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Could Middle School Bullying be a Thing of the Past?
posted by: Cindy Omlin | September 29, 2016, 08:06 PM   

According to the latest research on bullying in school, new evidence suggests that the solution to bullying may be to get rid of middle school all together!

No. Not get rid of it as in taking away those years of schooling, but rather in combining middle school level grades with elementary and high school instead!

The reason is simple.

As NPR put it, "In the K-8 schools, those tweens and young teens were the 'top dogs' — the oldest, the most comfortable and familiar with the school. But, in traditional middle schools and 6-12 schools, sixth-graders were the 'bottom dogs.'"

Needless to say that the hormonal changes taking place within students makes 6th grade tough enough as it is. So re-imagine yourself in middle school vying for popularity among 6th graders and wanting so badly to fit in with the "cool 8th-graders." No one disagrees that there won't be some period of time in which once top dogs have to start from the bottom again, however what difference might there have been if 6th grade was no longer at the bottom, but somewhere at the top, or even in the middle?

Would it surprise you to know that students who were were not at the bottom of the educational totum pole received higher grades and reported feeling a greater sense of safety, security, and acceptance?

There's still much debate over what to do with this first-of-its-kind research, but we'll be looking for the next chapter in the story as more research unfolds.


Would you wipe out middle school if it meant whipping out bullying?
Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

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