More insight on education from the grey lady.

Trying to Find Solutions in Chaotic Middle Schools has one of the better examples of poignant and unflourished journalism about education I've seen in a while.


Last 3 grafs:

The Seth Low seventh graders have their own theories about why middle school scores plummet.

Nadine George, 12, said she is struggling in science class now because she never understood it in elementary school, despite getting good grades on tests. “Not that I knew how to do it, but whatever was in my notes I just copied it down,” she cheerily elaborated.

Jeorge Coronado, 13, said he was distracted now by fights and girls, who were starting to “look mad good.” Fabiola Noel, 12, disclosed that during a recent math class, her mind wandered to the look of her hair. In the note that was torn up in science class, Lillian Safa, 13, had asked a friend why a third girl was ignoring her. Two weeks later, Lillian reported, they are once again friends.

The article itself is focused on a slew of educational trends for middle schools around the city and country, none of which have proven themselves yet.

Now normally, I find newspaper interviews of students patronizing, but for some reason I felt this just ended up being a great example of what middle school is like-- in all its pathetic and miserable glory.