People bless me a lot for being a middle school teacher. They bow to me, sometimes press their hands together in Namaste and add "I don't know how you do it" and "I could never teach middle school!" Sometimes people reveal to me that they were, themselves, beastly, revoltingly awkward, or otherwise so repellent in 7th grade that they can't even stand to think about that phase of their lives. Even elementary school teachers and high school teachers bless me. Elementary school teachers seem happy to release their students into middle school as soon as hormones start to churn up; high school teachers keep their blessings short and sweet. "7th grade? Oh, yuck. God bless you."
And yes, some days teaching middle school are hard and horrible. They just are. There can be crazy bursts of inexplicable laughter, objects moving about the room in extraordinary ways, or a body or two starts writhing on the floor. There are tears and panic attacks, molars fall out with braces wires attached to them and periods start in chairs. On many occasions I find myself saying out loud, "What's happening?" They would all be doomed if this were 17th Century Salem.
But for the most part, I do feel blessed. Amidst all this pain and weirdness, a birth is happening and I get to witness it. Middle school students are going through a powerful transformation toward adulthood. They are losing their childhood securities (the known world) and stepping into the first stages of the adult world (the great unknown). There is excitement and dread, sass and paralyzing insecurity. They can be startlingly wise one day and irritatingly immature the next. It is a wonder to behold.
Middle school teaching is not for everyone, definitely not for the faint of heart. If you can roll with it and have the vision of seeing the unique being that is trying to unfold itself into the world, you can do it. Each day in a middle school is different. I have had no other job in which I have laughed every day, every single day.
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ReplyDeleteAs a high school teacher, I echo the short and sweet sentiments you mention: Oh, yuck. God bless you.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher in an all-girls school, I completely identify with the constant blessings. When people hear I work with teenage girls, their reaction is much the same as what you describe here. And like you, I both appreciate the blessings (some days are pure dramatic hormonal chaos that would only make sense to those who have lived them) and love what I do (teaching insecure girls to become confident women - awesome!).
Yes! I get this response a lot too; it's kind of satisfying most of the time, but I also think we all have jobs that are meant for us, or at least hopefully. Also, I gave "______ is not for the faint of heart" as a writing prompt the other day and my 8th graders had no idea what that meant, which was fascinating to me.
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