ABSTRACT
Sitting in a meeting with a group of teachers who were discussing plans for the conversion of their district's junior high into a new middle school, I overheard one eighth grade teacher say, “I don't know about expecting all of this interdisciplinary teaching stuff and flexible scheduling to really make a difference. It was so much easier back a few years ago … the kids listened to you and did what you asked. Now it seems that the kids don't care, they don't do the work, or they just aren't as capable. There is so much need for discipline and …”
