There are myriad reasons why academic performance
and interest drop in junior high, but one
nonobvious reason may be that the need to belong, our most basic social motivation, is not being met.
Changing schools, from elementary to junior high, right around the same time that we reach puberty
creates an uncertain and unstable social environment.
This switch also brings with it a change
from
having a single teacher for most of the day, a teacher who knows each student well, to the high school
model with different teachers for each subject.