Why I love teaching Jr. High
Whenever people ask me what I do, I say I teach jr. high. That statement is usually followed by a knowing nod and a sigh. Most people are amazed that anyone is mental enough to actually put themselves in a room with 40 or more 12-13 year olds and try to get them to listen to you. My response is, only 40, I can handle at least 100. Actually the most teens I've taught in a classroom at one time was 180. I had a team mate who didn't like teaching bullyproffing so I took them all. Turned out I had more then 1/4 of the entire school population in that room.
But I digress. Why I love teaching jr high. They are crazy. They are weepy, hormonal, enthusiastic, energetic, and more than a little nuts. You never know what one of them will say or do. I spend at least half my day laughing. I don't mean little snickers, I mean rolling on the floor, eyes watering, can't catch your breath, laughing. They still skip. They think everything will be OK if we tell them so. They are just starting to realize that not all adults tell the truth, but they aren't savvy enough to know which adults are which. The things that ruin their whole day are usually as easy to fix as making up with your BFF. When they do have really big stuff to deal with, they still have the faith of a child, as well as open and loving hearts.
If you are very lucky, and you show them love and respect, they will sometimes let you in. In to that special world of theirs. You probably barely remember what it was like. That wild time when everything was possible and life and bill paying hadn't left you disillusioned. I get to visit that amazing place everyday. They have to know that you are for real and that you aren't in it for yourself. They have to know that you aren't there to judge, just to tell them like it is. You have to genuinely like them. If you do, you're in for one wild ride. They will share funny amazing things, and heartbreaking ones. Sometimes you'll want to go home and weep. But they are always worth it. They will change you more than you will ever change them. Thank God. Youth is there to remind us, we aren't dead yet, and sometimes the greatest way in the world to spend the day is skipping with your Bff and laughing until soda comes out of your nose. The only real diiference in teens today is that your friend will video tape the soda coming out of your nose and post it to youtube.
But I digress. Why I love teaching jr high. They are crazy. They are weepy, hormonal, enthusiastic, energetic, and more than a little nuts. You never know what one of them will say or do. I spend at least half my day laughing. I don't mean little snickers, I mean rolling on the floor, eyes watering, can't catch your breath, laughing. They still skip. They think everything will be OK if we tell them so. They are just starting to realize that not all adults tell the truth, but they aren't savvy enough to know which adults are which. The things that ruin their whole day are usually as easy to fix as making up with your BFF. When they do have really big stuff to deal with, they still have the faith of a child, as well as open and loving hearts.
If you are very lucky, and you show them love and respect, they will sometimes let you in. In to that special world of theirs. You probably barely remember what it was like. That wild time when everything was possible and life and bill paying hadn't left you disillusioned. I get to visit that amazing place everyday. They have to know that you are for real and that you aren't in it for yourself. They have to know that you aren't there to judge, just to tell them like it is. You have to genuinely like them. If you do, you're in for one wild ride. They will share funny amazing things, and heartbreaking ones. Sometimes you'll want to go home and weep. But they are always worth it. They will change you more than you will ever change them. Thank God. Youth is there to remind us, we aren't dead yet, and sometimes the greatest way in the world to spend the day is skipping with your Bff and laughing until soda comes out of your nose. The only real diiference in teens today is that your friend will video tape the soda coming out of your nose and post it to youtube.