Interview with Junior High Student

Hi all :)

   I talked to a junior high student this past week to determine which things at his school may be something that the parents will want to address before the school year begins (it will be the same school the sixth grade little girl I've been discussing will be going to next year). There are two sets of lockers throughout the hallways of the junior high school, and he said there would definitely be an issue with the girl having a top locker. He also stated that the water fountains throughout the school are a bit higher. He is pretty tall and he said the waterfountain was about at his belly. I started thinking about the elementary school she attends right now. The elementary school has children ranging from Kindergarten to Sixth grade, so there are more than likely neutral water fountains for the children. This would have been something I wouldn't have thought about, but once he mentioned it, I can see how this would be a problem. Mirrors in the bathroom are also an issue; while this may not seem like a huge deal, it is! I know I would want to be able to look at the mirror if I wanted or needed to, so the expectation shouldn't be any different for anybody else. I think it's important to address these issues in the school, just to make sure it doesn't take the child not being able to do something before it is addressed...that can be an embarassment for the child, and it's definitely not okay. The object here is to help the child feel more at ease about entering a new school; it is hard enough for any child to go into junior high school, but if you are a little person entering a new school and you struggle just to fit in with your surrounding, that is not good. I would want to see this child having a positive learning experience, just as she has been receiving overall at the elementary school, and I think we need to do our part in making sure she feels as welcome as all the other children by simply acknowledging that these are our children we are taking care of. Very interesting...