You Teach MIDDLE SCHOOL?!?!
“You teach MIDDLE SCHOOL?!?!”
I love this reaction from people. When I meet someone new and we get to the, “What do you do?” part of the conversation, my answer seems to incite yelps and cringes from people. They say, with horrified expressions, “MIDDLE SCHOOL? Really?” and they often follow it up with a blessing or a prayer.
The joke is on them. Middle school is the BEST. I feel like it’s the best-kept secret in education. Middle schoolers are quirky and funny and sassy. They are creative and interesting and in search of themselves. Every single day something hilarious happens…you just have to be paying attention.
I was out sick for a couple of days last week. My sixth graders had to find something from their notebook to publish. Here’s what I came back to…
Come on…that’s funny! When I take the status of the class, one student varies her response method. A few weeks ago she answered every day using a British accent and now she says, “Yo!” every other word. In that same class, I can’t say anything that resembles a song lyric or else the entire class will spontaneously break into song. (I fall into the trap with “Don’t Stop Believing” more often than you’d think!)
Middle school students are kind and goofy and inquisitive and they are figuring out who they are. I get the opportunity to witness that. They allow me to be part of their journey. There’s nothing better than that. So when you ask me, “You teach MIDDLE SCHOOL?!?!” I will smile and say, “Of course I do.”
