Middle Level Institute at O’side Middle School

Oceanside Middle School hosted a Middle Level Parent Institute on Nov. 5. The institute featured author Rosalind Wiseman and was attended by roughly 200 local parents. It provided valuable resources for parents to help their children navigate the awkward difficulties of adolescence.

The institute was a collaborative effort among multiple local school districts and was spearheaded by Oceanside Middle School principal Dr. Allison Glickman-Rogers and Oceanside school district’s director of English, Dr. Beth Zirogiannis.

The main feature of the institute was a detailed presentation by parenting educator Rosalind Wiseman, author of “Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and the New Realities of Girl World” The book was the inspiration for the popular Hollywood film, “Mean Girls.”

Her presentation covered a gamut of issues facing both children and parents, including bullying, teasing, drama and how parents and teachers can interact with each other and children in a manner to create what she calls a “culture of dignity.”

Wiseman emphasized respect, patience and restraint when dealing with adolescent children. She often noted that children will notice how adults interact with each other, and are sensitive to patronizing or reactionary behavior. They will also emulate their parents, and she warned them of reinforcing bad habits in their children by doing it themselves.

She also addressed the differences between adolescent boys and adolescent girls. Stereotypes of how girls and boys are supposed to act can reinforce parenting issues and social difficulties in kids every day lives. Parents should try to acknowledge how those stereotypes can influence their children’s behavior.

The theme underlying all of Wiseman’s advice was to maintain a strong level of communication between adults and adolescents built on mutual respect. This mutual respect is the key to maintaining the “culture of dignity” that formed the crux of Wiseman’s presentation.

In addition to Wiseman, the institute also featured a smaller presentation by Katie Schumacher, author of “Don’t Press Send,” a resource for parenting in our increasingly confusing and potentially dangerous digital world.

Schumacher outlined some of the ways adolescents can get into trouble online and how parents can get involved to limit the chances that kids will do something regrettable. She advised setting guidelines for interacting with others online, and to set restrictions on when digital devices are allowed to be used.

The institute also featured anti bullying, anti racism, and anti drug resources for parents, and also gave them an opportunity to discuss the challenges each parent faces while helping get their children through the tough phase of adolescence.

Oceanside school district pooled its resources with the Lynbrook, Baldwin, Long Beach, Island Park, Freeport and West Hempstead districts to have the institute in their area, and to bring in as many parents as possible. “We felt we needed more involvement to strengthen the home/school partnership,” said Principal Dr. Glickman-Rogers.

Drs. Zirogiannis and Glickman-Rogers extended a special thanks to Oceanside School District Superintendent Dr. Phyllis Harrington for her assistance. According to them the institute was only made possible, “because of the support of the superintendent, the board and the community,” they said.