Middle school mindlessness - have we swung the curriculum pendulum too far?

Catherine Berry

By Catherine Berry
Community contribution / August 23, 2017

Motivated and enthusiastic to resigned and disillusioned. Is this the reality of the middle school student?

It only took 18 months for my son to realise that he was marking time in middle school, but it ...

Higher Level Teaching Assistants

Veritas Leyland

Teaching - Primary / Apr 25, 2026

SEN Teaching Assistant

Veritas Leyland

Teaching Aides & Special Needs / Apr 25, 2026

SEN Teacher (Key Stage 3 with Primary Flexibility)

Teaching Aides & Special Needs / Apr 25, 2026

By Catherine Berry

Community

Catherine Berry is a passionate language learner and educator. After the birth of her third child, her teaching was costing her more in childcare and schooling for her children than her salary warranted. Despite her love of the classroom, she turned instead to at-home tutoring, where a chance request from a student led her, a non-native French speaker, to attempt to speak only French with her son. This in turn led to a project for the family to live in France for a year. Three and a half years later, Catherine’s family returned to Australia. Finding it difficult to ‘turn the page’ on their French life, Catherine instead turned to writing. ‘But you are in France, Madame’ was the result (search by title (Kindle and paper editions)). Catherine can be contacted on cb222@me.com

Similar news

Opinion / Have students’ rights at school gone way too far? Absolutely School news / ‘We have to do something dramatic’: our school safety crisis has tipped too far, expert says Leadership / Balance between pendulums

Latest comments

As Rebecca notes, the expert reversal effect is often described as difficult to apply in classroom contexts; however,...

— George Lilley on I’Ve Changed My Mind About Explicit Teaching For Gifted Students

Top events

Opinion / Australia has access to 20,000 migrant teachers, but is not using them. Why not?

School news / A balanced approach to social media might not be so bad: new research

The effectiveness of banned social media sites for Australian under 16s remains hotly debated, but while most agree protecting young people from too much screen time is a priority, a major new study has revealed that a balanced approach to social ...

School news / Indigenous-led cultural learning in schools is vital - but no govt is listening

Schools far too often rely on symbolic gestures rather than meaningful action to support Aboriginal students, and there is an urgent need for governments to properly resource Indigenous-led cultural learning, a five-year WA research project has co...

School news / NZ education sector continues to lash Govt’s curriculum reform intentions

New Zealand’s education sector is demanding that the National Government pause the rollout of what stakeholders call its “rushed” curriculum reforms as opposition to the direction, scope, and pace of change continues to swell.

School news / New research suggests kids’ pretend play ability linked to better mental health

Children who demonstrate pretend play ability as toddlers have significantly fewer emotional and behavioural difficulties at primary school, a new study has suggested.

Leadership / Exceptional principals seek out ‘quiet achievers’ for leadership roles, study finds

The exact practices that exceptional principals use to identify and develop middle leaders in their schools have been revealed in a new study – and there’s good news for introverted teachers and quiet achievers.

School news / Consumption gumption: schools’ new push to get kids eating more vegetables

Nutritional intake by children in Australia is well short of where it needs to be, with 96 per cent failing to eat enough vegetables and more than 40 per cent of their daily energy intake often coming from unhealthy “discretionary” foods, but a ma...

Community / WHAT MATTERS to young Australians in 2026? A national What Matters? Writing Competition helps young students to find their voice!

In classrooms across the country, the most powerful moments often begin quietly. A question. A pause. A student finding the words to say something that matters to them.

School news / Sweet Swahili: award-winner promoting community harmony and social cohesion

You might not know it, but you can speak a tiny bit of Swahili. Who doesn’t know the words ‘Hakuna Matata’, from Disney’s 1994 animated feature film The Lion King?

Community / Five classroom strategies to help build calm in a chaotic world

Hasn’t the world seen more than its fair share of upheaval in recent weeks?

Comments