itineraries, description of activities/tourist destinations,

and a projected budget of the trip. Pitton acknowledges that this assignment was much

different from a formal, sophisticated research paper but, “…all of the students completed

the project, something that hadn’t happened before…I found that the students were able
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to make good decisions about their learning, and that they worked harder when they had a

voice in the curriculum” (p. 32). Student-centered education and the freedom of student

voice in curriculum becomes a central argument for middle school reform for both Pitton

and Dickinson.

In conclusion, in order for middle schools to be successful for its students, faculty,

and community, middle schools must address the separate developmental needs of its

transitioning students. If every United States middle school successfully enacted middle

school philosophy then middle schools would become very successful at bridging the gap

between primary and secondary schools while also nurturing the unique developmental

needs of its transitioning students. Middle schools, in order to reform, must enact

suggestions made by Turning Points and suggestions proposed by Dickinson and Pitton

such as advisory, team teaching, flexible scheduling, and student-centered education.

School communities must reform to implement middle school philosophy which

addresses the intellectual, social, emotional, and physical developmental needs of middle

school students.
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List of References

Dickinson, T.S. (2001). Reinventing the middle school: A proposal to counter arrested

development. In T.S. Dickinson (Ed.), Reinventing the middle school (pp. 3-20).

New York, NY: RoutledgeFalmer.

Gallagher-Polite, M.M. (2001). Hope for Sandy: Transformation points: A reinvention

paradigm. In T.S. Dickinson (Ed.), Reinventing the middle school (pp. 39-55).

New York, NY: RoutledgeFalmer.

Pitton, D.E.. (2001). The school and the child and the child in the school. In T.S.

Dickinson (Ed.), Reinventing the middle school (pp. 21-38).

New York, NY: RoutledgeFalmer.