As teachers work to rebuild their classrooms into a more familiar learning environment, not only are academics highly important in this current school year, but so are building relationships and having fun. Below are several fun science experiments for kids that are engaging, exciting, and just in time for Halloween.

Create Your Own Monster

When it comes to physics, work is defined as a force causing the movement of an object. In day-to-day life, work happens constantly. A student carrying their books and setting them on their locker shelf, weightlifting, shooting a basketball, or pushing a shopping cart, are all examples of work. For work to be able to occur, a force has to be exerted onto an object so that that object can move.

If a student is having explosive behavior in the hallway and trying to push a wall, that would not be considered work because the wall is not going to move. But if the upset student throws his book across the hall, that would be considered work because the boy’s force along with gravity causes the book to fall down. 

This Halloween activity explores both engineering and physics and is a perfect, creative science experiment for middle school during this time of year. Put students’ physics and engineering skills to the test by having them design and create a monster using items from your STEAM supplies or items brought in from home. This experiment can also be adjusted to be done online, or remotely, with the items students have at home, and by uploading pictures of their monster, or showing it off on Zoom, etc. The criteria for the student’s monster (which can be adapted to your choosing) are that it must be able to have movement, work, in some way.

Create other requirements for students such as the monster must include a cupcake liner, beads, googly eyes, or pipe cleaners. Rate the monsters based on best design, best physics monster that showcased work, and most spooky. The options for creativity are endless, and students are sure to love this hands-on, uncanny, science activity.

Do You Want to See My Blood?

The sight of blood may either make you squeamish or fascinate you. And this time of year, blood comes to mind more often with the entrance of vampires, goblins, and other spooky creatures. In this activity, students will learn what the components of blood are. They will observe how blood looks different under a microscope than under their eye.

Supplies needed:

• Microscope (a few per class is ideal, though this is also optional)
• Liquid corn starch
• Red food coloring
• Styrofoam balls (white and enough so each group has several)
• Straight erasers or an equivalent object (enough so each group has several)
• Clear glue
• Petri dishes (enough for each partner group)

Begin by mixing together slime using your favorite recipe or by following these steps. First, mix four ounces of glue, three ounces of water, and a few drops of food coloring into a container. Add four ounces liquid corn starch and stir until mixed. After stirring for about two minutes, the liquid should no longer be separated, and the slime should be coming together as fully bonded. Let the slime sit for two minutes so that it gels, then stretch and knead the slime with your fingers for another few minutes. This ensures that the stickiness is gone and helps you be able to pull the slime farther when manipulating it.

After creating your slime base for your blood model, mix in several Styrofoam balls (both red and white). Sprinkle the erasers, or other straight objects, on top. Place mixture in a petri dish for some added dramatization. Then, ask students to identify what is representing the red blood cells, the white blood cells, the platelets, and the plasma. Finally, if available, have students observe their blood underneath a microscope as they reflect on what scientists may be looking for when they observe blood samples.

Pumpkin Volcano

What better way to explore chemical reactions than by using Fall’s favorite produce: the pumpkin? In this experiment students will be given a small pumpkin. They should cut the top off (or do this ahead of time for them) and hollow out the inside. Then, place vinegar, liquid dish soap, food coloring (optional), and baking soda in front of each group. Ask them to make a prediction about what will happen when they combine these ingredients together inside the pumpkin. Additionally, ask them to explain their thoughts behind their prediction.

After predictions are made, have the students fill the inside of their pumpkin about halfway with vinegar. Add a squirt of dish soap (increases the size of the eruption) and a few drops of food coloring if you choose. Stir together the liquids and then step back to watch what happens!

Once the eruption is over, the students can repeat the experiment, try it with the lid on, or test out what happens when they add less or more of the ingredients. After cleaning up, revisit the students’ predictions and explanations for what they thought they would see. See if any students knew, otherwise teach them, that when vinegar and baking soda mix, they react to form carbon dioxide bubbles. Thus, the pumpkin erupted! Reflect on what happened with any groups who altered the ingredients.

As we continue to live in a world with the COVID-19 pandemic, the pressures of catching students up academically are ever increasing. However, nearly equally important, is letting kids re-acclimate to a school environment where they feel safe, valued, and loved. By adding fun into your school days, such as with science experiments for kids such like these, students will again find their spark and joy for learning.

