Gesell's book, written in 1956, calls age eleven, the beginning of the inconsistent years. Although there are children who go through the adolescent years without a great deal of difficulty, for many adolescents and their parents and teachers, these years may be described as the troublesome, exciting, changing, turbulent, unsettling, fidgety, and boisterous years. Most of the problems at this age are not academic, but instead social and organizational. Middle school students may do their homework and then forget to hand it in, but they won't forget when they need to telephone a friend. Some people say that it seems as if the brain stops growing while the body takes off and the hormones kick in.
Students are so concerned with peers that school and families take a back seat.
Although this is a difficult time for students and parents, your children will grow out of it. Signs of maturation are evident throughout the middle school years. Some adolescents, however, take longer than others on their journey to maturity. Just so you will not feel alone in your struggle to understand your adolescent, here are some typical situations school administrators and teachers face every day. One suggests the principal observe the class to attempt to help find out why a student is not doing good work.