Establishing goals and learning to achieve those goals, whether they be personal or professional, is a part of growing up. And at no stage is this more important, than in the middle school years, when children are in the transitional stage from childhood to adolescence (10 to 13).
So, if you are looking to set long term goals for middle school, then you are in the right place and keep reading ahead
The Adolescent Brain
A student can set goals to be achieved at any stage of their life, but why are we focusing on the middle school stage?
Well, there is a very good reason that children in early adolescence must be given a nurturing and supportive environment by their school and parents.
In one research conducted on brain development of children, it was found that growth spurts occur two times in a human’s life.
One is during very early childhood, from birth to the age of 3, but another growth spurt can be seen again from ages 11 to 14.
Now surprise surprise, this age exactly coincides with the age of middle school students
But the growth spurt in middle school years is much different than the early childhood growth spurt. Scientists tend to call this stage of high flux but it is also considered a ‘Sensitive Period’.
This sensitivity is to both positive and negative influences of society. A child can either be exposed to drugs or smoking at this stage, and develop a lifelong habit.
On the other hand, a child can also be exposed to habits of goal setting, reflection, exercise and many other positive qualities that can be solidified for the rest of their life.
The bottom line is that habits established in this stage of life are bound to last until you reach old age, so why not do long term goals for middle school students that are productive, inspiring and self-sustaining.
Disclaimer
But before we begin, it is important to include a little disclaimer. As a middle school student, you are perhaps going through the most dynamic or even turbulent time of your life.
Not only is your body changing because of puberty, but it is likely that you are feeling changes in emotions, social relations and your intellectual ability.
Combined with school and friends, this time can even be stressful and lead to anxiety, if you don’t take care of yourself.
So, before you look to set long term goals for middle school students to excel academically, make sure that you are in a good place to be productive and push yourself to do better, academically or otherwise.
Now that we’re done with the disclaimer, let’s look into why this age is an important stage to make long term goals for middle school students.
Where to Begin?
Middle school age can be a confusing period. Early adolescents are trying to figure out who they are, where they stand in society, what their friends are, what they want in their profession, what is their dream job, do they even like broccoli and so many other questions. It can be daunting. It can be confusing.
But worry not, follow these steps and you can be assured to set long term goals for middle school students that translate into academic excellence.
Finish Your Homework! And I mean it
I know homework can be annoying and a nuisance when you just want to play games or scroll through TikTok. But, the thing is that homework serves a very specific and important function in improving the intellect of a student
It allows you to revisit knowledge you have learnt in class and apply it to solve queries on your own. As an example, you can think that in a classroom you are taught how to swing a bat, but your homework is when you practice actually swinging a bat.
You apply your knowledge practically and because you’re doing it on your own, it helps you retain that information.
When you think about it in the long term, you are consistently keeping up with homework, and have time to get ahead of your reading or more time for your friends and loved ones.
So, when deciding on a long term goal for middle school students, begin with the basic and finish your homework, keep it consistent and in just a few months, you will be reaping the benefits of extra time and good grades.
Having trouble focusing on doing your Homework ? Here is our Guide to Stay Deeply Focused and achieve your Goals
Become An Active Class Member
Sitting down quietly in class, doodling at the back of your register and being bored out of your brain may seem like the easier option, but if you want to excel academically, you have to become more active.
As a long term goals for middle school students, the scientific term used is an Active Participant.
An active participant, keenly listens to their teacher, evaluates the information, presents their opinion and helps in generating a constructive conversation in the classroom.
You can become an active class participant by three simple steps:
- Prepare beforehand! Read the chapter, write down your questions and any points you want to debate
- Do not be afraid to speak! Even if you think your question may seem ignorant, remind yourself that everybody in the class probably also has the same question in their head but are afraid of asking
- Evaluate as you listen, not later! Compare your knowledge with what the teacher is saying, does it add up or do you have any confusion?
Learn to Plan
In pre-school, you might have gone through doing your homework and worrying about studying, after you have received the date for the first examination.
However, you cannot keep up with this practice in middle school. If you want to excel academically, set a long term goal for middle school to plan ahead. Now how can you do that?
It is simple. You already have a schedule of classes at your disposal, you just have to develop a habit of noting down other activities along with your classes every day, every week or bi-weekly, whatever suits you.
These activities can be your homework, your assignments, extracurricular activities or any other activity that takes up your time.