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Conflict management is defined as the ability to understand and properly maneuver disagreements with others. These periods of conflict can occur in the classroom, workplace, or throughout life in general, but it is important that students have an understanding of how to handle those situations and deal with them effectively.

Why are these Skills Important for Middle and High School Students?

Students in middle school and high school are susceptible to conflict at a much higher rate than most adults. These students are at an age where hormones are set on “high” the majority of the time! Because of this fact, students are more likely to argue with others, sense or create disagreements, or simply cause conflict due to a difference of opinion and so much more. Students at this age greatly benefit from the implementation of conflict management strategies as they will help students more effectively communicate and get along with their peers.

How to Approach Conflict Management for Middle Schoolers

It is highly likely that middle school students struggle the most in dealing with situations of conflict. As mentioned before, emotions are heightened due to puberty and the surge of hormones that occur throughout that process. For the health and well-being of every student in the classroom, it is beneficial to teach students ways in which to manage conflict. Below are a few ways to approach conflict management for middle school students.

Avoid Anger

In an effort to stop conflict from escalating, it may be helpful to teach students to avoid becoming angry. Anger clouds one’s judgement; thus, it affects a student’s ability to think clearly and assess a situation for what it truly is.

Refocus Emotions

Students should shift their attention from the conflict at hand to a more positive situation or emotion. Teachers may prompt students to think about a favorite memory or experience. Students should think on those things for a brief moment before returning thoughts to their problem. Then, students may revisit the conflict they are faced with. This approach resets the brain and helps students think more clearly about the negative situation taking place.

Problem Comparison

To understand conflict, students should put their conflict or problem in perspective to see the bigger picture. Students can complete a problem comparison activity to view their conflict in a new light. Students should follow these critical steps:

1. Define the problem.
2. How difficult is the problem?
3. Are there problems out there that are much more difficult or serious?

For each step, students may be encouraged to reflect upon their thoughts and write things down on paper. Through this activity, students should realize that the conflict they are faced with (whether it is due to someone hurting their feelings or taking something that belongs to them) is minor in comparison to other problems. Additionally, this activity may help to instill feelings of respect and thankfulness for what students have in relation to others.

Gain a New Perspective

Like the problem comparison activity, students should think about the problem from a different point of view. In this case, students should place themselves in the shoes of the other person in the conflict. Students should ponder what is causing them to act in the way they are, what is motivating their behavior, and why. If students begin to view the problem from someone else’s point of view, the conflict may begin to resolve on its own as students realize the bigger picture. Students may also realize that their own actions were the cause of the conflict to begin with, or they may discern that others involved are truly at fault and show empathy towards them after determining the root cause of their behavior.

Role Playing with Conflict

Middle school students may benefit from acting out situations of conflict in order to better deal with it in real life scenarios. Teachers could present problems and have students role play the problem for the class. As the role playing proceeds, the teacher and/or students may provide feedback to help the conflict resolve appropriately.

How to Approach Conflict Management for High Schoolers

The majority of students in high school can more easily talk through conflict as a means to work things out as opposed to students in middle school; however, the approaches to conflict mentioned in reference to middle school students may also be beneficial to some high school students. Teachers should be encouraged to expand upon the approaches recommended for middle school students to make them more appropriate or useful for high school. In addition to those strategies, let’s identify a few ways with which conflict management may be introduced and fostered for high school students.

Walk It Out

One of the simplest strategies that helps students deal with conflict is to remove themselves from the situation. Teachers can allow a student to take a walk in order to think more clearly. This time allows the student to cool off, calm down, and reassess the situation at hand. Then, when ready, the student can face the conflict at hand with a more level-headed mindset.

Normalize Conflict

If we are being honest, conflict is a very common part of life, but that does not necessarily have to be a bad thing. Teachers can teach conflict management in a way that students learn to value the opinions of others, not shying away from them. This does not mean that students should simply accept or agree with another’s opinion, but it does present students with a chance to understand where the conflict may possibly stem from. This type of approach provides an opportunity for students to learn from others as they attempt to navigate conflict. Conflict is inevitable throughout life, so it is wise to encourage students to not fear conflict but welcome it. Students should embrace it, conquer it quickly, and move forward with an improved or expanded mindset.

