A Curriculum for the Middle School Years

Published in 1978, A Curriculum for the Middle School Years is a collaborative effort written by John H. Lounsbury and Gordon F. Vars, two founders of the modern middle school movement. While the almost “psychedelic” orange and blue cover is a function of its publication date, the words inside provide a timeless framework for planning the kind of curriculum that all young adolescents deserve.

Unlike recent versions of curricular reform that minimize the influence and skills of the teacher, Lounsbury and Vars begin their book by emphasizing the importance of staffing middle schools with a “special breed of teacher” (1978, p. 1). From their perspective, teachers need to not only be leaders in curriculum planning, but they should genuinely like middle school students and take the time to build a positive, caring environment by forming authentic relationships with their students. This emphasis on the importance of the relationships among the human inhabitants of the school is a consistent theme throughout the book, as Lounsbury and Vars clearly describe the roles that teachers, administrators, students, and parents should play in creating a relevant curriculum.