Middle School Blog

Cycle 1 Articles: What I Wish the Adults in My Life Understood

2026-2027

In Cycle 1, I was really trying to get how Middle School worked (the systems) and how to plan my work down to a habit. I think I figured out a good rhythm for getting work done along with all the things I do outside of school. Sometimes I’ll plan a lot of work on Wednesdays because I have nothing to do outside of school then; so if I have homework I have plenty of time to do it. Since I have so many activities outside of school, I try very hard to not have any self-assigned homework so I can go to sleep at a good time. These strategies have worked pretty well for me in middle school. Some of the adults in my life really don’t appreciate all of the things that I am capable of. They’ll just do things for me or treat me like I need help with everything. For example, I feel annoyed when they take dirty dishes from my hands and wash them because I need to do them for myself; it’s one of my chores. I would like adults to ask if I need to do something, if I need help, or if they can do it for me, rather than just stepping in. 

By Jeremy Tunks

Something I wish the adults in our lives understood is that sometimes it’s okay to not do anything to help adolescents in order to let us do something for ourselves. For me, I find that I learn more and feel more accomplished when I do tasks myself. Practicing independence is a big part of middle school and is really important to develop. Sometimes when an adult tries to help me with something I think I can do myself I feel frustrated because it makes me feel like they don’t think I can do it — like they don’t believe in me. Even if that’s not their intention, sometimes letting teenagers do things ourselves is the best way to help us learn and be independent. 

By Miles Crenshaw-Lofgren