Why do middle grade teachers choose to teach children who are, by the public and colleagues alike, generally considered to be rebellious, frantic, confused, irresponsible, inattentive and driven by obsession about boy-girl issues? The kindergarten teacher loves the innocence and wonder of the five year-old, and the senior high school teacher cherishes the opportunity to teach late adolescent students, who offer an expanding consciousness and the ability to think like adults. But why would one want to spend day after day with children in their “storm and stress” stage of life?

Ten to fourteen year olds pose a difficult challenge when we seek to establish any single definition of who they are and what matters to them. These young people are changing rapidly from the physically smaller size and more typically docile, obedient temperament of earlier childhood. Perhaps that is why so many labels are used to describe these youngsters: in-betweeners, transescents, pubescents, junior high kids, middlers, teenagers, emerging adolescents, early adolescents. We must think of these variably developing children in terms of a period of several years during which the transition from childhood to full adolescence is accomplished.

One writer has noted how much research is done by market analysts on young adolescents in order “to advise corporations that stand to make a huge profit if they can successfully exploit particular characteristics of the students' imaginations” (Kieran Egan, in his insightful book, Imagination in Teaching and Learning, (London, ON: The Althouse Press, 1992) p. 88). If businesses can get their profit from a careful consideration of the characteristics of the young adolescent, so should we who are concerned about the spiritual, emotional, academic, and physical well-being of our children.

Who are these middle grade children? Think of the age group from 10 to 14 years old, corresponding approximately with the grades five to nine. There are certain needs, conditions and generalizations which characterise these young adolescents.

Self-Concept⤒🔗

You will never meet a youngster who doesn't care about being a success. They all have a need to become accomplished in whatever way matters to them. Young adolescents are growing rapidly in self-awareness and aspirations.

By the time youngsters reach the middle grades, they have already had lots of experience pursuing success. Most of them have succeeded often enough that their natural striving is still functional and they are optimistic about continued success. Others, however, have had a much harder time of it. What is truly remarkable about them is that, no matter how badly things have gone for them in the past years, they are eager to be optimistic, receptive to a genuine invitation to make a fresh start, willing to try again.

They Need to be Liked←⤒🔗

Ask a thirteen year old why she leaves home in the morning to go to school. Is it to learn or to be with her friends? While we would like to believe that these youngsters have the maturity to desire an education, in actual fact their school environment is essentially a social environment. They need interaction. Learning is more or less a by-product that comes with the deal. During the transition years from childhood to adolescence, there is a gradual shift from parents as the primary influence to a growing predominance of selected peers and peer groups. It has to be kept in mind, though, that youngsters want to be liked both by peers and by the adults in their lives.

Adults must be responsive to that need for recognition and respect. Children want to be recognized as producers with worthwhile contributions to society and find great satisfaction in receiving the approval of selected adults. Often there is disparity between what they perceive as worthy of adult recognition and what the adult regards as worthwhile. When these children ache for belonging but are ignored or outwardly rejected, the pain runs deep and may profoundly affect the youngsters' relationships.

They Desire Fairness←⤒🔗

Children do not live in a moral vacuum. They will not consider themselves happy just because they do well in school and are accepted by their peers and adults. They are strongly aware that there are rules and understandings regarding moral and ethical behaviour. In everything they see, hear and experience, they are faced with the dichotomies of right and wrong, justice and injustice, truth and falsehood, good and evil, courage and cowardice, loyalty and betrayal. Whether or not they always act as we would like it, they are fully aware of the choices.

This is the stage in which youngsters face a great deal of internal struggle between what they believe and what they wind up doing. A young adolescent can be unforgivingly hard on herself because she “blew it.” She can become very upset if there is a perceived unfairness or untruthful reflection of events. Here's the time when the standards and behaviours we model become so very critical to their private challenges.

They Need Physical Exercise and a Freedom of Movement←⤒🔗

If any young adolescent were asked what he is really good at his answer will likely refer to physical activities such as running, swimming, skating or any other kind of sports. These children have an enormous amount of energy which they need to express physically.

