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There are some interesting points so far. I don't want to specifically argue against anyone, but in my elementary we are specialized. The students have a separate math, science, social studies and language arts teacher. In our elementary this is also true of 4th and 5th grade. Self-contained is for grades K-3. We have had years where they rotate as a class, but now they basically have an individual schedule since we introduced Pre-AP classes. However, they travel no more than 20 feet to get to the next classroom, usually less than that.
There is not much interaction between the grade levels here because the students don't go through the rest of the school for classes or electives. We walk them to lunch and when they go to electives we monitor them the whole way. I've never really heard of an incident of bullying between 6th grade and a student of another grade.
For the students 4-6th grade we do offer the kids electives and they get to choose band, orchestra, art, spanish or choir. They do have only one elective compared to middle school where they have several. However, the reason they have more elective classes is because the time in the core subjects has been severely reduced. Afternoon tutoring time does not exist in middle school so all tutoring must be done either before or after school, which sometimes is impossible when someone rides the bus and their parents work late.
As far as contacting the students, we usually meet with most of our parents before the school year start. We either make a home visit or we contact each parent on the phone. We have two rounds of parent conferences, in the fall and the spring with our homeroom class parents. We don't just call them if something goes wrong. We also meet with each parent if their student doesn't do well on the benchmark exam. With a homeroom class of about 25 students I can call each parent and welcome them to school at the beginning of the year. In my personal experience I am much closer to the parents here at the elementary level and not overwhelmed with 130 sets of parents. Many of them we see so much that we are on a first name basis and have been to events outside of school. In middle school I would frequently e-mail and call parents, but only have parent conferences with a relatively small portion of them, maybe 20-30 out of 130. I never felt any kind of connection to them or got to know them at all.
This is not to argue anyone else's reason for 6th grade being in middle school, but just my opinion on why I see the things the way I do. Our district now has a 6th grade in elementary and is considering big changes, such as expanding middle schools and restructuring the whole 6th grade and middle school experience. We are in a also mini financial crisis as are most school districts. In my district 6th grade used to be in middle school, but they moved it to elementary about 10 years ago. Sometimes I think people just like a change and in 10 more years maybe they will decide to move them back to elementary.
Here, the 5th and 6th grade is middle school. The 7th and 8th grade are junior high. These are actually housed in different buildings here. It's scary, but my granddaughter only has one more year of primary school. The schools are also HUGE.
The reasons why this was done here are not academic, but due to overcrowding of schools. Uncontrolled growth is happening in the town and they cannot keep up with building schools for the population. I don't like it, but there is not much I can do about it short of moving.
My kids went to middle school in 6th grade and it made some sense academically, but even in my old town, they moved the 5th graders to the middle school due to overcrowding. They have since moved them back to elementary school as the numbers changed.
It largely depends on what the community wants and supports. There's merit in both structures. Some communities have a 6th Grade Academy model that separates 6th graders from both elementary and middle school. If the cost of the structure adversely affects programs then the change is not worth the cost in my opinion.
Our district changed from Junior High to Middle School for the two Middle Schools in the District 3 years ago. Our two sons liked it that way. They did keep the 6th graders on one side of the school. 7th and 8th had classes all over the school. Then again it is a 4 year old school. Maybe they just liked it because it was new. LOL
I am currently teaching in a 6th grade middle school classroom (math). Some kids are thriving. They do great with the added responsibility, enjoy having multiple teachers, and like being in a more grown up setting.
Others however, are barely keeping their heads above water. Several of the boys really need a recess period still to just run around and blow off steam for 20 minutes a day. Many of the kids are pushed (or seek out) the dating scene that the 7th and 8th graders are involved in. A large, large percentage can't keep track of papers from 7 different classes, can't remember their locker combinations (even now, the end of February!), and have no idea how to plan their time. A big portion of 6th grade is spent teaching them how to sit still through 7 classes, as opposed to actually teaching. I don't know, maybe if 6th grade was in elementary, we'd spend half the year teaching 7th graders to open lockers and manage binder sections instead.
Our county is actually split--half the schools are 7-8 and the other half are 6-7-8. It's just a numbers/capacity game. Ideally, the county would like to put the 6th graders back in elementary school, but there just isn't space.
My district does 6-7-8 as middle school. Problem is half of the 6th graders have already failed one year and we had a 16 year old enroll as a 6th grader.
I am currently teaching in a 6th grade middle school classroom (math). Some kids are thriving. They do great with the added responsibility, enjoy having multiple teachers, and like being in a more grown up setting.
Others however, are barely keeping their heads above water. Several of the boys really need a recess period still to just run around and blow off steam for 20 minutes a day. Many of the kids are pushed (or seek out) the dating scene that the 7th and 8th graders are involved in. A large, large percentage can't keep track of papers from 7 different classes, can't remember their locker combinations (even now, the end of February!), and have no idea how to plan their time. A big portion of 6th grade is spent teaching them how to sit still through 7 classes, as opposed to actually teaching. I don't know, maybe if 6th grade was in elementary, we'd spend half the year teaching 7th graders to open lockers and manage binder sections instead.
Our county is actually split--half the schools are 7-8 and the other half are 6-7-8. It's just a numbers/capacity game. Ideally, the county would like to put the 6th graders back in elementary school, but there just isn't space.
I think that it's better to spend 6th grade teaching that stuff than 9th or 10th grade.
I moved from a district that kept 6th grade in elementary school to one that puts it in middle school. After seeing both systems I think the girls generally do fine moving up, but it can be extremely difficult for the boys.
I asked my fairly mature sixth-grader what she thought about the issue, and she said unequivocally that she would have preferred another year at her elementary with one primary teacher as opposed to the eight separate classes a day she has in middle school. Although she wouldn't use the word "fragmented" I think that's how she experiences the curriculum.
Our here some districts are 6-7-8 and some are 7-8. Every person I have talked to who went to middle school says that sixth grade should be in elementary school. They all feel that sixth graders are not ready to be around eighth graders. It is just a few calendar years, but the difference between twelve and fourteen is huge.
A four year HS (9-12) is good for the kids. Here they can form lifelong bonds and start focusing on the post high school world a year earlier.
This is with the presumption that the middle school is 6-8. Sixth graders should not have to share facilities with kids half their age.
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