Analyze Conflict

As teachers may ask students in middle school to place themselves in another’s shoes, high schoolers will benefit from identifying differences in order to understand another’s reasoning or point of view. Students should analyze why the other person is acting in the manner in which they are. Students may ask questions like: Are they going through a hard time? Is someone in their family going through a hard time? Did they just experience a hard event?  These questions will help students analyze the motives behind the conflict and help them to not take conflict so personally as it may not entirely be their fault.

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Differences Between Middle School Classrooms and Elementary School Classrooms

Social and emotional learning is important at all levels of a child’s education; however, the elements surrounding growth and development around the age of puberty (i.e. middle school) require a greater need for social and emotional learning. Social and emotional learning has five elements: self-awareness, self-management, decision-making, relationship skills, and social awareness. Although each of these skills are important for all grade levels, the emergence of a student’s keen awareness of one’s appearance and social standing make middle school’s need for SEL much more crucial.

In elementary school, social and emotional learning is highly important to the success and future potential of success for students. Students at this age need to be taught about their emotions, how to manage them, and how to be empathetic with others as situations deem it necessary. Properly implementing SEL components can help elementary students behave appropriately in school and get along well with others. Elementary school provides somewhat of a basic foundation for social and emotional competencies.

In middle school, there is a shift that takes place. By the time students reach middle school, a plethora of influences begin to “step on the scene.” Puberty, social media, parental pressure, and peer pressure are just some of the issues that middle school students face on a daily basis. Middle school students begin to develop their own beliefs and ideas, place themselves into social cliques, and long for connection or meaning with others. Because of this, the need for continued SEL is extremely important.

Although there are a multitude of benefits to SEL in middle school, one of the most important benefits that affects all of the others is self-awareness. Students learn to recognize their own strengths and weaknesses in order to develop a healthy self-image and grow self-confidence. When students understand their self-awareness, they can more easily understand and cooperate with others, make rational decisions, and cope with stressful situations more efficiently.

Adding Social-Emotional Learning Components to Middle School Classrooms

Self-Awareness

Self-awareness teaches students to recognize their emotions and feelings. This includes understanding how their emotions impact their responses in social situations. Additionally, self-awareness is the ability to identify one’s strengths and weaknesses to develop a positive and healthy self-image. As mentioned before, self-awareness directly impacts the other components of social and emotional learning. When a student has proper self-awareness, they can effectively evaluate their emotions and feelings in social situations and respond accordingly. They have a better understanding of their place in the “social arena.” Self-awareness implies a healthy level of self-confidence which positively affects a student’s response to peer pressure and other outside influences.

Self-Management

Self-management is similar to self-awareness in that both require the identification of one’s emotions and feelings; however, self-management requires the regulation of emotions in order to react appropriately and control stress levels. Middle school students are notorious for reacting on impulse. They have sudden outbursts of emotion, act without thought of consequence, speak before they think, and allow the ideas of others to influence their behavior. Their emotional instabilities supersede rationality. Adequate implementation of self-management skills helps students understand how to avoid these negative behaviors and why it is important to do so. As students grow in their abilities to manage their emotions and behaviors, it is important to note that self-management helps students develop goals for achievement in both school and into adulthood.

Decision-Making

Decision-making is the ability to determine the best course of action in a situation. Decision making also requires the evaluation of potential outcomes and/or consequences for particular situations. The decisions that students make in middle school can affect how they are perceived by others (either positively or negatively) and can determine the reputation that proceeds them. In addition, proper decision-making helps improve behavior, academic performance, and social cooperation among middle school students.

Relationship Skills

Relationship skills are the ability to get along with others, establish appropriate relationships with others that are healthy and beneficial, and communicate effectively with teachers, parents, and peers. Students of all ages desire relationships with others, but this desire may be even greater for students in middle school; thus, the need for maneuvering relationships in a healthy manner is more crucial. Relationship skills are important to middle school students in a variety of ways. First, students can more effectively make and keep friends. Second, students can learn to listen to the ideas of others and communicate their own ideas. Third, students learn to work well with others by displaying openness and can more easily avoid unnecessary conflict.

Social Awareness

Social awareness skills teach students empathy and understanding of others. Empathy is the ability to understand how others feel and the emotions they may be dealing with. Middle school students (and students of all ages for that matter) come from different backgrounds, ethnicities, and have experienced unique social situations. In order to promote healthy relationships and cooperation with others, students must show understanding of others. Middle school is difficult enough due to the constant changes (both physically and emotionally) thus the need for social awareness is heightened. Social awareness teaches students to show acceptance and kindness in the face of diversity.

