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Show Eighth graders need more Eighth grade education may be creating a nation of young sponges--students who sit but don't think, according to a national study conducted con-ducted by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). The study found much instruction instruc-tion to be passive, insufficiently focused on critical thinking, and not in touch with the needs of today's adolescents. "Many schools are organized as if the students are sponges assuming assum-ing that those students will absorb everything thrown their way," said Laurel M. Kanthak, NASSP's director direc-tor of middle level education. "Instruction is very passive. Students sit at their desk while information in-formation is presented to them. " While the study focused on eighth grade learning, many of the same concerns can be seen in other grades Kanthak continued. "Working together educators, parents and community members must find ways to challenge students in the classroom.' Many schools are not matching the needs of students to the educational educa-tional program, according to the study. "Despite the fact that early adolescents ado-lescents are at a stage when the desire for autonomy and independence in-dependence becomes a priority, schools continue to cast students in the role of passive recipients of the actions and decisions of others," pointed out John H. Lounsbury, senior author of the report "While eighth graders are reaching a level of mental maturity which makes analytical thinking possible, schools provided very little opportunity to learn and apply critical thinking skills." Lounsbury cited concerns with eighth grade education in three broad areas: the passivity of learning, learn-ing, the relevance of instruction to the student, and the lack of attention to the developmental needs of adolescents. ado-lescents. "The period when youngsters are between the ages of approximately 10 to 15 is, in many ways, life's most critical period of development," de-velopment," he said. "Yet, middle level schools, generally, do not adequately recognize the developmental de-velopmental nature of their students. While young adolescents need physical movement, schools demand that they sit at their desk for extended periods of time. They also provide little opportunity for critical thinking although adolescents ado-lescents are ready for that." The NASSP study also points out a need for greater relevance. "Although early adolescents are very much caught up in the 'here and now, the school curriculum continues to be heavily oriented toward the then and there " he reported. "The immediate and very real needs of this age group are only slightly touched by the traditional school program that is cold and canned. This results in the school being viewed by students as a thing j apart, rather than as something that j involves them and helps them as i they struggle to become indepen- ( dent young adults." |