But this goes further than just P.E. class or intramural activities. They need some physical freedom during the school day. A feeling of confinement can interfere with their learning more than they realize. Many adults still resent some of their school experiences, years after they have left, because they couldn't stand having to sit still in a desk all the time. A teaching approach that uses an assortment of groupings and activities provides an outlet for the children that will help them to concentrate all the more when it counts.

They Like Extreme and Unusual Things←⤒🔗

The kind of knowledge that captures the young adolescent's imagination and interest deals with the extremes and limits of human experiences: the most outrageous or cruelest acts, the strangest and most bizarre natural phenomena, the most terrible and wonderful events. TV movies, shows and books have exploited this prominent characteristic successfully for a long time. Students seem to be interested in limits and extremes because such exotica provide the context within which their daily lives and experiences are meaningful. By establishing the limits, they get a sense of where the familiar fits in, what its meaning is. Educators still have a long way to go in capitalizing on this characteristic as an opportunity for learning.

They Have an Ability to Pay Close Attention to Detail Once their Interest is Aroused←⤒🔗

Young adolescents are discovering that we live in a real world, unlike the extensive fantasy world of childhood, and knowing about it clearly matters in a pragmatic way. But, in order to know about the world, you have to have a sense of its limits. To explore something in exhaustive detail is a way of gaining some intellectual control over it. It gives the comfort of realizing that the world is not limitless.

We see this kind of exploration in the obsessive hobbies or collections that reach a peak during this period. Students who collect hockey cards are driven by a strong impulse to get a complete set of some kind. Some satisfaction comes from discovering what the limits are. Stamp collectors tend to become more and more specialized focussing on more minute variations that determine the set of their specialty. This intense interest in detail can become an ally in educational efforts if it is recognized and effectively employed.

They Have a Need for Learning things by Means of Emotions such as Hopes, Fears, Intentions←⤒🔗

Journalists call this the “human interest level.” To learn about some abstract thing through an anecdote or an illustration puts a face to it. It makes it all more engaging and meaningful. A story of human endurance, foresight, ingenuity, compassion or suffering grabs the student's attention. Such stories are a prime vehicle for teaching, be it about natural phenomena or geography or anything else.

Things in themselves are not as interesting to children, as are the hopes, fears, and interests surrounding them. Emotions help them make sense of the world around them. Usually this connection with emotions leads to a connection with stories. Narratives and word pictures have the ability to bring factual events or knowledge about things together with emotions. Stories therefore are a necessary part in the learning process of the young adolescent. For most adults this characteristic has not worn off. We still need a story to bring home the dogma or concept we are trying to understand. We cannot learn with our emotions switched off.

They Love the Opportunity to Identify with a Hero←⤒🔗

We are not talking here about a fantasy-type hero, such as Sir Galahad or Superman. The hero is a person who lives in the real world, or in a plausible world, and who overcomes the constraints of reality that hem the rest of us in.

Particularly between 8 and 15, students are increasingly recognizing themselves as distinct individuals and sensing their growing powers. But in our society, students of this age are also relatively powerless. They are subject to parents' rules, school rules and constraints of many kinds everywhere they turn.

The hero is someone who is subject to the same kind of rules, but he or she somehow transcends them. Many of the “teen-exploitation” movies or novels such as Anne of Green Gables feature a character supposedly subject to the same constraints as the students watching or reading. What makes the character heroic is his or her ability to transcend the constraints, and to triumph over all those who represent the constraining forces.

The student as an “observer” associates with the confidence, self-reliance, persistence, energy and ingenuity that enable the hero to achieve a delicious sense of freedom in which the student shares. That is, the student thinks of herself or himself as embodying the transcendent quality represented in the hero. The students, as it were, “try on” the heroic qualities that they admire.

They Look at Things as Rather Black and White, Idealising the Good and Revolting Against whatever does not Meet the Ideal←⤒🔗

The young adolescent begins to realize that the constraints of this world limit but at the same time protect. It is a period of growing ambivalence, during which children seek to resist the adult world and at the same time to find a place in it. Adjusting from dependence to growing power and independence brings tensions and conflict. The conflicts often display themselves when the adult world denies the student some freedom that he really wants. It breeds a sense of injustice in the student. Revolt against the adult norms and expectations is the usual response. The forms of revolt are many: from sulking reluctance, to quiet resistance, to flaunting styles of hair, clothing, and music, to outright refusal to play the adult game.