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Collaboration and cooperation are the key components of teamwork. These skills are extremely important to students of all ages and ensure that they can work together to complete a task successfully. Not only do team-building skills help students participate effectively in school, these skills will prove highly beneficial into adulthood as working with a team is required quite often in the workplace and postsecondary schools. Teachers can help foster these skills by creating team-building games and activities for their students.

Team-Building Activities for Middle School

Marshmallow and Toothpick Team Engineering Challenge

This team-building activity challenges students to build a tower using a limited numbers of materials consisting of marshmallows, toothpicks, dry spaghetti, tape, glue, yarn, or string. Students must work together to build a successful tower that does not fall over or lean. This activity may also be timed and turned into a competition to see which team can build the tallest tower.

Human Pretzel or Human Knot

Divide students into small groups of five or six students. Students should stand in a circle and take hands. The goal is to weave arms and bodies in and out in such a way that a knot or “pretzel” forms while remaining locked together holding hands. Because the biggest challenge is not being able to stop holding hands throughout the knot/pretzel making process, students must discuss the best plan of action to remain connected! Students should work together to successfully form the knot/pretzel and unweave themselves to return to their original positions in the circle. If groups unlock their hands, they may be required to start over or sit out while other groups finish the challenge.

Flying Pen (Word and Picture Challenge)

This activity is so exciting and extremely engaging! For this activity, teachers will need to provide a large piece of paper, string, tape, and a pen (or marker) for each group. The string should be tied or taped onto the pen enough times so that each team member is able to hold on to a piece of string that is connected to the pen. Once all team members are holding onto the string, the fun can begin! Teams should place the large piece of paper under their pen. Then, the teacher should give teams a word (vocabulary word, key terms, etc.) to write on their paper. The challenge is working together to move the pen with the string only to write the word. Students may only use their hands to move the string. This activity may also be repeated with pictures instead of words! When complete, students may share their team’s work.

Scavenger Hunt

Students should work in teams to find a series of items throughout the classroom. Teachers will want to include at least 20 items for the hunt. Items could be paper clips, specific books, erasers, a blue pen, a penny, tape, etc. Although this sounds easy enough, the challenge comes from the other teams competing to find the same items at the same time. Teams should devise a plan to quickly locate the items before the other teams do. When time is up, teams will share how many items they found.

Organize and Classify Objects

Using a similar list of items from the scavenger hunt activity, teachers should set out several items for display. Teams will be presented with this challenge: What do these items have in common? How can they be organized or classified into groups? Students will work with their teams to group the objects. They can group or classify objects however they would like, but they must be able to explain why they have done so. When time is up, allow teams a chance to present their classification of the objects and explain their reasoning with the class.

Fashion Show

On a table, lay out various materials such as construction paper, newspaper, wrapping paper, tape, glue, yarn, string, etc. Teams must create one outfit using only the materials set out by the teacher. Students should be allowed to work on their creations for roughly 30 minutes. When the time is up, teams will select one member to model their design in the class fashion show. To make things even more fun, the teacher may play music while students show off their designs in the fashion show! Students may vote on their favorite outfit at the conclusion of the show.

Virtual Team-Building Activities

Creating team-building activities for virtual students presents somewhat of a challenge and will undoubtedly look a little different from in-person team building activities, but it can most certainly be done. Many of the activities previously mentioned (such as Scavenger Hunt and Organize and Classify Objects) can also be adapted for virtual learners.

End of the World Challenge

Divide your virtual students into small groups. Groups should be presented with the following scenario: The world is ending, and you need to grab three supplies that will help you and your team survive. Each student must search throughout their homes to find three items that could be helpful. For instance, students might select blankets, tools, matches, rope, seeds, a flashlight, etc. Once each member of the team has selected their items, teams will be told that they may only keep five items. Students will work together and discuss which of their items would be the most beneficial to them in their efforts to survive.

Two Truths and a Lie

This classic game can quite easily be adapted for virtual classrooms. Divide students into small teams (roughly three or four students in all). Each member of the team will share three statements about themselves. Two of these statements will be truthful, while the other statement is entirely false! The other team members will try to decipher which pieces of information are true and which are false. Each team member should have an opportunity to share. This activity helps teams get to know one another better, and it provides students with virtual interaction in a fun and exciting way.

