Just another "Snowflake" vent

[golfgal]

Some of these parents would panic at our school busing system. All grades k-12 ride the same bus to and from school. It has been this way since I was in elementary school 20+ years ago. In our district schools currently go k-5, 6-8. and 9-12. That change has been made in the last 6yrs. It used to be k-6 then 7-12 were all together. The school district just recently grew large enough to support and separate high school and middle school.

Our old school district was like that. It wasn't a small district but it was fairly rural and they only ran one bus route to each area.

Educationally 6-8th graders are more on the same page then 7-9th grades which is why many schools have moved to that option.

 

[SaraJayne]

Some of these parents would panic at our school busing system. All grades k-12 ride the same bus to and from school.

No kidding.

My kids ride the bus with K-12th graders...same way it's always been.

And I rode the bus with K-12th graders, too at the school I attended.

Not a big deal and nothing to freak out over.

 

[Darsa]

Huh, interesting! My DD14's school (that she's graduating from in a week!) is K-8th, and the older kids actually have a voluntary program where they can go downstairs and help out with the younger kids, so there's a lot of big kid/little kid interaction. I was actually (pleasantly) surprised that a lot of the volunteers were boys!

I'm not really sure I understand why parents would find it objectionable for younger/older kid interaction... truthfully I think that having a K-8 school has kept the older kids more away from the scarier parts of middle or junior high school; the district we moved from a few years ago has a primary, elementary, middle and high school, and DD14 would have been in middle for the past 3 years. From what I've heard (she still dances down there, and I talk to the moms) I am very glad that she is where she is now.

 

[Mkrop]

Our kids went to a K-8 elementary school until we moved here. The nice thing about that school was that the older kids helped the younger kids. All of the kindergartner's were assigned an 8th grade buddy and they would come down to the kindergarten rooms once a week to help with reading, special art projects, etc. It was a GREAT set up. With an upstairs/downstairs concept it was rare that the kids just ran into gangs of older kids too.

What is going to happen to these parents when their 4th graders are in 9th grade and hanging out with SENIORS

Your experience was similar to mine. The older kids are bus monitors for the younger kids. They also have an afterschool homework/tutoring program where the older kids help the younger ones, and a few projects that they partner on during the year. We never had a bad experience in all our years in the K-8 school.

My kids got to a K-8 school. They ride the buses with them. They have a buddy system as well. 6th graders buddy up with K, 1st and 8th and 2nd and 7th. The older kids are awesome with the younger ones. They do tons of activities together throughout the year. In 8th grade the big field trip is to the zoo with their 1st grade buddy. Parents are still there to chaperone but the 8th graders need to watch their buddy and make it fun.


I went to this type of school and never had any problems either.

 

[TwinsinCA]

Knowing what I know about the middle school here I would NOT want my kids going there a minute earlier than they have to. There are issues with drugs and bullying and I SEE what little monsters some can be while they pick up their younger siblings at the elementary school. The behavior is bad enough that they were banned from campus for a while and had to wait for their siblings across the street in the park.

 

[nmmom95]

We also have a PK-8 school with a buddy system. The older kids are great with the younger ones. I have 1st & 6th graders, so the little one has a buddy and the older one is a buddy. Both of them like the system. I have no problem with my 6 yo being with the older kids.

 

[Tinkmom75]

We grew up with K-12 on the bus. Different ages do sit in different sections because of socialization. I think the bus driver was often relieved when older kids helped out. Now the buses run K-5 and 6-12. People get upset that their 6th grader might be influenced by a 12th grader.

I don't know how I managed to survive and not be influenced by the evil older kids. I work with people 30 years older than me not to mention those young punks just out of college or the HS interns. I think I need to call my mommy

 

[FireDancer]

They're going to school with 8th graders, not prison inmates from a halfway house.

I just can't believe how fearful some of these parents are.

Yeah, it is a bit odd. It sounds like a bunch of Panicky Petes to me. I went to a private school that was K through 8 all in one building on one floor all connected by unobstructed hallways and it was never even thought that an "older" student would go wandering down to he K-3 wing and start abusing students.

We all had outdoor recess (weather permitting) for 8 of the 9 years (K was half day) and while we were assigned areas based on grade we were allowed to intermingle. Of course a lot of 8th graders didn't play with the 1st graders but it was never an issue. The kids who took the bus (I lived to close) all road together regardless of age and all stood at the same bus stops regardless of age.

 

[goofy!]

Maybe that's the difference...I have had kids in this school (K-8) since 1992 and in all that time there has never been a pregnant 8th grader.
It is a private school, and all private schools around here are K-8.

