7th grade can be a tough year for some students.  The expectations are a bit higher, stress levels increase, opportunities to participate grow, peer pressure is more prevalent, and our kids' bodies are beginning to change out of control.  Your son or daughter may have trouble getting off the ground.

In trying to give insight into a typical "Seventh Grader", we realize that a typical seventh grader probably does not exist.  They vary in both physical size and emotional maturity.  So the norm is that there isn't a norm.  With this idea in mind, we would like to share some consistent qualities that seem to pull seventh graders together.

• Seventh graders are becoming more independent human beings and are responsible for their work and behavior.
• They are concerned with fairness to themselves and to those in their peer groups.
• Peer respect and recognition is VERY important and judgments of classmates can be devastating .  In other words, pressures from outside the classroom can alter the social dynamics inside a classroom.  Expectations at home, expectations from friends, pressures from commercial world can blur a child's focus.  Advertising has a tremendous impact on a student this age.  Cliques can be very disruptive to a learning environment.  A small group of students can be very hurtful by belittling and making fun of those outside their own group.