Why I love the middle grades....did I say love?
I saw this image on Pinterest the other day.
My sister told me once that if she taught my age group......a child might not survive the year. She really wasn't joking. My husband also teaches and when he says his grade to people when they ask, they smile sweetly at him. When I reply to the same question, I often get the same look. The....
"are you serious?" look.
"are you serious?" look.
What? I love teaching the "middle years".
Top 5 reasons why I love teaching this age group.
I seriously gag when I see boogies. Can't handle it. When I see the little folk at my school with boogies on their face I have to hold back the gag reflex.
No pee pee or poo poo pants either. Once in my years of teaching the older students did I have to deal with this and honestly.....wow....can't even talk about it.
With middle school there can be tears with DRAMA but I don't need to wipe it. I can simply hand a tissue.
It's true. A middle schooler can have me in stitches. I love their jokes and what they find funny.
I also love that they find me a tad bit funny too.
In all fairness all teachers have "The Look".
In middle school that look can be used for a lot of things. The look to say..."NOT cool".
Not I am mad....or the stop it look....these don't really work with middle schoolers because quite frankly they don't care if you want them to stop it sometimes. The look which all middle school teachers have to master.
Own your inner crazy!
One minute you could be rapping about math, skipping double dutch or giving the "Look". You need to be ready to be firm yet witty. Funny yet fair. Cool, collected one minute and ready to tell it "like it is" the next.
I know...cliche..but so true.
I can be myself.
I don't have to put on my "teacher" act. You know what I am referring too. I talk normal..not in a sing song voice. I can be sarcastic at times and the students understand that it is not literal.
( Thank goodness ).
Maybe the reason I connect best with a middle school students......is I am secretly a middle school student at heart.
I do love teaching the middle school years!
What grades do you love to teach the best?
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