Maria knows what it’s like to be in middle school. She remembers all the hard parts and all the easy parts. She has some advice you might need as a middle school student.
What was middle school like for you?
Middle school was an adventure. My 6th grade year was in-person. But, unfortunately, in 7th grade in the second semester, we had to close down and go online. Then, in 8th grade everything was virtual. I was a COVID middle school student.
What’s some advice you’d like to tell middle school students?
Keep your grades up. Even though it may seem like grades don’t matter in middle school, keeping your grades up does affect your academic drive in high school. Grades are really, really, really, important in high school because most colleges want to know if you are failing any classes. They want to make sure that you are at the top of your class, especially if it’s a highly selective college.
Is there anything in middle school that’s easier in high school?
Something that is difficult in middle school, but easier in high school, is joining clubs and sports. You’re limited to the amount of clubs in middle school, but in high school you have so many opportunities. You can meet so many people from other schools who have the same interests as you.
When you think of middle school, what sticks out to you?
I’ll never forget the Field Days we had in 6th grade and 7th grade. In high school, you don’t have these types of days, and you only go outside for gym or sports. There are more fun aspects of high school, such as football games, homecoming, and prom.
The cooking class I took in middle school with Ms. Fenner was probably the most fun and memorable class I took in middle school. Even though there are a lot of culinary classes in high school, it’s not the same as when you’re young and just being introduced to cooking.
How is picking your classes in middle school different than high school?
The process of picking your classes in middle school is very different than high school, because your middle school teachers pick your classes. In high school, your first semester classes are picked out by your middle school teachers. But then from there on, you meet with your counselor. They talk about what you want to do, like if you would take honors classes or AP classes, depending on what interests you.
You obviously have to take math, English, gym, and science. Then, the rest of the classes are probably electives. You can take metals, wood, auto, cooking, child development, human development, or preschool. It just varies based on what interests you and what you want to do with your high school career. In addition, if you already know what you want to be, or what you want to study for college, you can see what classes you need to take in order to advance your high school career or your college career.
You didn’t know what you wanted to be back in middle school. How did you decide now?
When I was in middle school, I had an idea of what I wanted to be for my career: a dentist. Once you get into high school, you start thinking about what interests you and what career you think would suit you. Your counselors help you with everything. They give out these websites and surveys, and they just ask you what subjects interest you, Science, Math, English or History. Then you take elective classes, you volunteer, and you do a program to go to clubs, and based on that, you get a general idea of what you do and don’t like.
I took a lot of AP classes and a few science classes and I really liked them. I also do a lot of manual dexterity stuff, so a lot of things with my hands, and that’s how I know that being a dentist would just be the best suit for me.
A lot of people don’t know what they want to do by the end of high school, and that is okay. But you should start getting a general idea of what you want to do by the end of high school, or the beginning of freshman year of college. There’s no rush.
We’re done. Is there anything you’d like to add?
Have fun in your classes and in middle school, in general, because it goes by really fast. Middle school is only three years. Even though it might seem like an eternity, or you don’t want to go to school, or you don’t want to wake up early, or you just want to go home and eat chips on your couch and watch TV all day … well, you can do that in the summer. Just have fun in middle school. Join clubs. Make friends. By high school, you may not have some of the friends you had in middle school. It’s really sad, but that’s just life. So, keep your grades up, make friends, and treat your teachers nicely, because it goes by really fast.
From Ms. Smith: To coincide with the launch of Mannheim Middle School’s PaCE framework, the MMS Newsroom presents a series of college- and career-focused interviews by MMS students. What is PaCE? PaCE guidelines help students to develop a growth mindset, recognize their strengths, build confidence, and plan for college and careers.
