School is out!!!

I am the teacher.  I am the only person allowed to write on the white board in the front of the class.  I don't have to raise my hand to speak.  Everyone has to be quiet and listen to me.  My name is on the door and I alone have access to the red emergency bag required during all fire or severe weather drills.  My desk is the biggest one in the room.  I already passed 7th grade, so what do I have to learn? 

 By the end of the year, I confess that I grow weary.  School ended on Friday the 28th and on Saturday I was at the doctor's with a fever and strep throat.  I have a mere three weeks to recharge  before I must return to the arena.  Make no mistake, it is a battle to motivate 12 and 13 year olds to do anything other than text and make vines. I cannot say for certain how many of my students will recall anything of value from our time together, but I refuse to start another school year without reflecting on what I LEARNED from the 120 young people that touched my life. 

1.  There is no such thing as a "regular" child.  No single lesson or teaching strategy will resonate with every student.   There were moments that took my breath away when I witnessed the brilliance and maturity that many possessed.  However, there were many boys and girls that wanted nothing to do with me.  They barely made eye contact and refused to share anything about themselves with the class.  Some were fearlessly unique while others painfully tried to be accepted.  I fell in love with the boys that couldn't keep track of a pencil or a sheet of paper and girls that organized every assignment with an elaborate filing system.  At times I felt like Jane Goodall hiding in the jungle trying to figure out what I might have in common with the species known as a middle school student. I made some breakthroughs and recorded my findings in my writing journal...but there is much work still to be done.

2.  Children are completely different at school then they are at home.  I am the mother of a 13 year old boy.  I love when he comes home and uses the following excuses with me..."the teacher did not tell us the homework.  Mom, she just does not like me.  I wasn't the one talking, but I got silent lunch because the teacher doesn't like me.  Everyone in the class failed the test because the teacher stinks."  I truly believe that Jake thinks these statements are true.  I listen to him and try to help him problem solve and accept responsibility for his actions.  As our children grow up and enter the work force, they are not always going to get along with every coworker and boss they encounter.  Jake wants me to swoop in and save him from the "nasty, inept educator"...but I have been on the other side.  I had a student tell me that she thought everything that I was teaching was a waste of time and so she was not going to try. I explained that every experience in life has something to teach us.  It is not about the lessons or units I cover in class, it is about the students growing as independent learners.  Sometimes I just wish that parents understood that their children are perfectly imperfect... and that is okay.  Advocate and support your child while at the same time showing your children how to respect every person that crosses their path and how to grow from every situation...even 7th grade Language Arts:)

3.  Children need to be taught how to LOVE.  I am shocked and astounded by how mean young people are these days.  I am sure it has always been this way, but now our thoughts and feelings are published for the world to see.  Bullying is REAL, and the majority of bullying is taking place outside of school.  I lectured and lectured, but still heard about young people posting ugly messages about their peers.  One day I was having a class discussion about the power of love and hate.  Almost all of my 120 students sadly believed that HATE is more powerful than LOVE.  I was speechless.  I asked them to explain their reasoning.  One young man said to me something like...it is so easy to hate.  It is like jumping into a pool and getting wet.  But love is like having to dry off.  It takes effort to get the towel and wipe your body and hair and...it is just easier to stay wet. I don't know why I was in shock.  Look at any magazine, television show, website, etc. and you will find people being mocked.  I took a poll and most students could tell me about Adolf Hitler or details about 9/11, but knew little about Gandhi, Mother Theresa, or a local charity doing good work in their community.  I want to embrace LOVE in my classroom.  I will let you know how this new initiative turns out next year.

4.     There is not a television show out there that is as REAL as what is happening in the lives of my students.  One of the teachers on my team always says she wishes that we could have a camera follow us on any given day.  I feel so ill equipped to handle some of the issues that arise in the lives of these young people.  Some of it is just "drama" but it is real to them and offers a teachable moment.  Some days I have to soothe a child with special needs that is upset his rocket did not work in technology class, talk to a group of students that decided they don't want Sally to sit with them at lunch, deal with a parent that is upset about a grade their child received, talk to a boy that is inappropriately harassing a fellow female student, grade a heartbreaking essay about a child that is dealing with divorcing parents, and that is all before lunch!!!  I am not telling you this because I want you to think I am awesome (although you can think that if you want) I want every adult to understand what our young kids really need from us.  STOP AND LISTEN.  What they desire most from me is to know that I care about them.  They want me to be interested in their soccer games, and dance recitals, and what they did at the sleepover they had over the weekend.  We talk about books they have read, movies they have seen, and music they love.  I am far from a perfect teacher or parent, but one thing my students have taught me is that they want to be heard.  They don't want to sit in a chair and listen to me ramble on for an hour.  As I am working on my lesson plans for next year, I am making sure I allow time to just sit back and hear the voices of my students.

On July 29th, I will meet a new batch of 7th graders.  I have been hired to teach them about reading, writing, grammar...etc. but they will not be the only ones learning.  I will keep you posted during my new journey.