MIDDLE

SCHOOL
STUDENTS
Middle School Issues
Growth and Development
Adjusting to MS and E2
Stress
Perfectionism
Identity/Finding self
Choices and Challenges
Grades
Relationships



Adolescence
Period of transition from childhood to adulthood

The age of crisis and transition

Period of stress and strain

Period of Social Development with influences outside the
family taking on more importance: more time spent
with friends, more opposite-sex interactions, loyalty
to the group, and increased desire for autonomy
and separation from parents.


Dorothy Rogers
Adolescence is a process rather
than a period, a process of
achieving the attitudes and beliefs
needed for effective participation
in society.
Adolescence: World Health
Organization Definition
Rapid physical growth and development
Physical, social and psychological maturity, but not
at the same time
Sexual maturity and onset of sexual activity
Experimentation
Development of adult mental processes and adult
identity
Transition from total socio-economic dependence
to relative independence
Important Adolescence
Problems
Becoming Independent: a search for identity and
role in society
Age of Ideals: Piaget, developmental psychologist,
defines adolescence as the age of great ideals.
Adolescents face new opportunities and are eager
to take on new responsibilities
Health and Adolescence: Physically a very critical
phase with various ailments that often manifest
themselves
Sex and Adolescence: the onset of puberty and
confusion about the physical and emotional
changes in their bodies

Day dreams: Adolescents live in the fantasy world
of love, achievement, security. They exhibit
exuberant imaginations.
Sexual Attraction: Adolescents feel attracted
towards the opposite sex. These feelings manifest
themselves in extreme passion.
Revolting Tendency: The adolescent want to free
himself from bondage. There is a tendency to revolt
against authority.
The Teen Brain
Frances Jensen, a pediatric neurologist, said, scientists
used to think human brain development was pretty
complete by age 10. Or as she puts it, that a teenage
brain is just an adult brain with fewer miles on it.
But it's not. To begin with, she says, a crucial part of the
brain the frontal lobes are not fully connected.
It's the part of the brain that says: 'Is this a good idea?
What is the consequence of this action?' Jensen says.
It's not that they don't have a frontal lobe. And they can
use it. But they're going to access it more slowly.

That's because the nerve cells that connect
teenagers' frontal lobes with the rest of their brains
are sluggish. Teenagers don't have as much of the
fatty coating called myelin, or "white matter," that
adults have in this area.
Think of it as insulation on an electrical wire. Nerves
need myelin for nerve signals to flow freely. Spotty
or thin myelin leads to inefficient communication
between one part of the brain and another.

This also may explain why teenagers often seem so
maddeningly self-centered. You think of them as
these surly, rude, selfish people, Jensen says. Well,
actually, that's the developmental stage they're at.
They aren't yet at that place where they're thinking
about or capable, necessarily, of thinking about
the effects of their behavior on other people. That
requires insight.
Stress

Adolescence is a period of great stress and strain on the
body, mind and emotions.
Search for identity causes stress, neither a child nor an
adult
Sometimes excessively aggressive and then excessively
shy
Sometimes excessively affectionate and then suddenly
detached and cool
The flood of hormones and internal changes during this
period are a major contribution to stress
Some experience external changes which may be
family related, death, divorce, sickness, etc.
More rigorous school work, may be the first time they
have to work for grades

Perfectionism
Pressure to be good at everything pushes children
towards perfectionism and undercuts the core
ingredients needed for success.

Trying to be super people and perfect leads to
self-doubt and fear of failure.

You need not be perfect nor do everything
perfectly in order to find good things about yourself
that can be rewarded.

What Perfectionism Looks Like
Intense competitive drive (directed toward self and
others)
Tendency to become highly anxious, angry or upset
about making mistakes
Constantly find fault with self or others
Have a hard time asking for help even though they
are struggling
Accuse others or society in general of always
expecting them to be perfect
Have unusually high standards for themselves or
others

Constantly dissatisfied, negative and unhappy
Chronic procrastination and difficulty completing
tasks
Easily frustrated and give up easily
Chronic fear of embarrassment or humiliation
Overly cautious and thorough in tasks
Try to improve things by rewriting
Frequent catastrophic reactions or meltdowns
when things dont go perfectly or as expected
Refusal to try new things and risk making mistakes,
afraid not to get it right the first time or will look silly

Perfectionism
Many teens strive for perfection in

School

Body image

Social skills

When is perfectionism a bad thing?