Our district mainly has k-5, 6-8, and all high schools are 9-12. However, there are several k-8 schools, one of which is my son's middle school There are about 750 kids in the school.

I have to say I love it. It is set up that the elementary school is downstairs with typical elementary school architecture. Upstairs is the middle school. Straight hallway with classrooms off of it and lockers. On the other side of the school, on the main floor are all the specials rooms.

I have never heard of an 8th grade pregnancy in our school. I have heard of them in some of the more classic middle schools.

Maybe it is just me, but it seems the k-8 structure keeps the middle schoolers a bit more humble since they have to share the school with little kids. The school takes the opportunity to create positive experiences between the little kids and the middle schoolers, such as mentoring and stressing setting good examples for the younger kids. My 7th grader last year mentored a 3rd grader. He loved it.

We have had a couple of instances of drugs up in the middle school and some sexting, but from what I have heard, the k-8 model does not have as many of those problems as the strictly middle schools.

 

[jodifla]

Our district mainly has k-5, 6-8, and all high schools are 9-12. However, there are several k-8 schools, one of which is my son's middle school There are about 750 kids in the school.

I have to say I love it. It is set up that the elementary school is downstairs with typical elementary school architecture. Upstairs is the middle school. Straight hallway with classrooms off of it and lockers. On the other side of the school, on the main floor are all the specials rooms.

I have never heard of an 8th grade pregnancy in our school. I have heard of them in some of the more classic middle schools.

Maybe it is just me, but it seems the k-8 structure keeps the middle schoolers a bit more humble since they have to share the school with little kids. The school takes the opportunity to create positive experiences between the little kids and the middle schoolers, such as mentoring and stressing setting good examples for the younger kids. My 7th grader last year mentored a 3rd grader. He loved it.

We have had a couple of instances of drugs up in the middle school and some sexting, but from what I have heard, the k-8 model does not have as many of those problems as the strictly middle schools.

That's a good point. I wonder if keeping the 8th graders with the younger kids has a positive effect, kinda keeping then seeing themselves as a big brother-sistern type as opposed to a mini-high-schooler.

The issue is here is that kids come from all different kinds of communities to our school, and the norm among the populations is different.

 

[allison443]

Our district mainly has k-5, 6-8, and all high schools are 9-12. However, there are several k-8 schools, one of which is my son's middle school There are about 750 kids in the school.

I have to say I love it. It is set up that the elementary school is downstairs with typical elementary school architecture. Upstairs is the middle school. Straight hallway with classrooms off of it and lockers. On the other side of the school, on the main floor are all the specials rooms.

I have never heard of an 8th grade pregnancy in our school. I have heard of them in some of the more classic middle schools.

Maybe it is just me, but it seems the k-8 structure keeps the middle schoolers a bit more humble since they have to share the school with little kids. The school takes the opportunity to create positive experiences between the little kids and the middle schoolers, such as mentoring and stressing setting good examples for the younger kids. My 7th grader last year mentored a 3rd grader. He loved it.

We have had a couple of instances of drugs up in the middle school and some sexting, but from what I have heard, the k-8 model does not have as many of those problems as the strictly middle schools.

Good points! I think it's very interesting that those of us on the thread who have actually had our kids in K-8 schools all report positive experiences, while the "horror stories" seem to come from schools with only the middle school grades.

 

[hereyago]

I remember in 2nd grade being able to walk to the office and give them the attendance report by myself. 1st grade you went with another kid from your class. The bathrooms were right there, we had open classrooms-pods-no doors. By 4th grade we could go run errands for teachers, by getting a projector from another teacher and we lived to tell the tale.


DD's elementary school had the buddy system, even in the mornings helping the younger kids out of the cars. By 1st grade, they could walk to the bathrooms themselves if needed and walk to the office or nurse. They did have seperate halls and ate at different times and did have different playgrounds.

Now DD is in middle school and once a week the high school students that are in the National honor society will come over after school and help tutor the kids in the library.


And people are like: there are drugs and bullies in middle school, really? You didn't have that growing up? I am 42 and we had bullies, mine was named Nancy Walker and there was a kid that was nicknamed Wino, guess why? Things are more rampant now, but they did exist back then.

 

[Daisy&Max]

Middle school teacher here (6th grade) and I get a lot of those questions at open house. I just assure the parents that in 17 years I've never lost a student during the year, let alone the first week of school. The parents are nervous about their baby going to the great big middle school. So as a teacher its my job to alleviate some of those fears. I tell the parents that they are way more nervous than their student. I get the same questions about the cafe, the halls, the buses and they are exactly the same from one year to the next. I don't consider those the helicopter parents.

