This week, I ended up working with a bunch of middle schoolers. It began Thursday night when the UNCA Education department had a group of kids visit from a local middle school to discuss career options, interact with some college students, and attend a Bulldogs basketball game! The evening started with a fun game of charades (in which I ended up becoming one of the actors) followed by dinner and the game. Then, just this morning, I had the opportunity to visit Valley Springs Middle School to observe a 7th grade math class for one of my education classes.
It's been quite a while since my sister has been in middle school and I forgot how different middle school students are. It's such an awkward age when you're no longer a little kid who needs to hold the teacher's hand, and yet, you still find bathroom humor hilarious. Middle schoolers sometimes try to be grown up by using cuss words, but still have no idea who they want to be yet. I remember mostly thinking of how to be "cool" (whatever that meant) and didn't realize until later in high school, that I can be whoever I want to be and it doesn't matter what others think.
Maybe because I had a bit of a difficult time in middle school, I wasn't sure for a long time if I could ever teach that age group. But after interacting with the middle schoolers last night, and then observing a middle school classroom this morning, they're really not so bad. Sure, it's an awkward time for most of them (boys voices begin to change, girls start wearing make-up), but they're not as scary as they appear. Actually, I wouldn't mind teaching a middle school class now. They still have that youthful energy elementary school kids have, but are also beginning to become more mature like high school students. Maybe if I had a more caring teacher in middle school, it would've seemed so bad. Something to think about. :)
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