Fires in the Middle School Bathroom: Advice to Teachers from Middle Schoolers »

Kathleen Cushman is the author of Fires in the Bathroom (The New Press). She lives in New York City. Laura Rogers, EdD, has a doctorate from Harvard University and twelve years of experience as a school psychologist working with adolescents. She teaches at Tufts University and lives in Harvard, Massachusetts.

The highly anticipated sequel to the bestselling Fires in the Bathroom—filled with practical, honest advice from middle school students to their teachers.

Following on the heels of the bestselling Fires in the Bathroom, which brought the insights of high school students to teachers and parents, Kathleen Cushman now turns her attention to the crucial and challenging middle grades, joining forces with adolescent psychologist Laura Rogers.

As teachers, counselors, and parents cope with the roller coaster of early adolescence, too few stop to ask students what they think about these critical years. Here, middle school students in grades 5 through 8 across the country and from diverse ethnic backgrounds offer insights on what it takes to make classrooms more effective and how to forge stronger relationships between young adolescents and adults. Students tackle such critical topics as social, emotional, and academic pressures; classroom behavior; organization; and preparing for high school. Cushman and Rogers help readers hear and understand the vital messages about adolescent learning that come through in what these students say.

This invaluable resource provides a unique window into how middle school students think, feel, and learn, bringing their needs to the forefront of the conversation about education.

Publishers Weekly

Cushman, whose well-received Fires in the Bathroomcovered high school students, teamed up with psychologist and Tufts professor Rogers to explore how to teach middle school students more effectively. What's a teacher to do when "she's trying to be so nice and they're setting fires in the bathroom," a high school student had asked in the first volume. Much of the material that Cushman gathered (from 40 students in five cities) is about basic classroom skills. Teachers should listen carefully to what's on their students' minds and "put the currents in your classroom to good use, rather than work against them," the authors advise. "Be strict and be nice," they say, which is hard, but "walking that line is one way you show that you are on your students' side when it comes to helping them learn." Cushman and Rogers quote frequently from their student panel, helping readers grow accustomed to their ways of expressing themselves, and include several self-evaluation worksheets for teachers. While there's little new, for teachers fresh out of college and headed for inner-city classrooms, this book may be a useful resource. (May)

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Preface     xi
Introduction: Journey over a Bridge     1
Everything Is Off Balance     14
A Teacher on Our Side     39
Social Forces in the Classroom     66
Helping Us Grow into Confident Learners     103
Using Our Energy to Help Us Learn     132
Make Way for Parents     151
Our Transition to High School     170
Epilogue: Through the Kaleidoscope     193
Resources for Middle-Grades Teachers     201
Acknowledgments     206
The Student Contributors     209
Index     215