The child revolts because he feels that a certain ideal has not been met. He has not yet developed the understanding that things or people are not necessarily all bad or all good. To the young adolescent a thing is either “totally radical, awesome” and “off the wall,” or “it stinks, it is geeky.” A person is either totally cool or he is a nerd.

During this period, young people can be uncompromising with regard to what they think the world ideally should be like. They express ideals and experiment with ideal roles for themselves. They “try on” behavioural roles for a while, roles such as the tease, the macho, the super athlete, the serene lady, the socialite, the cool dude, the iceberg, the friendly innocent. They imagine themselves embodying extreme powers, beauty, intelligence, daring, and wealth; saving the planet from evil, defending the innocent and pure, and so on. The daydreams are a vehicle by which they form ideals, get a sense of direction and try out different possibilities.

Clearly, children in these middle years are different and therefore must be challenged and treated differently. There is a need for the adults in their lives to acknowledge their increasing independent nature and insecurity. We need to respond by giving responsibilities and showing caring and trust.

If we are to help these students to become responsible stewards we have to give close attention to what they are like. Our recognition of the characteristics of young adolescents can make a big difference in their learning and development.

Among the characteristics that distinguish the young adolescent from older and younger children we considered qualities that have to do with self-concept; a need to be liked; need of physical activity; desire for fairness; intrigue with extreme and unusual things; the ability to pay close attention to detail; the inclination to learn by way of emotions; love of heroes; and the tendency to idealize and think in terms of black and white.

Many of these characteristics have implications for the way in which parents, teachers and other adults interact with these young people.

Helping to Develop a Positive Self-Concept←⤒🔗

To help the young adolescent develop a positive self-concept he needs to experience that he is special in the eyes of God and of adults near him. This is not a general feel-good emotion that neglects a person's faults. It is rather an honest acknowledgement of the Father's wisdom and grace which He manifests in His creatures. He knows very well what He is doing when He gives His children certain strengths and withholds other ones from them. When Moses complained to God that his speech impediment rendered him useless for the task of leading the Israelites, Yahweh responded indignantly that He had given Moses that difficulty for His own good purpose.

The adults in the lives of young adolescents have to help them come to grips with who they are by constantly giving feedback that challenges them to use God's gifts successfully. There may be times that parents have to consider seriously whether enrolling their child in music or sports activities will create the needed personal challenge and opportunity for success. A drama club or computer club, a family hike or special school activity, may be what it takes to help the young adolescent shine. Special one-on-one time with son or daughter seems contrived to some parents, but it usually provides the recognition and the long memories that make a big difference for the young person.

Many middle schools have scheduled “advisory times” on their timetable. These are special time slots in which a teacher and a small group of students get the opportunity to “sit around” and spend time together. For some twenty minutes they volunteer whatever they want about their usual activities, they talk about highlights and difficulties in the academic program, or make plans for special needs, occasions or projects.

The main benefit of an advisory is that it gives some time in which the young adolescents can relate to an adult outside the structured academic framework. It is very helpful in building some rapport, especially in school situations where the students spend blocks of forty or fifty minutes with different adults without any of them having an opportunity to relate to him personally. Adults often don't realize how much young adolescents need them as mirrors to reflect how they are doing in their process of maturation.

Providing Physical Freedom←⤒🔗

Because of their high energy level, young adolescents need some physical freedom during the school day. Teachers schedule bathroom breaks and subject switches to break up long periods. They allow some slouching on chairs where we would desire prosper sitting. They allow walking through the classroom at times that do not interfere with teaching and learning. While some of this may seem chaotic at first glance, if operated within an understood structure it can break the feeling of confinement and actually help the learning.

A 100-metre run is a challenge few young adolescents will turn down, especially if they see a really good chance to beat a teacher or parent. That kind of friendly competition builds relationships and respect that may provide more benefit than only good physical exercise. The occasional peer wrestling match is often a good way of getting the adrenaline flow under control, and it allows for greater calm and concentration when the serious work demands it.

