Middle School Response

Middle School. An awkward time for most young adults, but for some, it seems easy. This episode of This American Life, is called "Middle School". This segment illuminates all the troubles, pains, and sometimes pleasures of being in Middle School. This episode spans six acts, acts that deal with a lot of different kids. Each  kid adding to the horrors already explained by the previous, making it seem as if Middle School was a torture house. From school dances to making new friends, Ira Glass explores what it means to be a Middle School Student. The first segment and the Intro serve to open up the floor for discussion and critical thinking. Examining many different students and getting their opinions on the famous, first dance. These stories are not only fascinating, but eye-opening,  letting even me relive those often awkward and traumatic experiences.


This first act opens with different reporters from around the country interviewing kids about their school dance. But this is no ordinary dance, oh no, this is the famous first middle school dance. A kid named Ethan was interviewed and shared his opinion. He said he didn't care so much about the dance in general, but about leaving a good impression with the other students and faculty members. He didn't want to do something that would "be the talk of the school" for the next few days and possibly weeks. When asked about his plans for the dance he gave a very timid response, indicating a sort of fear within him. A fear that we have all come to experience and eventually conquer, but for Ethan, however, it seems more disturbing. In addition to his fears about being embarrassed, he had fears of another first-time event that takes place at these upscale soirees... The slow dance. For many students the slow dance represents all that is adult, a ceremony, a rite of passage from childhood to young adulthood. A ceremony not wished to be ruined or destroyed but the naivety of the sixth grade body. When asked about he, he didn't know "how it was done" or "how to do it right". A problem many of us faced, a problem not solved until we dove deep into that floor of darkness.


Another one of the problems many faced during Middle School was making new friends. In the case of Leo, it can be a thing of pure, disdain. The transition from simple Elementary School life to the new beast of Middle School, all the while forced to the bottom of the pecking order of the Middle School hierarchy can can create much confusion. Especially when you are forced out of your comfort zone and into the wild green yonder of mixed classrooms and new people. For Leo, he's had to endure this situation twice. Once in New York and another when he moved from New York. Sarah Koenig reports on this fragile boy to get the whole story and when she delves deeper, Leo's situation appears much more frightening than people realize. When asked about the move he said it was tough and difficult, but the hardest part, for him anyway, was being thrust into a new school environment. A place where he considered a double outcast. Making new friends, to him, seemed an almost impossible task, a task many of us have struggled with. His feelings of anxiety are reinforced only by his shy timid nature upon the move. A sense of foreboding grimness lies within him as he tries to sort his situation out. Sarah asked him about his plans and throughout Leo commented on the radical notion of getting on a "Greyhound bus and leaving". Sarah was surprised to hear such talk from someone so young, and who has so much to look forward to. These images Leo depicts are disturbing to say the least and really opens the eyes to many adults who have children in Middle School, letting them know that this is a time when kids need their parents advice the most, a time where heavy social pressures combined with the pressures of school can really take a mental toll. This leads into the final part and conclusion.


The conclusion of this podcast, or Act Six, beings with another story about an outcast at a private school. A school among the most prestigious in the state, and even nationally recognized. This focuses on a student who has many social problems, not just with making friends and the school dances, frequent problems arising from the mouths of most normal new students with the most normal Middle School anxieties, but with life at home as well. This is a student who shows up to school dirty and stinky, without his proper attire, and without school work or materials. One may question why this student is even at this school, I know that I certainly did when listening to this particular story. A teacher, Shannon Grande, tries to intervene to see what sort of problems this kid is facing and what solutions they can come up with. In the end, they came up with a way for him to get clean in the morning and properly ready to prepare for the day. He was found a teacher to help him with his homework, but in the end, these problems took a toll on his social life at school. A disagreement turned into a nasty quarrel, words shot from mouths as if they were fired from a Colt .45 ready to kill anyone that stood in their way. Emotions running hot, and Grande stepped in to simmer  the situation. In general, I found this particular podcast to be of great use in realizing the social problems of myself, but of these young kids too. It really helps to illuminate all the frustrations with other people, whether it be fellow Middle School students or coworkers. This piece really caught my attention and it deserves a well though out response.