We all
know middle school-ers are a more difficult age to engage than most (my own son speaks a language I don’t even understand half the time, spouting out words like “derp”), and the
recent findings of a three-part study of teacher turnover in New York City middle
schools proves it. The Research Alliance for New York City Schools concludes, in part, that middle school teachers are leaving their schools at
higher rates than elementary and high school teachers. They suggest one of the factors in this early departure may be school environment. The number one survey response from teachers
who considered leaving middle school: lack
of student discipline.
We find that most teacher training
programs seldom focus on the middle grades and instead offer a generalist
approach. Perhaps teacher training
programs should prepare candidates with proven management techniques targeted to
the grade levels they intend to teach. This
would go a long way in building a workforce of effective teachers for this
critical age.
