Turning Points 2000: Chapter 1

The first thing I noticed about chapter one was the way it stated most emphatically the gravity of the position the majority of middle schools and the importance of the most efficient reforms. It didn't just declare that the United States needed to fix how middle schools are run, but how certain changes have benefited the students. It made a point of backing up that strong support of reform with different test score statistics, mostly in reading, writing, and math (ironically enough, all subjects tested in the SAT). The studies also made note of the students more likely to be affected by poorly planned and executed middle school education, those students being mostly from minority groups and lower socioeconomic statuses.

When I first read the chapter, I tried to put myself back in my own middle school days. I mean, apart from the fact that it was in a school that was labelled a 'junior high preparatory school,' it had some of the similar attributes that the studies said most students benefited from, such as team teaching, smaller learning communities, etc. It was interesting that the chapter mentions the different emotional and physical changes that students are going through during the same time; the transition from child to quasi-adult is probably one of the most awkward stages in a student's life, and being made to go through that in such a socially involved school setting with the additional pressures of increased schoolwork, for lack of a better word, sucks. I found it additionally interesting that the first chapter made such a point to continue to stress the importance of hiring professionals that have either a special background or interest in the age group.