A Holistic Learning Curriculum for Middleschoolers

Middleschoolers are amazing. Fresh out of the sheltered elementary school, middleschoolers are yearning to be independent. They have found their voice, they understand their environment, they can make choices based on their likes, dislikes, their learning and they are all about having fun! But this age group is also the most vulnerable as they come across so many hurdles in the form of peer pressure, parental inclinations, social media. Yet, this age group is also when they start to lay the foundations of their life. 

Middleschool children typically spend 8 hours a day in the school. The school takes an important place in  moulding and educating them. So, should it just be giving Math and Science lessons? Or should it take a greater part in preparing the children for their future? These are some of the aspects that have to be taught in school to make life happy for all: 

Self-preservation a key item that is vital in a growing child's life. 

• Taking care of themselves, eating healthy, understanding their growing body
• Defending themselves in case of danger
• Finding the right ways to support themselves and others in case of physical, emotional, psychological crisis

The middleschooler will be ready to face the world better if he/she was given a heads up to the world of finance and money management

• Understanding that money is important but not everything in life
• More about careers choices and income that will help navigate through life
• Knowledge about taxes, investments, insurance that has become the basics of life

Nature conservation and protection of other species in the world should be inculcated into the children at a young age so that they will grow up to value the Earth that sustains us

• Our dependence on Nature is absolute. Yet we destroy it, pollute it and choose to not care about it.
• Is it even possible to bring back the hundreds of animals that we have driven to extinction? 
• Don't we want to give the same Earth as we have received and enjoyed? Shouldn't we be making the world a better place for the next generation? 

Respecting others as we want them to respect us and the world around us would transform this place a happy place! 

• Simple acts that are mindful and in compliance with the laws of the land like driving in your own lane or not cutting the queue will make the whole process of life a little sweet :)

The school should be a place of holistic growth for a child. Academics is important. But more important is life itself. Let us make way for the child to have a happy life!