Moms & Dads Talk: Should Fourth and Fifth Graders be in Middle School?

County council recently announced a proposal to alleviate overcrowding in area public elementary schools by moving rising fourth and fifth grade students into local middle schools where space would accommodate growing numbers of elementary aged students.

Some parents may disagree.  

The most striking reason is the the juxtaposition of a typical 9 year old fourth grader with a 13 year old eighth grader. Physically, emotionally and socially, they are miles apart and placing them in the same learning environment does not serve either group.

Thinking of the younger students, one only needs to recognize the proliferation of images in the media that force young children to grow up too quickly.  Provocative dress, inappropriate language, the presence of sex, alcohol and drugs–these have all been targeted to appeal to younger, more susceptible audiences.

Not that I am indicting our own local middle schoolers; however, in their teenage years, they will struggle with these same influences, as their own bodies and temperaments change. These years can be tumultuous without exterior pressures and influences. It is during these years that we as parents and educators try to equip these children with the tools to make hard decisions, to turn away from bad influences. In an environment dedicated to this age student, this teaching and learning seems most effective.  Teens are surrounded by peers who share in their struggles while also sharing in the developmental changes inherent to their age.

Introducing 9 and 1o year olds into this environment suggests that we will have to tailor this very teaching method implicit to a successful middle school experience.  Conversely, younger children will be exposed to issues and challenges that are not only not age appropriate for them but also for which they lack the maturity and skills to handle. While these younger children begin to test the bounds of their own independence, pushing slowly away from their parents and relying on peers, not teachers and mentors, to solve conflicts, they still need a strong support system and structured environment to guide them through this process of growing and maturing. Part of this growth comes from assuming a leadership role among their younger elementary-aged peers, serving as models for them through student council and shared learning programs.  

Middle school is about giving students independence with structure, allowing them to make choices for themselves while giving them the necessary tools to do so. Elementary school is about solidifying social growth, maturing emotionally, and preparing for increased independence and harder choices. There is a vast difference between the needs of these two groups and they don’t belong together.

Overcrowding is a serious problem plaguing area elementary schools and it costs our students valuable learning inside the classroom and out. Teachers and resources are stretched and the students are the ultimate victims. Lessons become less individualized in favor of the group and children can fall through the cracks, both on the high end and the low end. On the playground, larger groups with less teacher supervision create the possibility of bullying and unrest.  A solution to these problems is certainly necessary but moving children at a vulnerable and valuable point in their development is not the answer. 

In our ever-changing, media rich world, we work so hard to preserve the innocence of childhood in any way we can, relishing recess time, teacher role models and the leadership and confidence instilled in fourth and fifth graders as they rise in elementary school. Moving them into middle schools that are so developmentally different seems to strip elementary aged children of these valuable and lasting life lessons and experiences. Our county government must find another way to alleviate the problems in our schools without creating new ones.