The So-Called Life of Middle Schoolers

For an assignment, I've been working at a local middle school once a week. Going into it, I thought that it was going to be miserable. I've always been the type of person to gravitate towards older students. I thought that I'd really like to teach high schoolers, but through this experience I have fallen in love with middle schoolers! Who knew that scrawny little 6th, 7th, and 8th graders would win me over. Yes, there is drama. Yes, they don't fully comprehend everything yet. Yes, they are completely self-conscious. But are they little wounded puppies? Yes. Do they still look at their teachers as elders? Yes. Do I just want to mend their broken hearts and teach them everything I know? YES!

Middle schoolers are developing into who they will become. At this stage in their lives, they are still very malleable. I feel as if I could actually do really good work in a middle school. I became a teacher because I want to make an impact in the next generation. I want to teach students not only literature and writing but morals and life lessons that they can forever carry with them. At the middle school level, I believe that I could influence students in a way that is hard at the high school level. Eleven, twelve, and thirteen-year-olds are still at that awesome stage where they don't know who they are yet and they could be anyone. To develop that sense of self is huge. If I could be the one that could help them find who they are...what a tremendous responsibility. A responsibility that I would love to take on.

There is a student that goes to school at the middle school I work at who does not talk. She is very shy. Even when you ask her a question she just shakes her head. Last week though, we were playing a game that requires talking. I didn't think that she'd have any interest in playing, considering the fact that she is so quite. But when we asked her if she wanted to play she nodded. As soon as we started playing, she lightened up and was soon laughing! Needless to say, she ended up being the best at the game...she beat us all! Tiny moments like that are the ones that make teaching so remarkable. The fact that she opened up to us, even if it was only to play a silly game, was fantastic. I felt so honored. Maybe that one moment will open the door to other similar moments that might bring her out of her shell. I can't wait to be a teacher!

On the other hand, there is a student that I have been working with that is super-intelligent. He is amazing! I found out from his English teacher that he is reading on a 12th grade reading level-- he's in 6th grade! He is constantly telling me about the new books that he is reading and he is always so excited about them! These kinds of students don't come around often. But when they do, they are an inspiration. Students like this young man challenge teachers to come up with new and better ideas. Students like him make teachers better. Without both the quiet and the intellectual, a classroom would not prosper, teachers would not be able to grow. Middle schoolers are so diverse that they challenge teachers every day. Middle schoolers are those students that make teachers better. If you can teach middle schoolers, you can teach anyone!