Follow the Details

For this activity, one member of the team will pick his or her favorite item. The item can be anything: a pair of shoes, food, toy, notebook, etc. The team member will describe his/her item with as much detail as possible (without sharing what the item is) while the other team members do their best to draw the item. Once finished, team members will share their drawings and reveal the item. Students will discuss how their drawings matched up to the real thing. This activity helps students realize the importance of being precise when presenting details.

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Students at this age are still developing these characteristics at wildly differing paces among individual students, and cannot be expected to have mastered consistent application of their developing skills in the area of self-management. What, then, is an educator to do? At the most basic level, a teacher must truly appreciate (and, if possible, love) this developmental stage, not in spite of its foibles, but because of them. Then, the teacher must create a classroom environment that fulfills middle schoolers’ competing needs for structure and for independence. Classroom management is not discipline and consequences; it is culture and connection.

Share Expectations Early and Clearly

It is critical that teachers communicate, from the outset, two types of expectations for student behavior: procedures and norms. Procedures are clear, specific operational processes by which students complete tasks or solve problems in a classroom with some level of autonomy. They include answers to questions like, “What do I do when I enter the classroom each day?” or “How does my teacher expect me to signal that I have a question or a need?” Procedures should be conveyed in multiple formats and must be taught, modeled, assessed, and revisited as needed, as one would with any other content in a classroom.

Norms, on the other hand, answer the question “How will we treat each other?” The answer to this question may be the linchpin to setting up a successful, supportive, and positive learning environment. The most effective means of establishing norms involve asking students a series of questions through which they collaborate with each other and the adult(s) to create a social contract of which they have shared ownership. Students agree to hold themselves, each other, and the teacher(s) accountable. This is especially meaningful to adolescents as they “seek to become independent, but continue to need support and boundary-setting from adults,” (National Middle School Association, 2010, p.59).

Build Positive Relationships

Building positive relationships with students begins with an attitude of caring. As a classroom teacher, it should be a primary goal to establish positive rapport with students by getting to know their interests, their strengths and weaknesses as a learner, and what shapes them as a person.

Teachers build trust and learn about their students by asking students to share highlights of their life in and outside of school or to jot down how they are feeling on a sticky note and put it on the board next to a corresponding picture. One may post a daily question to an online learning platform in which students are asked to share something about themselves.

Providing positive affirmations and showing a genuine interest in students are two of the most impactful ways in which teachers establish positive relationships, and the key to each is to become constantly vigilant for opportunities for these types of interactions. In a positive learning environment, encouraging, positive conversations far outnumber negative, discipline-based conversations. In creating a classroom culture, the teacher must also consider the types of relationships being fostered between students and look for opportunities to help students form healthy peer relationships.

Utilize Student Choice

Students’ need for autonomy and independence can also be met by allowing for student choice. Let students choose the manner in which they demonstrate their learning on a topic from a menu of options. When students have demonstrated the ability to treat one another with respect, allow them to choose a partner whom they believe will help them be successful (if the teacher has built positive relationships and made the expectations clear, their choices will likely be surprisingly positive). Provide flexible seating options that allow students to decide how they are most productive and comfortable. The key to allowing student choice is to establish clear expectations and make all of the choices acceptable outcomes.

Acknowledge Your Mistakes

Another important factor in establishing a positive classroom culture is helping students to develop a growth mindset. A key piece of that process is acknowledging and even embracing mistakes. By modeling for students that people make mistakes, a teacher has the opportunity to showcase that it is not one’s mistakes but one’s response and reaction to mistakes that define us. By showing students that they can laugh at their own mistakes, re-assess a situation based on new information, change their thinking when they are wrong, or simply apologize and accept responsibility, teachers give the students permission to do the same and show them how it is done.

Don’t Engage in Arguments

As middle schoolers are confronted with the inconsistencies and contradictions of the world around them, their need for justice and accountability to moral standards leads them to be more prone to argue with adults. There are several things to keep in mind in order to avoid engaging in an argument with a student:

• All statements do not require an immediate response from the teacher. For instance, a student can say, “I don’t want to” in response to a request. Rather than arguing with that student, a teacher can simply walk away. After walking away, the teacher has an opportunity to observe whether the student complies with the request in the end, which is the objective, after all. They could also decide, without the emotional pressure of the initial interaction, if there is consequence that should be implemented as a result of the interaction.
• If the student does not comply, the teacher can use the “broken record” strategy. Simply restate the expectation using the child’s name and move on to dealing with another issue or student, giving the child time and space to make a decision.
• It is essential that the teacher’s tone of voice remains neutral and that the adult remains in control of their own emotions.

