Ahh, middle school...

Quote #1: "You know Ms. Broome. She will mess you up." - DW

It's been almost two months since I started teaching my second year with Indianapolis Public Schools, however this year I am at a different school. I am now teaching at a middle school located on the Westside of the city. I actually do like this year better for a number of reasons but there are so many differences between this year and last year that I don't feel like it is fair to compare the two experiences. But who said life was fair?

I am different this year. I learned my lesson about being too nice at the beginning of the school year and did not make that mistake this year. My students know that I am always hassling them to make sure their behavior is where it should be. I know that no matter what happens I am the one in control and there is no way in hell a 13 year-old is going to try to talk back to me. I don't care how they behave at home, they know that I am the one in charge in that classroom. While this might seem small, the fact that I believe and have put into practice that previous statement means that I am a lot less stressed this year. I might not know how the kids will behave but I know how I will act and there is a strange peace of mind that comes with that acknowledgement. The quote above is from one of my students when a student asked if I was going to sign up for football and I told them "no" because I didn't want to hurt them, thus prompting the quote from my student. While it was said in a joking context, it does sum up the fact that my students know I'm not playing around when it comes to their education and discipline.

The student are different. First of all, they are not as funny. The ridiculous comments/pick-up lines I heard last year are not coming nearly as frequently, which is a little disappointing. But I have faith that as I get to know the students better their goofy sides will be shown a little more. Secondly, the students are soooooo much more hormonal! I thought freshmen were bad; oh no, eighth graders are on a roller coaster of emotions and even they don't know if they will be at a high or a low point. I have never seen students go from bouncing off the walls to wanting to go to sleep so quickly. And lastly, they are more respectful. The fact that I have not been cussed out yet or called a bitch to my face is a major accomplishment. I like the fact that 8th graders are still at that weird age where you can be sarcastic with them but they also know that they need to listen to adults. Last year, my students thought we were too much like friends; I'm not having that same problem this year.

My subject area is different. I am no longer teaching life skills, which is both good and bad. I didn't realize how nice it was to teach a subject that I could not be held accountable for. A lot more pressure comes with teaching a core subject where there are standards and accurate measures of how much you are actually teaching the students. While I like teaching a subject that I feel is important and necessary, I miss being able to basically do whatever the heck I wanted to do. I also have my doubts that I am actually teaching these children anything; I'm not sure if I am teaching them the right stuff; I'm not sure if what I am saying makes sense. All these things combined make for a lot more stress on my life. However, I know how to deal with stress and have resigned to just doing the best I can and hoping that this is good enough.

The year has started off decently enough and time is flying by. I know that the rest of the school year has a lot of exciting opportunities and challenges ahead and I think tackling them is going to be a pretty good time. And hopefully my students will say some more random quotes so I will have some material to blog about.