The American education system is unlike any other around the world. For more than 100 years, the public-school system has been at the core the Americana experience that has been used to bring members of society together. The lawmakers of the country on both sides of the aisle agree that it is essential for students to achieve higher education outcomes so that the US can continue competing effectively in the society and in the world. The latter is of particular importance for the benefit of the nation as it reassures the global society of its firm stand as a super power nation (Pedersen, 2012). This perspective has been the foundation of all decisions made in the country in developing and improving the education system. Over the years, numerous reforms including accountability, choice, and other market-based solutions have been depicted as panaceas for remedying the problem (Pedersen, 2012). Countries across the world have surpassed the US as the best education system a clear indicator that there was something remiss in the practice. The federal government is depicted as having control over the laws enacted in reforming the education system of the country. However, it is the State and District level governance that is responsible for the enforcement. Charter-schools, laws to end segregation, the No Child Left Behind Act, standardized testing, and other curriculum changes have been touted as solutions (Pedersen, 2012). One of the issues that is of critical concern is the structure of the academic school year. There has been a consistent structure over the past 100 years or so. However, in 1983 after the publishing of the national report, A Nation at Risk, it has become evident that achievement gaps particularly in the public-school system are increasingly widening (Pedersen, 2012). Educators have been urged to add on to the instructional time in an effort to address the numerous concerns. The local school districts experimented with approximately 300 initiatives across the country taking place between 1991 and 2007 (Pedersen, 2012). Many of them included extending the length of the school day, the number of days, or adopting a year-round school year. However, the average number of days is 180 days with small breaks during the year along with a summer vacation of 4-8weeks (Pedersen, 2012). Reports have shown that nations with more than 180 school days and year-round learning outperformed the US schools.
Middle School Academic Year
The American system of education did not have a middle school in its early years until the first few decades of the 20th Century. The most common types of institutions were made of eight-year elementary schools and four years of high school. However, some advocates for education would argue that students usually waste a lot of time in the last few years of elementary school and should instead be introduced to complex courses associated with college preparatory including Latin and algebra (Schaefer, Malu, & Yoon, 2016). In this regard, the intended goal of education is depicted as reading, writing, and achieving proficiency in mathematics. The argument would result in the reduction of elementary to six years (1-6) and increasing high school to the same (7-12) (Schaefer, Malu, & Yoon, 2016). The grades seven and eight would be considered junior high school. By 1960s nearly 80% of all students attended such institutions as a measure of meeting the special needs of the young adolescents. However, they would tend to adopt the curricula of high school and were largely impersonal. The advocators for this system called for the development of middle schools that would address the concerns of junior high schools including grading systems, curricular, regimentation, large size, impersonal climate, and schedules (Schaefer, Malu, & Yoon, 2016). The institutions would allow for a gradual and appropriate transition between elementary and high school hence the need for 6-8 grades rather than the 7-8. In the 1960s, numerous scholars and personnel in education would make proposals in the community on the most suitable educational program for these institutions. One of the most common by Donald Eichorn in 1966 incorporated Piaget’s developmental theory that would encompass active learning and interaction with peers (Schaefer, Malu, & Yoon, 2016). It would also eliminate activities that were embarrassing to students who matured late or those who were at a competitive disadvantage. The system would also incorporate less competitive activities that would include all students regardless of physical or cognitive development (Schaefer, Malu, & Yoon, 2016). More flexible practices in scheduling, course choice, ungraded programs, team teaching, discovery methods, and teacher-adviser plans were included. The number of institutions supporting the middle school system would rapidly increase over the years resulting in a decline for the junior-high schools. Despite the positive intention in establishing effective measures of ensuring transition between elementary and high school, middle schools have experienced major failures. It is evident that the structure of the academic year leads to poor performance in mathematics classrooms (Schaefer, Malu, & Yoon, 2016). The flexible scheduling, ungraded programs, reduced competitive activities, and closer focus on practical and fine arts, along with cultural studies have been a primary factor for this incidence (Wallace, Jones, Lipa-Ciotta, & Kindzierski, 2014). The negative outcomes may also be drawn from the lack of teacher education programs or licensure for the middle school level. Student will usually be taught by educators trained for the elementary or high school level. Less than one in four teachers in middle grades has received specialized training to teach at this level. They are unaware of the suitable curriculum, instruction, and lack understanding of the complex role of the middle school teacher.
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Interdisciplinary Approach in Middle School
The interdisciplinary approach has been one of the most promoted forms of learning at the middle school level. In this practice, teachers from different disciplines including language arts, science, and social studies work together to form an interdisciplinary unit on a given topic (Wallace et al., 2014). The system of teaching would enable the realization of a common organizing topic that would be used to learn. The interdisciplinary approach identifies the importance of curriculum integration such that its design focuses on important issues. Four primary factors are described in this teaching method as it ensures integration of experience, social integration, knowledge integration, and integration as a design for the curriculum (Wallace et al., 2014). The central theme of the interdisciplinary teaching is on social concerns or issues that students raise in the classroom without regard for subject position. The practice is justified as it helps increase enthusiasm from teachers and students alike, rate of attendance, and improved outcomes in standardized testing (Wallace et al., 2014).
Systems Thinking
The piecemeal approach that enforces change in education over the last few decades is a clear indicator of changing the approach. The current measures of remedying the problematic issues in education are the same ones that were used by numerous generations of educators before and are defended for realizing success at the time (Lewis, Mansfield, & Baudains, 2014). Through systems thinking, new ideas and approaches that match the current issues are used to address the problems in academic learning. The piecemeal, discipline-by-discipline study, reductionist orientation, failure to integrate ideas of solution, and failing to think out of the box is a clear indicator of mumpsimus. The individual members of the society are seen to attempt interpreting current experiences using old models even when there is evidence that they are no longer suitable (Lewis, Mansfield, & Baudains, 2014). Through systems thinking, learners can appropriately ensure students can experience a positive transition between elementary and high school at a pace commensurate with their interests, experiences, and skills.
References
Lewis, E., Mansfield, C., & Baudains, C. (2014). Ten tonne plan: Education for sustainability from a whole system thinking perspective. Applied Environmental Education & Communication, 13(2), 128-141. Pedersen, J. (2012). The History of School and Summer Vacation. Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education, 5(1), 54-62. Schaefer, M. B., Malu, K. F., & Yoon, B. (2016). An Historical Overview of the Middle School Movement, 1963–2015. RMLE Online, 39(5), 1-27. Wallace, N. V., Jones, C. R., Lipa-Ciotta, D., & Kindzierski, C. M. (2014). Dancing through the Decades in Middle School: Seventh and Eighth Grade Students Engaged in 13-Week Interdisciplinary Initiative of Physical Dancing, a Discussion, and Inquiry into the Social Climate of Each Decade and How That Climate Affected Popular Culture and the Way People Moved. Middle School Journal, 45(4), 13-22.
