Well, let just say: I drive a school bus for a private school in the Seattle area. It is a K to 12th. I have all ages on the bus from every grade starting with 2nd grade on up to the top. The fifth and 6th graders are way more compliant! 7th & 8th, maybe because of age or a new school (middle school here) control just goes to pot. They so much want to be older, they try to act older and do things they woundn’t dream of the year before. I have a huge problem of the older kids interacting with the younger kids in, what seems to me, to be a little inappropriate. This includes the 10th 11th & 12th graders spending too much time with the middle school kids and the 5th & 6th graders, but not so much with the last group. By the 8th grade the girls wear some clothes that would have gotten you kicked out of school 25 years ago. Its not just the boys boxers showing, it’s the girls mainly. Example: I called girl down for her clothing and took her to the principles office. Thats not really my job, but WOW. She had on red thong underwear with, essentially, see through white linen pants. Oh, she was a 9th grader.
If you have any lack of control now, you better stay where you are. 8th, 9th & 10th grades kids are Hell on wheels. The older ones either are absolute thugs or just a little rowdy or you wish they belonged to you. The last 2 groups are why you keep going back. In the first group you will see their names in the newspaper police blotter soon enough, and you will not be surprised! They seem out of sync with the system. Good luck.
Any questions, ask me privately. T