Significant Adults←⤒🔗

Some adults close to the young adolescent are in a position in which they are more likely than others to be role models and confidants. They are often called “the significant adults” in the lives of the young adolescent. Young adolescents are extremely fine-tuned to the little inconsistencies that adults display in their dealings with the rules, and they can be very intolerant of such infractions. The significant adults need to be especially careful to be approachable, accessible, fair, willing to stand corrected, appreciative of what they can learn from the young adolescent. For some adults that kind of interaction with people who are in many respects still children seems out of place. Yet, it has to be remembered that in their own eyes these “children” are nearly adults who have begun to understand some of the adult rules and want to adopt them strictly and religiously. It is the ambivalence of their in-between situation that causes them to careen between adult-like and childlike behaviour. Like little children they swing about on wobbly legs, but with practice and patience they can become athletes.

The significant adults, more than anyone, have to be perceived as firm on their rules, guided by Christian principles which they struggle to live by seriously. Discipline then becomes part of a learning process. The young adolescent needs to be involved in the decision making regarding punishment because he is learning to live in a differently structured environment. The motivation to live by certain principles and rules shifts. A child obeys because he has to or because he fears the consequences; the adult does so because he has accepted that a certain rule or principle is right. The young adolescent will develop that adult attitude if he is allowed to try it on and practice with it.

For the sake of the young adolescent, parents and teachers may need to have a working knowledge of the Guinness Book Records, Reader's Digest stories and so on, or at least develop an interest in them. Many of the extreme and awesome things that captivate the young mind can be used as illustrations of important concepts or as evidence of God's greatness. Encourage the young adolescent to develop a personal list of extreme things and to find stories about explorations and far away countries. Show interest in his exhibition of collections of stamps, cards and model cars. These collections can be very stimulating if they are handled within a framework of limits and discernment, just like any other thing which Christians do.

Our communication and instruction has to be spiced with stories and anecdotes. Teachers, parents and ministers need to make a serious effort to give a face to what they want the young adolescent to learn. It may not be easy for a minister to become comfortable with illustrating his points graphically at regular intervals, yet the alternative is often allowing the young people to tune out. It may be difficult for the teacher to develop a repertoire of word pictures that can help to make abstract concepts come alive. More often than not, those narratives need only be well chosen, vivid illustrations. Sometimes a longer captivating story is needed to bring in the emotional element that helps to internalize the matter the young adolescent has to learn.

Finding Real Heroes←⤒🔗

Unbalanced negative condemnation of the music the young adolescent wants to hear, or of the hockey star he admires, is counter-productive and it misses an important opportunity. The desire for a hero can be very useful. Parents and educators have to look for positive role models (“heroes”) for whom they can share joy and excitement of the young adolescent.

The job for adults is to stay up to date the young adolescent to develop a person with the developments that speak to the young people's minds. It takes work to find real heroes who model godly living but it is important that they be found; they compete with many powerful, ungodly heroes.

Parents and educators will have to be prepared to ride along on the roller-coaster ride of the child's mood swings and opinions (from awesome to geeky) helping with the steering whenever they need to. It requires their patience to let the young adolescent talk about the wild ideals and emotional revolts however ambivalent they may appear. These young people are at a stage as difficult as that of the two-year-old who wants to do everything himself and needs everyone's help at it. Young adolescents need the space to act out roles in order to find their own limits. While that erratic behaviour may test the adults' limits it makes perfect sense to the young person.

Maturing in Christian Service←⤒🔗

In short, young adolescents are strongly preoccupied with the self. One of the ways in which the Christian community has to help young adolescents develop an understanding of themselves is in teaching them the role of service. Service is a characteristic of the Christian; it is essential to his image-bearing. “Service is specific loving actions directed toward other people and the rest of God's world” (Joan Stob, Educating for Responsible Service. Grand Rapids: Christian Schools International, 1989, p 8).

Few things can help the young adolescent better than the challenge to practice mature Christian behaviour.

