'You just have to get through it': Letting go of enduring stereotypes about middle school. (October 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Deutsch, Nancy L.
• Is Part Of: Phi Delta Kappan. Volume 104:Number 2(2022)
• Page Start: 6
• Page End: 10
• Publication Date: 2022-10
• Subjects: middle school -- early adolescence -- stereotypes -- misconceptions -- child development -- teenagers; Education -- United States -- Periodicals; Greek letter societies -- Periodicals; Onderwijs; Éducation -- Périodiques; Associations désignées par des lettres grecques -- Périodiques; Éducation; Enseignement; Pédagogie; Politique éducative; Recherche en éducation; Réforme du système éducatif; Services aux élèves; Système éducatif; États-Unis; Étude comparée (Descripteur de forme); Périodique électronique (Descripteur de forme); Ressource Internet (Descripteur de forme); 371.0097305
• DOI: 10.1177/00317217221130624
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0031-7217

Abstract

The prevailing cultural narrative about middle school is that those years are extremely difficult, and the best students can hope for is to endure them until finding relief in high school. Nancy Deutsch argues that these years are, in fact, a time of great potential if schools can abandon their stereotypes about young adolescents and create school cultures that build on their energy and willingness to explore new things. Deutsch discusses some common stereotypes about middle school and research findings that reveal the truth about the potential of students in the middle grades .