The Older Spiral, ages 11 - 14

A focus on individual identity, self-expression and ethics

The social-emotional needs of our young people involve the development of true friendships, empathy for others, understanding of how they impact people within a group or community, working through personal problems & conflict and developing coping skills.

Primarily, the older spiral learners are interested in being social with each other and building friendships is extremely important. As they are growing and questioning their identities, they are always looking to those around them to affirm their choices and to support their emotional needs. Having at least one good friend and being able to rely on that person for support and for fun outside of the school day is essential. Building friendships is not always easy and it has its ups and downs. Learning how to be a friend, what it means to be loyal and trustworthy and managing the social aspects of friendships in groups can be challenging. 

Learners of this age are also working to develop empathy for others. It’s a time when kids gain a deeper understanding of life and that not everyone has the same opportunities. They can see that their lives are different from others in certain key ways. Exposure to a global picture of the world and how people live in other places can really provide a sense of perspective for young people.

Development during this time can often be looked at as regressive. As identity is the focus, older spiral learners can often be viewed as selfish, and in the midst of their experience, they often communicate much like preschoolers. All of their work is focused on themselves at this moment and looking outward is hard. They’re taking risks and making choices (and making mistakes) and that can be embarrassing and world ending! Even so, this is an important time for us to help them pause and look outward to understand that the choices we make do not only affect us, but also those around us. We are accountable to our friends and family and our community.

So many young people suffer from crippling anxiety. Anxiety is a normal part of being human. We all have worries and problems and that will not change as we get older. It is during this time of great change in our lives that we need our coping skills the most. Developing them can be essential to a happy future life. Our cultural tendency has been to over-support our youth because we love them and we don’t want to see them hurting. However, not dealing with problems or facing fears cuts us off from the ability to develop ways to cope when things are not quite as we’d like them to be. Identifying emotions and their core triggers and then managing them in the best way possible is important work for this age. Realizing that feelings of anxiety and worry are NORMAL is a great place to start.

How do we approach traditional academics?

Reading skills & critical analysis are often taught through literature studies. They are generally integrated studies that involve history or science as well. Student -led experiences like Book Club, allow middle schoolers to share a book they love with the group. Developing lessons and setting the pace for our reading, requires them to look more deeply at the text and analyze it in ways they likely haven’t before.

Writing is most often integrated into literature classes and themes through journaling, reflecting, responding to thematic questions and writing papers. Full-time learners also have a writing class that varies according to the interests/needs of the group.

Jumping into a real-life math projects is the preference of our older spiral educator. These projects hold meaning for learners and are also fun! Currently, Full-time learners have been involved in a project based math experience called Floor Carrot Restaurant. It has been a great learning experience from many angles. Running a restaurant  helps them to develop personal math skills/money management, planning, organizing, cooking, how to follow recipes, cleaning up after themselves, and running a business (profit/loss).   It has also been a great community builder as most learners, staff and many parents sign up and come to school and eat lunch with us!   We also take time each week to practice math skills individually. If a student is working to understand multiplication, for instance, workbooks, online programs or small math classes will happen to support their skill development.