But why are we planning things that we are already doing and would still do even if we were not planning?
Well research proves that work can be burdensome and troubling when it is unplanned, but when you are prepared beforehand, you can considerably reduce stress in your life.
As long term goal, when you start planning at an early age, you can retain this habit even as a professional later in life.
Check out this Productivity Planner that helps you plan your day and stay organized and 10 Other Gifts To Encourage Goal Setting .
Have a Target In Your Mind
Now, if you’re planning, it will benefit you most when you know the goal that you are working towards. Your goal, however, is your own personal choice.
It depends on what goal you want. For academic excellence, you can set the goal of reading more, finishing your assignments on time or asking more questions.
But whatever the goal is, your long term goal as a middle school student must be based on a final target.
To support this argument, one study can be included here, in which one set of students were asked to work better academically to achieve better grades and another set of students were asked to achieve academic excellence, but with an estimated target everyday of reading 5 pages.
Guess who performed better? Obviously the group of children that were given an exact target and a specific goal. They knew exactly what they had to do and in the end they performed better.
You can do the same!
Want to know more on Setting Goals? and Why The Secret To Success Is Setting The Goals? , click the text to know more
Talk To Your Teachers
You can have a plan, identify a target and become an active class participant, but none of this will benefit you the way a close relationship with your teacher will.
In this long term goal for middle school students, you have to understand that student-teacher relationships are highly beneficial for the student.
Scientific studies have even proven that students that regularly interact with teachers have more self-worth.
This is because by talking to their teacher, they are able to develop more in-depth understanding of the subject and feel more comfortable in asking questions, even if they feel that they are ignorant questions.
In the long term, when you think about your high school life or even college education, you have to realize that the habit of effective relationship with your teacher will prolong as you pass through all these stages.
If you have a core understanding of your educator, you are bound to be more confident and know that your ideas hold value.
But if you are like me and feel shy approaching the teacher, you just have to remind yourself that your teacher is there to help you.
They will be willing to respond to your queries, have a debate and exchange ideas with you, as long as you are respectful.
Look at The Bigger Picture – Your Yearly Report Card
The long term goals for middle school students include making personal adjustments, but this long term goal for academic excellence is in making academic adjustments.
This goal will help you motivate and also help you relax, if you receive a bad grade. Your parents will tell you to aim for straight A’s and B+.
In this situation, when you get one bad grade, you can feel down and start doubting your own ability.
However, worry not because I am here to tell you that you should not be worrying over one bad grade, when you an entire year of tests, homework and assignments.
You just have to realize that the bigger picture is what matters.
When you look back to you school year at the end, one C on one test will not matter to you, as long as you maintain consistently good grades and your overall grade is closer to an A.
This long term goal therefore is to remind you that if you are demotivated after a bad grade, don’t worry and make changes to perform outstandingly in the next assessment.
Learn to Explore Outside The Academic World
The research that termed adolescence to be a sensitive period, did not just include habits and emotions as susceptible to change.
The study has also include physical health during adolescence that can impact your physical health for the rest of your life, as habits incorporates at this stage will still be around when you’re touching 30 or 50.
So, when you leave your classroom, remind yourself that you can still grow and develop your skills. You can enroll yourself in extracurricular activities, join a sports team or go out walking.
Yes! Even walking can help to excel academically because it is linked to mindfulness, which actually cope better with stress and achieve your goals
With this goal, you have to set the long term habit as a middle school student to get away from your books, and grow yourself in other fields and other areas.
Make your life more exciting apart from your academic goals, check out our post on funny life goals
Start Saving Up
We have all heard the benefits of saving early, but I won’t bore with any financial figures that somehow saving $5 every month when you’re 11 will lead you to $1 million when you’re 30.
Although, a million dollars can be a motivation for most of us, but you have to look at savings from a logical point of view, and a million dollars is simply clickbait.
In 2018, the US Census Bureau conducted a study on financial records from 1996 to the present day on the age of account holders and their current assets.
The study reached the findings that the younger the age of holding savings account, the more diverse portfolio of financial assets could be seen in later life.
In the current day and age of inflation, long term goal for middle school students must be to think smartly and start saving today.
Parting Thoughts
Long term goals for middle school students can be highly varied and can be moulded according to your needs. Whether it is to set a target or to develop a deeper relationship with your teacher, you have to realise that to excel academically, you must be willing to make changes and motivated to reap its benefits in the long term.