Why do I teach seventh and eighth grade, as opposed to third or eleventh? This entry began as an email to my sister. But I think it is worth publishing to the world... Seventh graders have very little respect for anything that you or I respect. But they do have a great respect for the social structure they have created for themselves. If you break into that culture, they will respect you, too.
And all the scary stories you've heard from your third graders about their families, or someone they know.... they are HAPPENING in the seventh grade. Girls getting pressured into having sex way too early. Friends who are already pregnant, or afraid they might be. Kids joining gangs, or wanting to. Just as many kids on Ritalin. Kids with potty mouths. Kids getting tattoos and piercings in the WIERDEST places. Kids premeditating fist fights and brawls. Girls slapping and pulling hair. Girls doing far worse to each other from an emotional standpoint. Kids making fun of each other's accents, clothes, breasts, legs, faces, acne.... Kids getting beaten at home. Kids who have seen OTHER kids sexually abused and known that they are next. Kids who mutilate and cut themselves. Kids in psychotherapy. Kids with clinical depression. Kids who can't read and don't want ANYBODY to know about it.
But now that I have scared you shitless about the cons of seventh grade, let me tell you why I love it. There are also kids who are so desperate to find a unique identity that they cling to your ideas. Kids who really don't want to listen or talk to their parents, but they WILL listen and talk to YOU. Kids who want so desperately to be loved that they practically beg for hugs which you aren't supposed to give them, but you do anyway. Kids who light up and say hello and wave, right in front of ALL their friends, as you walk across campus. Kids who ask you how they look. Kids who ask you if you think they are ugly, and when you tell them they aren't, they smile a genuine THANK YOU smile, and then they are okay for the rest of the day. Kids who are open minded enough to get truly interested in what you are doing, and kids who just need one taste of success to decide they like it. Kids who think doing artistic stuff is sissy until they find out they are artists, and then it becomes their signature persona. Kids who are actually interested in the history behind their environments, art, music, their ancestors, countries, music, the people they idolize.... Kids who KNOW what they like, and they know why.... and they will tell you. Kids who will like what you like if you give them a good enough reason. Kids who come to visit you after school because they actually LIKE you, unlike many adults in their lives. Kids who can get so excited about something new. Kids who have the most interesting thoughts. Kids who are willing to SHARE those thoughts with you. Kids who are crying out for some attention, love, enlightenment and real education. Kids who will LISTEN when you give them advice. Kids who care what you think about the gangs, the sex, the drugs, the abuse, their social culture. Kids who you can really HELP. Kids who NEED your help. Kids who appreciate your help. Kids who remember you for years afterward. Kids who say two years later "I joined a band, and I love it, and it's YOUR fault I can read music better than the whole rest of my class... and THANK YOU." Kids who send you emails five years later just to see how you are doing. Kids who bring you more valentines than you have ever received from a guy. Kids who remember your birthday and try to make it special. Kids who think you are beautiful and TELL you so... sometimes at the expense of other teachers. *grin* Kids who can boost or deflate your self-esteem as quickly as they do their own, but kids who never mean to hurt you. Kids who love you whether you wear Payless shoes or $100 dollar ones. Kids who want to know everything about you. Kids who are brilliant and don't know it yet. Kids who aren't brilliant, but they are sweet and kind and need somebody to tell them two out of three ain't bad. Kids who idolize you in some way.
Maybe all of these things go for third grade, too.... but it seems to me that for my personality, I am able to make the most difference in seventh grade.