Middle school and High school are both academic learning environments with hallways filled with rows of lockers and classrooms one after the other. Principles, teachers and students of all shapes, sizes and ethnicity wondering the halls with arm loads of books. Gyms with bleachers, basketball nets and award banners hanging on the walls. Cafeterias with pizza and hungry teenagers with lunch boxes filled with ham sandwiches and juice boxes. Morning announcements, O Canada and a bell ringing every period to move a mass number of students from one subject of learning to another. On the surface it appears were talking about the same thing but if you scratch the surface even a little, Middle school and High school are quite different.
Middle school is the birth of puberty. Its the beginning of adolescence for girls and boys. With hormones rising high, drama with girls is especially seen in Middle school. Everyone is trying to find their place in school; thats why cliques are formed; populars, nerds, jocks, theatre kids. Everyone is dividing into groups that will now define who they are through these school years. People begin to figure out there interests by joining as money sport teams and clubs as they can. Subjects are determined for you as there is no range in what you can take. It is strictly your primary classes; math, science and english.
High school is the transition from teenage years to the start of adulthood. It is a time were teenagers start to experiment with drugs and alcohol and learning from the consequences of peer pressure. High school is when students start to make big decisions that will affect their future plans after graduating. As a student moves through High school subjects are more varied and more options exist to taylor more to your likes and interests with so much choice comes a higher level of independence. Choosing to start to play a school sport is not always an option like in Middle school as once you hit High school, team make-up is often pre-determined on past success, associations and reputation.
Both learning environments; Middle school and High schools number one goal is to give there students the tools and knowledge they need to learn. Literally the concrete, physical environments and organizational routines are very similar but the feeling and psychological backdrop is different. Middle school is really still an older child’s playground but High school is like a microcosm of the real world.
fhsnicoletta 