Examines the concept of interdisciplinary team teaching and poses some questions which should help answer the question in the title. (Editor/RK)

There is a need for leadership in the development of effective middle level schools in the United States. Despite the increasing numbers of schools that call themselves middle schools, there has not been much change in the educational program for pupils in grades 6, 7, and 8. Leaders in middle grades education need to examine current data about…

This article describes the revised summer school program developed by the Anchorage (AK) School District for students who received poor grades in their core classes or low scores in the Alaska Benchmark Examinations or California Achievement Tests. More than 500 middle school students from the district spent five weeks during the summer honing…

This manifesto outlines the purposes, instructional program, facilities, allocation of resources, financing, and implementation of a private elementary and middle school that is based on the concepts of professional accountability and individualized learning. The school would be organized around learning families that cross grade and ability…

The emerging middle school movement throughout the United States today is in part an effort to rediscover, redefine, revamp, and reintroduce the basic pedagogical principles of adolescent learning upon which the junior high school was established almost seventy years ago. Proponents of the middle school support the rationale that children 10 to 14…

A half-century or more of experience with the traditional junior high school has led many educators to conclude that it is failing to answer the needs of preadolescent and early adolescent children (transescents). The middle school approach can provide the best kind of educational program for children undergoing rapid physical, mental, emotional,…

Discusses the implementation of a student-designed integrative curriculum taught by team teachers in a middle school classroom. Considers the role of computer technology in organizing the curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Describes the process of engaging students, encouraging them to develop their curriculum, and selecting and completing…

Inherent in the middle school philosophy is the recognition that students vary widely in their stages of physical, cognitive, and affective development. A special school is needed to meet the unique requirements of these transitional youth. The history and present trends of the middle school reflect dissatisfaction with the junior high school. A…

Experience of the Liverpool Middle School, Liverpool, New York, provides a rationale for organizing school systems to include ungraded middle schools. If, as evidence indicates, today's youth are maturing earlier, are more sophisticated, and are capable of greater accomplishment, then the traditional grade 7-8-9 arrangement does not meet the needs…

This study attempted to show that preparation for and use of an audiovideo dial-select information retrieval system in a new middle school could help to change the teacher's role from that of dispenser of information to guide in an independent learning situation. Because of unavoidable delays in the installation of the dial-select equipment, the…

This book provides teachers with practical information for managing their work both in and out of the classroom. Highlights include advice on more than 80 subjects, book suggestions and games for the classroom, suggestions to help veteran teachers stay motivated and avoid burnout, and tips for new teachers on the first day and first week of school…