Musings from the Middle: A Teacher's Memoir

Musings from the Middle is a teacher's memoir about the middle school
years of fears, tears, peers, and cheers. It shows a diversity of life experiences,
viewpoints, and backgrounds and reveals eye-opening anecdotes and escapades
of middle school teens. It is timely because it is insightful about the issues today's
teens face.

Whether walking on eggshells or walking on sunshine, today's teens put us in
their shoes and help us see the world from their perspective. In Musings from
the Middle, we feel their angst and their ecstasy as we peer into some poignant
moments of their lives. People outside education will learn what really goes on
in our middle schools. Today's teens carry a much heavier load than teens from
years gone by. We are turning our adolescents away from learning by bombarding
them with rote learning and testing that stresses them to the limit. Bullying is on
the rise because teens feel the need to lash out.

Musings from the Middle shows teens a path to becoming whole human
beings before heading to high school. They proudly celebrate their uniqueness
and grasp the importance of humanity as a whole. They understand the world
is in their hands and how to work to make it a better place through learning
and responsibility.