How to Develop a Positive Attitude Toward Middle School

As fall approaches, middle school may loom large in your thoughts, taking the place of the monster that hid under your bed only a few years ago. Those final weeks of summer vacation, before school starts, however, are the best time to start giving yourself pep talks about middle school. In between all those nagging questions about how you'll find your way around and if the homework will be too hard, you can accomplish the goal of being able to arrive on the first day of school with a positive attitude.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Share your concerns to help ease your worries. Write a detailed list of all of these and find the right person to answer each one. For example, if you are concerned about finding your way around the school, a parent can make arrangements for you to visit the school building a week or so before classes start. If you are worried about the amount of homework you'll be assigned, get in touch with some students who are in their second year of middle school and ask them how they handled the homework load.

2. Make a list of all the ways that middle school will be an improvement over grade school. The list might include such items as eating lunch wherever you want in the cafeteria, getting out between each class and enjoying the freedom of walking through the halls to your next class. Many middle school students like the idea of having various classes with different teachers and different students in each. Touch base with a student one year ahead of you to help you lengthen your list.

3. Reestablish the friendships you had in grade school, particularly if you haven't had a chance to see some of these kids all summer. Ask them about their schedules to find out what classes you might have together. Perhaps your parents will allow you to host a back-to-school cookout or party to renew your acquaintances before school starts.

4. Set realistic goals for the new school year. These might be academic goals, such as remembering to do your homework every night, or keeping a calendar for writing when projects and major assignments are due. However, setting a goal of making straight As might be pushing it. Social goals might include such possibilities as finding one club or extra-curricular activity in which you will fully participate or getting to know at least one new person in each of your classes.

5. Plan some rewards and special treats for yourself; ask your parents to support you in your efforts. For example, you might choose one day of the week you'll bring a special lunch made up of foods you wouldn't ordinarily have. If you like to read, you might ask for a book you've been wanting and start it after finishing the first week of middle school. Perhaps you would consider it a reward if you, as a middle school student, were allowed some privileges at home that you didn't have as a grade school student.

References

• Too Old for This, Too Young for That!: Your Survival Guide for the Middle-School Years; Harriet S. Mosatche; 2005

Resources

• Adjusting to Middle School

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