MEDINA, Ohio — Issac Woofter, a freshman at Buckeye High School In Medina, remembers feeling misplaced, awkward and frustrated in middle school.
Woofter says aside from the transition into a true teen lifestyle, connecting with his peers and teachers was challenging.Woofter was not alone. “All ages have their challenges, but seventh and eighth-grade middle school is especially difficult. Peer pressure is playing a huge role and the kids are trying to figure out who they are,” she said. “Kids have lost kind of a sense of how to converse verbally; eye contact, those kinds of social skills.”Last school year, the EdWeek Research Center surveyed more than a thousand students nationwide. The survey found that 44% reported their level of social anxiety had increased since the pandemic.
As Keith explained, students can choose from a variety of books surrounding grief, faith, anxiety, finance, and more — the list goes on.