Why is Middle School English So Important?

I don’t know about your middle school experience but mine was an incredibly challenging one. While many kids will grumble and moan about the amount of work they are being given, it helps to be able to provide them with some perspective on why ALL this work they are being “made” to do is so important. Middle school is a vital time to lay groundwork and study skills that will help students excel not only in high school but on to college and the professional world as well. For me personally, the skills my English teacher instilled in me are what have been the most enduring. The “Five Paragraph Essay” was one of the largest lessons she taught us. This type of seemingly basic essay is an integral part of learning to write a thorough, well planned out, organized paper later on down the road. These are the foundations upon which you are able to build up to those 20 or 30 page horrors you might encounter in college! 

As you continue through the education system it becomes startlingly clear who had learned these sorts of basics and who didn’t.  In college, one of my closest friends would often ask me to edit her papers for her and it was astounding to see just how lacking she was in her writing abilities. She struggled with sentence structure, paragraph transitions, and even basic grammar. It was clear that her English teachers growing up failed to impart to her the fundamental skills of proper composition. The sad part is that this is becoming more and more common.

Knowing how to properly compose even a simple paragraph is a skill that is needed throughout life. Imagine if you had a boss who couldn’t even compose a simple email without it being littered with spelling mistakes, run-on sentences, and improper grammar. Not very professional or impressive is it? So, if you have an English teacher that challenges you, thank them. Their tough love is helping you to become a better writer which will only continue to help you develop into an intelligent, successful individual.