Middle School vs. High School

One, the closing of one’s grade school years, and the other, a gateway to young adulthood. Middle school and High school, two very important times of a young person’s life, share some similarities and many differences. Middle school, just like its title explains, is the time when students are stuck in the middle of childhood and young adulthood. People start to mature from earlier elementary years, and try to find out who they are. While in the process of trying to fit in, new friend groups are shaped and instead of being one big group of people, circles form and groups are segregated.

In addition to more classmates and teachers, responsibilities increase as students take on the load of multiple classes, and now receive grades for their work. Teachers expect them to participate actively in class, and complete their assignments on time. Although it only lasts 3 years, middle school is the critical transitional period when new teachers, new classmates, more classes, and more work are introduced all to prepare you for high school.

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After 8th grade, people leave the middle school bubble, and advance to the jungle of high school.

Not only is the campus physically larger, but class sizes increase, and great expectations come along with it. Although middle school may have seemed like a challenge, high school comes with once again more work and more responsibilities. For students, high school is a sink or swim moment, and some struggle to stay afloat. Some may have trouble focusing in school, but the ideal student is completing their homework on time, studying for their exams, attending practice for their extracurricular activities, and achieving a respectable grade point average, that will all pay off and get them into their dream college.

Not only is the work different between the two environments, but so is the amount of freedom students get. In middle school, kids are restrained to a certain curriculum. The schedule they get, is the schedule they get, and nothing is changing. Part of their schedule, lunch, is also a time that is also very different in middle school. All students are required to eat lunch in the same room at the same time, and lunches include a choice between mystery meat, or last week’s hot dogs disguised as soup.

Contrary to middle school, in high school, students are granted much more freedom. Students can choose which classes they will take, what teachers they have, what groups or clubs they will participate in, what sports they will play, and much more. Not only can students choose all of their activities, but students also have many options for what they want to eat. High schools often carry popular foods such as subway, burgers, and French fries, and healthy foods such as fruit, and salads.

Just in case the school food is not good enough, many high schools often allow upperclassman to leave for lunch to enjoy a meal in their own home, or food from another restaurant. Overall, high school and middle school are both made to prepare students for higher education, but are very different in many aspects. As we all grow older, we can see how we have changed from middle school to high school, and can see the many distinctions between the two.