I consider the parents that want to come into the first day of school and go to all the kids' classes with them to be helicopter parents. And no they are not allowed to do so.

Daisy

 

[NotUrsula]

All I can tell you is that my district has 35,000 kids per year enrolled in PreK-8 schools, and in the 8 years that DS has been attending, I've never heard a single story of a younger child being preyed on by an older one while walking down a hallway.

Our school does have separate restrooms for the middle schoolers, mostly just as a special privilege -- kind of like an executive washroom.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Please try not to flame me. In our school district, the 4th graders are now in the middle school. 4th-8th. Had our tour of the middle school last night. Now, keep in mind this is relatively rural Maine, there might be 40 something kids in dd9's grade. I do know that there are 46 kids in the upcoming freshman class...so it's pretty small. Anywhoo...the 4th and 5th graders are mainly on the first floor with the exception of "specials" aka, art, spanish, etc. The 6th-8th are upstairs.
Now...
Some of the parents were giving me the giggles with their questions
"you mean they eat breakfast with the whole school???" and "Omg, they aren't going to be allowed to walk the halls alone are they, they will have someone go with them to the bathroom and such, right???"
The guidance counselor basically said "yes, but honestly you'll never catch any of the older kids anywhere near the younger kids, that's simply the way the social circles work"...
When I was in school, the 4th through 8th grades were all in the same school. I think I turned out alright
Maybe it's because dd is one of the older kids in her grade - she'll be 10 the first week of school- I just don't have a problem with her in the same school as the older kids. I dunno...what do you all think?

I'd say they know something you don't know.

 

[jodifla]

I remember in 2nd grade being able to walk to the office and give them the attendance report by myself. 1st grade you went with another kid from your class. The bathrooms were right there, we had open classrooms-pods-no doors. By 4th grade we could go run errands for teachers, by getting a projector from another teacher and we lived to tell the tale.


DD's elementary school had the buddy system, even in the mornings helping the younger kids out of the cars. By 1st grade, they could walk to the bathrooms themselves if needed and walk to the office or nurse. They did have seperate halls and ate at different times and did have different playgrounds.

Now DD is in middle school and once a week the high school students that are in the National honor society will come over after school and help tutor the kids in the library.


And people are like: there are drugs and bullies in middle school, really? You didn't have that growing up? I am 42 and we had bullies, mine was named Nancy Walker and there was a kid that was nicknamed Wino, guess why? Things are more rampant now, but they did exist back then.

Absolutely we had that. But what we didn't have is the sexual behavior that goes on in middle schools these days.

I remember being afraid to go in some bathrooms in 7th grade, as a 7th grader. No way I'd want a 4th grader in there.

 

[tiggger1]

where I grew up in our school system was k-4 5-8 and 9-12. there is a huge uproar now because they are closing 2 schools and moving the all of the 8th graders to the high school. I think they should do what my town does. All the k's are in own building. then 1-5 are in 2 schools and then 6-8 are together and 9-12

 

[jodifla]

All I can tell you is that my district has 35,000 kids per year enrolled in PreK-8 schools, and in the 8 years that DS has been attending, I've never heard a single story of a younger child being preyed on by an older one while walking down a hallway.

Our school does have separate restrooms for the middle schoolers, mostly just as a special privilege -- kind of like an executive washroom.

Isn't it more because middle-schoolers are going through things like menstruation?

 

[Daisy&Max]

Isn't it more because middle-schoolers are going through things like menstruation?

Kids in elementary school start too and I'm not talking the kids that are in the 4th grade that are 12. Some girls start much earlier so i can't imagine that would be the only reason. Plus the boys wouldn't need a separate one if that is the reason.

 

[LuvOrlando]

We're in a nice suburban neighborhood. My DS12 just started 6th this year and we've had quite a few incidents. The most horrible incident happened when a 6th grade girl found herself alone in the 8th grade hallway. A bunch of the 8th grade boys made a wall and backed her into a corner where the poor thing was groped. I don't know where any of you went to school but when I was in 7th & 8th getting grabbed and having my skirt thrown up was a daily occurrence. I used to kick but didn't tell, then one day one of the boys mother's actually complained to the principal that her son had cuts on his shins from me kicking him. Well, I finally did tell my family and the school did nothing. My brother, however, had his friends make a wall and beat the tar out of the little perv in the school yard and after that no-one ever bothered me again.

My DD11 is headed to the same middle school as my DS12 this year and the one big thing she has gong for her is that all my DS's friends know her and tend to be protective of her.