I am teaching seventh and eighth graders right now in Paris, France. I have always enjoyed middle schoolers, perhaps because my junior high experience was pretty great; however, most people I talk to would rather forget the years of bad acne, weird changes, trying to fit in, bad hair, and Facebook statuses that no on liked because no one could read them. I am learning that these mini adults are a lot brighter than meets the eye, and teaching them helps to remind me of a couple of different lessons that I couldn’t learn any other way.
- Middle schoolers help you to gain some energy
In order to keep up with them, you yourself have to have some energy. They are all over the place. While they need you to have energy, they also need you to have some sense of firm foundation so they can rely on you. They are still kids becoming teenagers and realizing little by little that they have no idea what they are doing—a lesson that I am hearing most 20 year olds realizing right now as well. These specimens, however, have an enormous amount of energy as they tackle the awkwardness that encompasses their daily lives. Adults could learn a little from the resilience of middle schoolers.
2. There is never a dull moment
I filmed myself for my class the other day because I had to reflect on my teaching in the classroom. I told the students why the camera was there, and they were actually really good about dealing with it. They were good until the end of class. As they were leaving the room, almost all of them stopped to give a message to the camera. All the way from “Please like and subscribe,” to “hello glitter critters” to “can Miss Bolinger be our new English teacher when our teacher retires?” I have to be honest and say that I have watched that part of the video more than once. They can be equally goofy and sweet at the same time—there are few individuals who have that ability.
3. You get to observe and be a part of them becoming who they are
I have seen students who are thirteen be excellent leaders. These kids are all going places—literally, they will all go somewhere, but the moments when I get to be a part or a piece of a student’s life who is really going to be someone who changes the world are the moments when I remember why I went into teaching in the first place. These students are so impressionable. I may say one statement that changes someone’s life. I am grateful for getting to watch these mini adults begin to realize the gifts and talents they are given, and, maybe not so gracefully, learn what they are not necessarily good at either.
4. There is always some kind of laughter
Middle schoolers are always giggling about something. Whether it is someone who said the word “sex” or laughing at someone who is trying out being the class clown, there is always something to laugh about. I am grateful for the reminder of joy in bright eyes and in crazy personalities that do not only exist in books. I also like to think that I am pretty funny, and they tend to laugh at all my jokes. I don’t know what that says about my jokes or silliness, but I am grateful for the affirmation of mini adults.
5. They are, at times, some of the most real people I know
Because junior high is so awkward, these students haven’t always learned how to mask that, or they are extremely blunt about something that would usually be kept swept under the rug. For instance, there is a student in a leadership group I am observing, who tends to ramble until the end of time. These students watched a video about bad meeting habits and personalities, and from that, they came up with a way to ask people to get to the point of what they were saying. The rambling student began to ramble, and immediately, the leader said, “Would you please get to your final point,” and the entire group knew what that meant in connotation to the rambler. I was impressed at how they handled that, and they continued on as if everything was fine. They are okay with a little bluntness. Hearing that your fly has been open is much better if it was in the first couple minutes of you entering a room rather than an hour after you have been conversing with people.
Sometimes, middle schoolers just get it, and sometimes in order to get a dosage of a strange reality, it is good to hang out with some middle schoolers. They also remind you that you made it through this awkward stage (you hope), and they help to remind you from where you have come. Hearing students cringe at words that are uncomfortable helps me to remember that words have the meaning or stigma we give them. They help me to consider the worries I have, and therefore, the values I place on different things. Sometimes, middle schoolers just get it. I am thankful to get to spend some time with these mini adults.
