Eddie Borzillo, age 13, of Denton, Texas, for his question:
WHEN DID WE START HAVING JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS?
Junior high school usually includes the seventh, eighth and ninth grades of a 12 year program of education. Some junior high schools include on the seventh and eighth grades, while others also include the sixth grade.
The junior high school movement began in various parts of the United States in 1910.
Today, there are junior high schools in all parts of the country. The United States has about 8,000 public junior high schools, and there are also about 4,000 public junior senior high schools t hat include grades seven through 12.
Separate junior high schools are most common in heavily populated areas. Small communities that cannot afford separate junior high schools often have six year schools that combine both junior and senior high school students.
Junior high schools have two main purposes: to provide a program of education that is adapted to the needs and interests of young adolescents (persons between the ages of 11 and 15) and to provide smooth progress from elementary school to senior high school.
A good junior high school program provides many advantages over seventh and eighth grades of an elementary school. An important one is that junior high schools are better adapted to the needs of young adolescents than are the eight year elementary schools.
Junior high schools also provide continued instruction in basic skills, often on a more individualized basis than is possible in elementary schools.
A junior high school offers beginning courses in music, art, homemaking, industrial arts, speech, science, foreign languages and typing. These courses aid students in selecting major areas of interest for further study.
Also important is that a junior high school gives increased guidance. Each child is assigned to a teacher who helps him with his problems and guides him in selecting subject areas for specialization.
Another important part of a junior high school is that it provides an opportunity for extracurricular activities suited to the ages of the students. Available are team sports, drama clubs, school publications and student government.
Many junior high schools make special curriculums available to their students. Unlike most eight year elementary schools, they base these curriculums on the special aptitutdes, interests and abilities of adolescents.
Many junior high schools also offer remedial work for students who are weak in the basic subjects, such as reading and mathematics.
In some states, students enter a three or four year school called a middle school, after completing grades through four or five. Many educators believe that some type of middle school should be used more and more. They contend that pre adolescents and young adolescents should work, study and play away from the younger elementary school children and the older high school students.