Middle School is awkward. Kids are awkward. Teachers are in turn awkward, maybe intentionally but mostly not.
As I think about when I was a middle school student, I think back to all of the weird things that I had done or seen at school. Sumo wrestling with the band teacher, pushing a friend out of a window (on the first floor), being dared to stand up in a quiet classroom and sing “I wish I were an Oscar Meyer Weiner”. I’ve done all of these things. I was a weird, awkward middle school student.
As a middle school teacher, I have accepted that I am an awkward teacher. I have made peace with it. I have embraced it. Maybe this is why those awkward students gravitate towards me?
I have the privilege to teach in the same middle school I attended as a student. It is a very surreal experience. Every day I am reminded of some of the wacky things I did as a student by the actions of a current student. And I can’t help but tell them that these will be the best years yet!
I met my best friend in middle school (the one I pushed out of a window?). We are still best friends 20 years later. I learned who I was and who I wanted to become in middle school. I had wonderful role models, and then there were the ones I knew I never wanted to be like.
As a teacher of middle school students, the title remains true. The best things in life happen in the middle school classroom. I shared last week about the day I wanted to quit teaching for good. I shared this experience with my students this week as we are learning about failing forward and never giving up on a goal or a dream. When I told them that I had hit my breaking point they all looked at me with sorrow in their eyes and said “If you quit, who will be there for me when I need someone?” That was then followed by another student: “Yo! I got you! I’ll come and talk with those kids and they won’t EVER treat you like that again! You’re my school momma and ain’t nobody gonna disrespect you!” My response to that was “Honey, I appreciate that you have my back, but we need to work on that grammar of yours.”
That day, after I shared my story of failing with just 15 students, I was showered with notes of love and kind words, hugs, and multiple “I love you” from students. These are the days that make everything worth it. To know that my students care so deeply about me because they KNOW I care so deeply about them. They never cease to show that they care. These are the best things in life. They happen right in the middle school classroom. Now, you are probably saying that this happens elsewhere too. And you are correct. But… in middle school where students are awkward and they know that you embrace that awkward and help them to appreciate the awkward in others, there are not any other words to describe it other than: “The best things in life happen in the middle school classroom.”
A Day in the Life of a Middle School Teacher 
So, after reading your first few blog posts I am astounded with how much I feel like I could have written those words myself. Thank you for so eloquently, and humorously, sharing why the difficult days with middle school kids help us connect and acknowledge all the amazing things we middle school teachers are doing every day. I am currently with my 11th group of middle school kids, and I can’t imagine teaching any other level! The relationships built with these kids during this age are priceless – for them, but also for us. I know you don’t have to, but these relationships are what I wrote about for my blog post this week, and I hope you would relate to my writing as much as I relate to yours.
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11 years! If you would have asked me 11 years ago if I wanted to be a middle school teacher I would have looked at you like you were crazy! This is currently my 9th year of teaching, but only the 2nd in middle school. 5 years ago I would have told you that you were crazy and I would never teach middle school! Now that this is my life, I wouldn’t change a thing! I will definitely check out your posts! Thank you for your kind words!
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