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Old April 10th 11, 08:24 PM posted to alt.education,misc.kids,misc.education,soc.culture.usa,alt.bitterness
toto
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Default There Was No "Middle School" Back In The Day

On Sat, 26 Mar 2011 14:14:45 -0400, Way Back Jack
wrote:

Hi, Jack

I understand that middle school comprises grades 6-8.


Middle school here is actually grades 5 and 6. Junior high is 7 and 8
and high school is 9 to 12

Back when I went to public school (in the 50s), our elementary was
k-6, junior high was 7 and 8 and high school was 9 - 12.

For my kids (in the 70s), elementary was k-5, middle school was 6 - 8
and high school was 9 -12

Mostly, the way grades were placed depended on the populations of the
schools and it had very little to do with educational ideas except for
the time when middle schools began (there was a lot of theory then
about how certain ages needed to begin preparing for high school, but
needed to be separated from the overly hormonal junior high kids).

Back in the day, govt. schools had these classifications:

Grades 1-6, elementary school; grades 7-9, jr. high school; grades 10-12,
high school.


Your elementary did not have a kindergarten? Mine did and I went to k
in 1950. Actually, our catholic school had a kindergarten as well
(with 60 kids in it). It was social mostly and not at all academic.

Certain high schools offered 9th grade classes for kids who had excelled
academically through 8 grades, but they had to take a special test to gain
admittance.


In the 70s, my kids took high school classes in 6th, 7th and 8th
grade. They did not take a special test, but they were accelerated
because they did well in their classes. This was only in math at the
time though. So my ds took algebra in 7th and my dd took it in 8th
grade. Some kids took it in 6th grade. Then the following year, my
ds took honors geometry at the high school during his first period
class.
________

Catholic schools had a different set-up. Grades 1-8 were elementary school
and grades 9-12 were high school.


I think this has to do with geography. Our catholic schools had k-8
and 9-12 and many of the kids did not go to the catholic high schools
as they were more expensive.


--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

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