Now More Than Ever

Sue Swaim, Executive Director
National Middle School Association

The events of September 11, 2001 and all that has happened since those horrific initial moments the terrorists struck have had an incredible and lasting effect on all of us. The images of terrorism and the resulting displays of heroism have been imbedded in our minds and hearts. The need to be with our families, to assure ourselves that our loved ones are safe has been a compelling force for many. For educators, that need has been amplified for we have a "school family" to care for as well. Students look not only to their parents but to their teachers and principals for reassurance and answers in a time of fear and unrest. And as educators, we have responded. We have worked with great care to reassure our students that they are safe. We have helped them think through their questions and have tried to ready them for a future that will never be the same.

Naturally, I find myself reflecting upon what it means to be a middle level educator in today's world and how National Middle School Association can best respond to this new reality. Certainly our mission statement which claims we are “dedicated to improving the educational experiences of young adolescents by providing vision, knowledge, and resources to all who serve them in order to develop healthy, productive, and ethical citizens" remains valid, but it now takes on new meaning and new urgency.

I find myself particularly drawn to the closing words of our mission statement "to develop healthy, productive, and ethical citizens." As we experience a resurgence of patriotism and as our nation's response to terrorism unfolds, middle level educators find themselves engaged in some of the most important work of all by helping our soon-to-be adults develop the skills, attitudes, and values that will direct their behavior in the years ahead. Perhaps more than any other group, our students hold the future of our democracy in their hands. The quality of education they experience during the middle years will largely determine how well they become healthy, productive, and ethical citizens.

Certainly the time is right for NMSA to move forward in its advocacy work, services, and resource development initiatives that are designed to support implementation of middle level schools that are academically excellent and developmentally appropriate. Now, more than ever before, we have a body of knowledge built through both research and extensive practice that clearly shows the middle school philosophy works when it is fully implemented with consistency over time. Currently, however, our advocacy and implementation work is being challenged due to the fact that over the past few decades too many schools have taken on the name and grade configuration of "middle school" but have fallen far short of fully implementing the middle school philosophy.

Added to this, we find ourselves in an age of accountability that defines school success almost solely on the results of high-stakes tests. Unfortunately, these tests are often misunderstood and misused as benchmarks for high standards and high academic achievement. Such tests do not provide this type of evidence, nor do they assess the progress made on many of the other goals of middle schools.

In the past few weeks our responsibility as middle level educators and advocates of quality middle level education has been intensified. We must continue our call for middle level schools to provide curriculum that is challenging, integrative, and exploratory. We must develop varied teaching and learning approaches as well as assessment and evaluation strategies that promote learning. We must renew our efforts to ensure every student has teachers and administrators who are committed to working with them and have been appropriately prepared through ongoing professional development and middle level focused teacher or administrator preparation.

While we recognize and fully embrace the need for appropriate accountability in our work, we must also be ready to take a stand regarding testing as the only indicator of appropriate academic progress. For as we struggle with the number of tests to administer and the appropriate use of those test results, we risk losing our focus on the fundamental purpose of public education: to prepare students to become active participants in our American democracy.

Based upon that fundamental education priority, we must forge ahead in our efforts to advocate and implement middle level schools that engage every student in a relevant, challenging, and meaningful curriculum AND do so in an environment that fosters respectful and supportive relationships among students, faculty, families, and the community. We must work together to help schools provide opportunities for every student to become an active participant in his or her school and community. We must support character education and service learning as ongoing, integrated components of today's curriculum, not add-ons available to only a few rather than to all. It's time to set aside the debate of academic rigor vs. developmental responsiveness and recognize we can't be in an "either/or" situation. It takes the combination and balance of the two to ensure a quality education for every student.

The task ahead of us requires even stronger commitment and harder work. Change is never easy and always takes more time than we would like. But as the events of September 11th so poignantly dramatized-we have no other choice. Failure to provide every one of our students a quality education that develops each one's skills and talents to the fullest is not an acceptable option. To do less diminishes our ability to help every young adolescent become a healthy, productive, and ethical citizen and puts our own democratic nation in jeopardy.