When you dont manage it
When you are too hypercritical so that it is not fair to
yourself and others
When you expect too much from yourself and stop
being proud of your accomplishments (trading the
enthusiasm at getting a 98 on a test for being
disappointed that its not a 100

Achievement versus Perfectionism

High achievers run the world, they excel
at something but have no fantasy that
they must be good at everything. They
are so proud of their accomplishments.
They value constructive criticism
because they look for opportunities for
growth and self-improvement. They see
failures as temporary setbacks to be
overcome with greater effort.
Achievement versus Perfectionism
In contrast to high achievers, perfectionists
consider themselves unacceptable unless
they meet impossibly high self-imposed
standards. They worry about being
discovered as imposters, and therefore view
constructive criticism as an attack. Their
creativity and innovative spirit is stifled as
they fear the B+ and wont think outside-of-
the-box because their fear of failure is so
acute. They arent as resilient because they
see even mild setbacks as catastrophes.

Grades
Are your students stressed about grades?
What is causing that stress?
Is it self-imposed or do you as parents contribute to
the stress?
Is it better to encourage when the grade does not
meet expectations or is it better to pressure for a
better grade?
Would it be best to ask what the student could
have done to do better or be upset with the
student for not performing better?
Did the student do the best he/she could do?
Getting a B+ is still a great achievement, especially
if you did your best

E2
Students are being prepared for high school and college
by being challenged with rigorous and demanding
work.
In choosing an advanced program such as E2, students
grades may not be as high sometimes as they would be
if students were taking a regular level course.
Choices and challenges: Should you choose
challenging courses or should you go for the regular
course with the easy A?
Why are students in E2 Program? What are the benefits?
Do we want students to complete the E2 program to be
prepared for high level work in high school and college
or are there other reasons to be in E2?

Grades vs Growth Mindset
Does a grade that is lower than expected challenge the
student to learn how to do things better or does the
grade paralyze the student and stress him so much that
it is difficult to function?
Will the challenging work make the coming years of
education less stressful due to the level of preparation?
Is it the grade that is more important or the learning and
preparation to handle the coming years in education?
Will middle school grades affect GPAs and entrance
into college?
Would my student he better to sit in the regular level
classes doing work that is not challenging just to be able
to get the high A?
What is the purpose of education?
Will challenging course work improve important test
scores?


UGA
From UGAs admissions website:

GPA and rigor of curriculum are a greater prediction
of academic success at UGA than standardized test
scores. Effectively, this means that a student with a
4.0 GPA in a superior curriculum of Advanced
Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB)
courses might be admitted with an SAT score at or
below 1000. Yet, another student with a 3.0 GPA and
an SAT score of 1400 might not be admitted, if the
student opts for no more than a standard college
prep curriculum with few if any Honors, AP or IB
courses.
UGA
Its not all about grades/Other important factors for
admission:
excellence in academic achievement,
intellectual pursuits and creative endeavors;
an understanding of and respect for intellectual,
social and cultural differences;
significant commitment to citizenship through public
service, school activities, community involvement,
leadership, and/or family;
evidence of integrity and personal maturity;
the ability to benefit from a culturally and
intellectually diverse community of scholar-citizens.
Choices and Challenges
The level of academic rigor in your course selection
is the second of three major factors influencing your
chances for admission to UGA

To be most competitive, though, you should
challenge yourself by pursuing the most rigorous
courses available in your high school that you, your
parents, and your guidance counselor deem
appropriate to your level of ability in each
respective academic area.
IB/AP/STEM
Is IB right for all good students? (22 at NHHS)
Is STEM right for all?
What about AP courses?
Will E2 students (150) be successful students in high
school?
What can you do as E2 Parents
Encourage positive interaction between E2 students and
non-E2 students
Be encouraging and supportive
Help students learn organizational skills
Help students manage their time wisely
Insist students keep a calendar of work and activities
Remind students that they are not expected to be
perfect and already know everything; this is a journey
that should be enjoyed
Help students create habits that will benefit them
throughout their education and their lives
Praise students for their hard work

Questions
Resources
http://www.slideshare.net/ramarashmi/physical-
motor-and-social-development-during-
adolescence-and-role-of-school-and-
teacher?related=2
Adolescence; A Psychological Perspective
by Dorothy Rogers
The Teen Brain: It's Just Not Grown Up Yet
by Richard Knox
UGA Website