The Primitive Nature of the Modern Man....and Teenager

Last week was spirit week, with all that entails. We had dress up days and activities during lunch. And of course, the dreaded activity, the Pep Assembly.

I try not to be a grumpy gills when it comes to these things. I mean, we get out of class for a good chunk, the kids have fun, we build school spirit, it's fantastic. I remember pep assemblies from my youth very fondly.

The problem is that there is so little structure. Give middle school students an inch, they take a mile. Without strict processes and rules in my classroom I wouldn't be surprised if one day I ended up hogtied in a corner with a gag in my mouth.

So pep assemblies aren't my favorite thing. Anything that changes the routine isn't my favorite thing. Especially when, as a teacher, I feel like I know absolutely nothing about whats going to happen. These days sound like "No, I do not know when they will call us down for the assembly. No, I have no idea what they're doing at the assembly. Yes, we have a seating chart. No, we cannot sit by Ms. Peterson's class. Yes, you have to sit with us. No, you cannot just leave because you don't care about it." There are a lot of questions and I have a lot of answers that sound like I don't know anything.

Typically, on an assembly day, I end up cranky and rude. I have to go home and take a bath to release the anxiety of all those questions and all my not real answers.

But last week I realized something. Middle school students, given an iota of freedom, will descend into absolute chaos. We're talking primal behavior, savage behavior. They say and do things they would NEVER in their right mind do. But they do them because they can get away with it.

It is because they are testing limits.

Middle school students, as well as most adolescents, are still learning how to operate within a system. They are learning appropriate behaviors and how they personally fit within a structure, such as society. This is why people give me the "You are SOOOOOO Brave!" when I tell them what I do. Middle school students are still at that crucial age where they are trying to understand the system and so act out in the most absurd ways.

Now, when we take away any semblance of a structure they descend into a feral state. Some of you are thinking "Oh Goodness! I am so glad I do not work with kids!" but you do!

Picture Black Friday Shopping. Picture Saturday's at the super market. Picture football stadiums and hockey rinks across the world. These are all things that operate outside the normal standards of society. They are all free range zones.

Give anyone the leeway to exist outside of the normal constraints of society and they turn feral! Yes, my work has a higher concentration of this behavior but that doesn't exclude you from dealing with feral beasts who do not care whatsoever about you or the rules.

Mankind is still an animal. We can dress ourselves up, build homes and streets and monuments but given a little freedom, given the opportunity to operate outside of the system, we are just a bunch of animals again.

Update!

Well, 2 years and 3 subjects later here I am! I survived my first year of teaching. It was a doozie and I haven't had a year that has been quite that difficult again.

Last year they switched me over to half time English, half time Earth Science. That was an interesting combo. I taught Honors 7th Grade English....and Earth Science. I'm going to drop an honesty bomb on y'all. Earth Science kids are not the most well behaved. It was odd to have the duality of kids who legitimately did not care about school and kids who would cry if I gave them a B. Add on top that I had moved into a room that still had a bunch of stuff from the previous teacher and I was running in between two classrooms and it made for an interesting year.

We made it through though! And this year they decided to make me all English. I now teach one class of Honors 7th, one class of 8th Core and four classes of Honors 8th. This leaves me with a lot of repeat students. This is both a positive and a negative. I have a really good rapport with the majority of my kids, which in all honesty has never been a problem. On the other hand they think we're pals. We are not pals. I've had to be much stricter than I typically like because they can't see boundaries.

I also got to move classrooms again! I now have windows that look out onto a friends classroom and our small shared courtyard. I enjoy the light and the air but they are distracting sometimes. This classroom is also smaller than my other two rooms which is proving to be difficult. I am all about separating sections of the classroom for different things. That is not possible in my current room. At the beginning of the year they tried to cram 41 kids into one of my classes. At maximum capacity my room holds 38 desks. We sorted it out but there were a few tense moments.

Overall this year has been great. I have less stress, more free time and more control. I found a great group of friends over the summer who have been super helpful in me learning to take control of my life. I want this blog to get up and running again. I want it to be funny and insightful. Today I am not funny nor insightful but I am writing.

So come back soon. I promise to include funny stories from my kids and any insights I happen to stumble upon.