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Middle School Awaits

Daditorial
MIDDLE SCHOOL AWAITS

By: Cody Harris | September 2, 2022

It’s finally happening. This fall, our oldest son is off to middle school. Middle school: those two words have filled me with anxiety ever since, well, ever since I was in middle school. I remember those years as being tumultuous, fraught, confusing and challenging. The schoolwork gets harder, the social dynamics get more complicated, the athletics get more competitive and the expectations get higher. On top of all that, you have hormones releasing, bodies changing, brain chemistry morphing and sleep patterns shifting.

Middle school really is in the middle: my son isn’t a little kid anymore, but he’s not whatever comes next either. He’s a young man, with emphasis on young. He goes from silly to responsible and back again in the blink of an eye. If it’s bewildering to me, I can only imagine how it feels for him.

But time marches on, and middle school awaits. Apart from all the knowledge and skills that he will gain in the classroom, here are the things I’m looking forward to for him, in no particular order:

More responsibility. I like that our son will have to navigate his schedule, figuring out where to go, what to bring and which homework is due when.
Lockers! Remember when you got your very first locker? That was a huge deal. It’s like having your miniature apartment. A place for your books, a few knickknacks, maybe the occasional note slipped between the cracks.
Electives. It will be great for our son to explore some new subjects and classes.
An older peer group. As a new middle schooler, our son will be a fifth grader milling about in a school filled with eighth graders. There’s a big gap between a fifth grader and an eighth grader, mentally, physically and emotionally. But there’s an even wider chasm between a kindergartener and a fifth grader. And all things equal, I’m excited for our son to start learning how to fit in with an older crowd rather than a younger one.

And here are the things that cause me parental angst, in no particular order:

The social minefield. Thinking back to my time in middle school, I recall how quickly social dynamics could shift. Your best friend on Monday was your mortal enemy by Thursday. Kids could be just plain mean. I hope things have evolved since my middle school days, but I have a feeling that kids will always be kids. I worry about whether my kid will be on the receiving end of taunts and teases, or even worse, trying to impress some peer group by being less than kind to someone else. Being kind is often hard for adults; being a kind middle schooler is a tall order, but so important.
Staying organized. Some kids are born with an innate organization gene. Others, not so much. In my day, we had trapper-keepers (remember those?) that had a folder for every subject. Do they still make those? If not, how do these kids keep track of everything? I guess we’ll find out.
Social media. Middle school was hard enough when it entailed going to school and the occasional three-way phone call. But now? Do middle schoolers have Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and who knows what else? I have no plans to let my fifth grader anywhere near social media, but will that make him a social pariah?
Extracurricular learning. Middle schoolers may learn as much from each other as they do in the classroom – it’s just learning of a different sort. I expect our son to be exposed to colorful new language and some other facts of life that I may not have gotten around to explaining quite yet. My hope is that we have good lines of communication open so that he will feel comfortable asking me about things he’s heard or has questions about. Should make for some interesting conversations around the dinner table!

All in all, I’m excited for our son to embark on this new chapter. There will be highs and lows as he navigates the wild storms of middle school and adolescence in general. We’ve heard only good things about our local middle school and feel fortunate to live in a community that emphasizes kindness and respect. So I will do my best to put my own middle school memories behind me, and get ready for four years of excitement, growth, and change. Wish us luck!

Cody Harris lives in Kentfield with his wife, Rebecca. They have two grade-school aged boys, Emmett and Levi, and a pre-school aged daughter, Annanit. When they’re not chasing their brood around, Cody’s a litigator and Rebecca is an RN and Lactation Consultant.