Use Humor

Humor can be an enormously effective strategy in a classroom, but it can be tricky. When using humor it is important not to make a student the butt of a joke or to use sarcasm to get a laugh. Although students at this age may be able to understand and apply sarcasm expertly to others, they remain vulnerable to even perceived slights from adults. Humor in the classroom should always remain positive and supportive in regards to all the members of the class. For this reason, self-deprecating humor, “dad” jokes, puns, and silly antics are the best types of humor to be implemented with middle schools. In the information age, one cannot discount the use of a good meme to drive a point home, either!

References

National Middle School Association. (2010). This we believe: Keys to educating young adolescents. Westerville, Ohio: National Middle School Association.

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Transition Years

If you take a poll and ask adults to reflect back on their school years, many of those adults would say that middle school was the hardest part of their schooling. In my experience working with middle school students, this is the time where students are figuring out “who they are”. Many are not confident within themselves and are less accepting of those around them. In high school, you begin to see a major change as students are more comfortable with themselves and, therefore, are more accepting of others.

There is often a sort of disconnect between the curriculum and the way that students learn during the middle school years. According to the Alliance for Excellent Education report, students experience many changes in their bodies and brains during this time, and educators can better respond to student needs by understanding these changes. Simply having a more in-depth understanding of students and their academic, as well as social-emotional needs, can lead to increased student achievement, close learning gaps, and help students develop higher-level thinking skills.

It is important for students to develop good study habits during their middle school years. This can be beneficial to students in high school and beyond. Many times this is difficult for your gifted learners because most academic things come naturally to them, so in their elementary years, many times they don’t need to study much to earn good grades. As the content gets harder, and studying becomes unavoidable, students need to learn the study habits that will best suit their needs.

Middle school is the time in a child’s life that is so important in developing an appreciation for learning and to value education in general. This can be the turning point for many students in either a positive or negative direction. Instilling the notion of being a lifelong learner is important at every stage of education, but even more so during the middle school years. They say that hindsight is always 20/20, and when many look back, they wish they had taken a different approach to their schooling in the middle school years.

Social-Emotional Development

Middle school is a crucial time for students’ social-emotional development. As students are developing an understanding of oneself, it is hard to understand others. Students need positive interactions with adults in their “school lives”. Many students do not understand where they fit in society. Even at something as simple as a family party, children this age find themselves in the middle. They do not know whether to play with the children or hang around the adults.

During middle school, most students experience a disconnect between themselves and their parents. They look to other adults as role models, and their friends and peers are a top tier of importance in their lives. Students surrounding themselves with others that make good choices is important during this developmental stage, as the choices of others can greatly affect the choices each individual makes.

Social media plays an integral role influencing our youth of today. So many middle school aged students have idolized various Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat influencers. When you ask children what they want to be when they grow up, many reply with some sort of social media influencer. This is the first era of children growing up with these types of influences, and it is imperative that we understand the various types of pressure students feel to live up to a certain standard set forth by social media.

Throughout the Covid-19 Pandemic, it has become more apparent than ever that we need to focus on students and their social-emotional development. Most recently, I have taken on the role as the administrator for my school district’s Summer Enrichment Program. There are various academic aspects to this program, but students look forward to the social-emotional learning component, and the counselors are constantly running over the time period allotted because students are really opening up and discussing their feelings. The middle school students have responded especially well to social-emotional piece, as for many it has been lacking for the past year and a half.

Preparation for the Future

Preparing these students for the future beyond middle school is so important. Class meetings are an excellent way to dive into social-emotional components of learning, as well as to prepare students for meetings in the career world. Class meetings also create a safe space in the classroom where students can voice their worries and concerns.

This is a time in the students’ lives where they are trying to find their identity and teachers, as well as school counselors, can play an important role in this. Although rebellion frequently happens during this life stage, this is also where students find out who they are and different values and ideals that are important to them.

It is certainly not easy to grow up in this day and age, but with proper guidance and support, these students can overcome the challenges presented to them and become well-rounded people. Sumit Saroha stated, “It doesn’t matter what others are doing, it matters what you are doing”. There couldn’t be more truth to this, and it is up to the educators in the world to help the middle school students understand this and apply it to their own lives.

*Updated August 2021

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