So the eldest gel starts seventh grade this morning.
In my particular neck of the woods, middle school lasts for two years, the seventh and eighth grades. On the other hand, in my own yoot, Dwight David Eisenhower Junior High also encompassed sixth grade. I understand from asking around that there is no clear consensus on whether sixth ought to be the first of the middle school or the last of the elementary years.
Personally, I think there’s much to be said for not starting middle school until seventh, primarily because it seems to me that it’s better for kids right on the cusp of adolescence to start easing into it in the relatively secure position of being at the top of the elementary food chain rayther than at the bottom of the more Hobbesian middle school one.
The Port Stands At Your Elbow 
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August 30, 2010 at 6:58 pm
lumps937
I like the way the Young Master’s school handled it. He was in the same school, K-8, but 6th, 7th and 8th were considered middle school. The students had multiple teachers, lockers, and passing periods, which prepared them well for high school, but in the comforting confines of the school they already knew and felt comfortable in. Also, it gave them the opportunity to serve the younger students and model good behaviors for them. The Young Master thoroughly enjoyed middle school, but I’m sure part of that has to do with the excellent teaching staff at the school
My junior high experience, on the other hand, left much to be desired.
August 30, 2010 at 7:10 pm
Robbo
I should have clarified that it’s the publick system here that has a separate school for 7th and 8th. In fact, the gel’s new school operates very much the way you describe.