Researchers at the University of Michigan have studied the transition from elementary to middle school and have found that:

• On average, children’s grades drop dramatically during the first year of middle school compared to their grades in elementary school.
• After moving to junior high school, children become less interested in school and less self-assured about their abilities.
• Compared to elementary schools, middle schools are more controlling, less cognitively challenging and focus more on competition and comparing students’ ability.

Through this and other similar research, psychologists have discovered a “developmental mismatch” between the environment and philosophy of middle schools and the children they attempt to teach. At a time when children’s cognitive abilities are increasing, middle school offers them fewer opportunities for decision-making and lower levels of cognitive involvement, but a more complex social environment. At the same time, numerous teachers have replaced the single classroom teacher and students often face larger classes and a new group of peers.

These factors all interact to make the transition to junior high school difficult for many youngsters. Studies find the decreased motivation and self-assuredness contribute to poor academic performance; poor grades trigger more self-doubt and a downward spiral can begin.

New Learning Environment and New Goals

Elementary schools and elementary teachers often tend to be more task-oriented in their teaching: The goal is to master a certain task such as learning addition or subtraction.

In junior high schools, however, the goal of teaching often becomes attaining a certain grade. Learning is still key, but measuring performance is also part of the equation.

As the goals of the game change, some students adjust and thrive while others do not. Why?

Many psychologists who study childhood education believe that an important key is how children think about their own intelligence and abilities. If a child thinks of his or her intelligence as fixed — I’m either this dumb or this smart — he or she will avoid tasks that challenge their ability or risk failure. Instead, they choose to work on problems that they already know how to solve.

Children who think of intelligence as malleable — they believe they can get smarter if they work at it — look for challenging tasks and look at failure as a way to learn and improve. These children tend to blame their failures on a lack of effort rather than a lack of ability.

Which Students Do the Best?

According to the research, children who believe that intelligence can change over time made the best adjustment to secondary school; this is true even if these children had low self-confidence. It was actually the high-confidence kids who believed that their intelligence was fixed who had the most trouble making the transition. These kids apparently believed that they should be able to do well because they were smart and that extra effort in order to learn a new skill was not necessary. When “effortless” learning did not take place, these students lost confidence, motivation and interest.

What Can Parents Do?

• Encourage your child to try new things, learn new skills.
• Tell them that it is OK to fail and act that way when they do fail.
• Teach them that learning takes effort, time and practice.

  Source: American Psychological Association

Worth 5 minutes of your time.  Played at Sony executive meeting last year.

For people with friends and family living in Haiti, watching news coverage of the earthquake’s devastation can be very distressing, particularly if there is no news on their safety and well-being.  Even for those without personal connections to the country, the news coverage can be overwhelming.

APA offers the following tips to manage your distress:

• Take a news break. Watching endless replays of footage from the disaster can make your stress even greater.  Although you will want to keep informed – especially if you have loved ones in Haiti – taking a break from watching the news can lessen your distress.
• Control what you can. There are routines in your life that you can continue such as going to work or school and making meals.  It is helpful to maintain these routines and schedules to give yourself a break from constantly thinking about the earthquake.
• Engage in healthy behaviors. Eat well-balanced meals, engage in regular exercise like going for a long walk, and get plenty of rest. Bolstering your physical well-being is good for your emotional health and can enhance your ability to cope.
• Keep things in perspective. While an earthquake can bring tremendous hardship and loss, remember to focus on the things that are good in your life.  Persevere and trust in your ability to get through the challenging days ahead.
• Find a productive way to help if you can. Many organizations are set up to provide various forms of aid to survivors. Contributing or volunteering is a positive action that can help you to make a difference.
• Strive for a positive outlook. Many people who have experienced tragedy find that they grow in some respect as a result of persevering through the hardship.  Over time, people can discover personal strengths and develop a greater appreciation for life.

For many people, using the tips above may be sufficient to get them through current challenges.  At times, however, an individual can have difficulty managing intense reactions. A licensed mental health professional such as a psychologist can assist you in developing an appropriate strategy for moving forward. It is important to get professional help if you feel like you are unable to function or perform basic activities of daily living. You can find psychologists near you by contacting your state psychological association. Many of these psychologists are trained in trauma and disaster work.

Psychologists are licensed by the state in which they practice.  With doctoral degrees, they receive one of the highest levels of education of all health care professionals, spending an average of seven years in education and training after they receive their undergraduate degrees.

(Special thanks for help from Raymond F. Hanbury, PhD, ABPP, and Eva D. Sivan, PhD. Adapted from “Managing Traumatic Stress: Dealing with the Hurricanes from Afar (2005),” “Tips for Managing Your Distress Related to the Wildfires” and “Tips for College and University Students: Managing Your Distress in the Aftermath of School Shootings.”)

Source: American Psychological Association, 2010