A self-sacrificial attitude of service does not come easy; it has to be learned and by God's grace, it can be learned in a practical and concrete way. Implementation of service programs and consistent use of cooperative learning strategies are just two important tools that compliment the modeling by parents and teachers.

Service activities in the school include such things as older students helping younger ones in social and academic activities, buddy programs in which students pair off with differently talented or handicapped peers, writing letters and cards, fundraising and item drives for needy causes, care for plants and animals, peer tutoring, making gifts, sponsoring an orphan, clean-up campaigns, reading onto tapes for shut-ins, writing letters-to-the-editor regarding community causes, maintaining a recycling program, etc. Outside the school they can visit and help the elderly and the sick, display art in care homes and hospitals, perform music for community members, volunteer as aides or candy stripers, assist in senior exercise programs, serve food for community groups, collect and distribute food and clothing at Thanksgiving and Christmas, befriend lonely sick and elderly people, babysit for needy parents, do maintenance and repair work for elderly people, do shopping for the homebound and so on.

One of the good things about service is its positive thrust, as opposed to the pressure to refrain from what God prohibits. The motivation that drives it should be compassion, rather than pity or the creation of good public relations. Kids will not often know the difference unless compassionate behaviour is modeled for them by parents and teachers.

Service programs, initiated in the school and the church community, emphasize an important Christian responsibility to the young adolescent and at the same time are very meaningful for those who are served. “Actual service programs are necessary if students are to develop the tendency to serve. We would not think of teaching math without assigning problems or teaching composition without having the students write.” (Stob, p. 24). Service activities are related to the academic program in that they are the logical, practical conclusion of what the school's curriculum teaches. To the young adolescent this practical implication of what is learned makes good sense but is difficult to work out. That's why it should be taught a step at a time.

Cooperative Learning Strategies←⤒🔗

Cooperative learning strategies are meant to develop social skills and task skills that are necessary to deal well with others. How the students are learning is as important as what they are learning. If we recognize the responsibility each Christian, regardless of age, has for those whom God places on his path, then we have to consider the quality of the interactions. Attention for cooperative learning strategies is also a recognition of the way most learning takes place outside the school. In the family, learning is always in the context of interaction. There are few occupations where people work and learn in isolation. Most adults are working in environments that require constant cooperation and interaction with coworkers. In that sense cooperative learning activities are a logical preparation for the workplace.

Cooperative activities generally use heterogeneous groups, no larger than four students. Each of the students has a particular task such as recorder, sound monitor, researcher, reader or summarizer. The assignments for the groups are such that the students must depend on each other to complete them. This principle of interdependence causes students to check each other's learning and to help each other learn.

Cooperative learning strategies become ineffective if they are over-emphasized. They are rarely used more than 40 per cent of the instructional time. Some math teachers require of their students that they complete a number of equations together before they start their math assignment. The one student has to check and confirm that the other understands the concept and that he can apply it. Some shop teachers will limit the number of tools given to a group of students in order to force their cooperation. A social studies teacher challenges a group of students to write a report about a city. They discuss which part each will research and later work together in drafting the final version of the report. A parent presents her children with a dilemma that can be solved in a variety of ways. She has her children share and discuss the possible responses till they agree which solution they favour. A teacher challenges groups of students to discuss their opinions about a novel and to formulate a critique.

While students are individually tested on their acquisition of what was learned, they are also rewarded for group performances. Observation and evaluation of the cooperative learning process by both teacher and students always follow the activity. It needs to be discussed whether a social skill or task skill is indeed successfully applied. Skills such as “disagreeing politely, asking questions, taking turns, hearing each other out, no put downs, encouraging each other, summarizing what was just said, asking to explain, giving praise, staying on topic,” are concrete things that can be taught in a positive way. They are skills we want our children to have and we would be foolish to think that they will acquire them automatically. Knowing the young adolescent's self-preoccupied mind, Christian parents and teachers have to challenge them to serve each other through the learning process.

A final remark. Every child of God's covenant needs a father like Job and a mother like Augustine's mother Monica; they prayed for their children without ceasing. Young adolescents need our prayers, consistently and publicly. That is the most practical and powerful thing that can be done.