Seventh Graders

When I tell people I'm student teaching at the Middle School, I usually get the pity look. Then I hastily explain that it was my first choice, and for whatever reason, I love teaching seventh graders! People smile, nod, and say, "Well, I'm glad there are people like you."

I'm figuring out why it is I love it so much. Part of it must be that I loved middle school. I was really quiet in elementary school, spending most of my free time reading (and most of my class time, come to think of it...). Then I went to middle school and met an amazing group of new friends: Sheri, Leslie, Leslie, Julia, Megan, Aimee, Gloriane, Lydia-- these girls made my years. I put away my books and learned to socialize. Middle school was a blast! I can't say we were always perfectly kind to each other; we loaded every comment with heaps of sarcasm. But we made it through and giggled a lot.

I loved middle school, and I loved high school, but that's not why I love teaching there. In fact, life has just continued its gradual ascent, and I would never go back--even with all the friends, the crushes, the inside jokes, and the camaraderie that I doubt I'll ever have again.

I've finally pinpointed why it is I love this group. It's the same reason I love cheesy teen literature. I'm not just talking about Twilight, although that's definitely on the top of the heap. I'm talking about the cheesy, sappy, crappy teen chick-lit that I choose to read in my free time, like The Princess Diaries, Stargirl, The Princes books, along with countless other dribble I've read not even worth remembering the titles. The plots are hardly original, and no one could call them sophisticated. The characters are similar: girls, their friends, and the boy(s) they like. But I finally realized why I keep reading it: character development. In each book, and in each seventh grader, there is a poignant moment where a character starts to become who she will grow up to be. It's not always pretty. It's sometimes annoying, embarrassing, and even hurtful. But I love to see the adult beginning to emerge and test its legs for the first time. I love to see kids taking responsibility, helping out, learning new things, and occasionally showing their vulnerability when the situation becomes something they're not ready to handle. And then I get to watch it in real life, just like I love to read it in cheesy books, where the child learns to handle a new situation and takes that one step towards becoming a capable, actual, real-life adult.

I love working at the Middle School!