Kids Surprise Me

So, I just finished my first week of teaching middle school.

The middle-school students are easily excited. Their faces have a brightness and eagerness not only to learn but to comprehend. I tell the students about commas before coordinating conjunctions, and I see their minds churning the information until they produce hard-earned understanding. A few times a day, they hang on my every word, gripping my lessons in their academically absorbent fingers.

Most other times, though, I feel more like a babysitter than a teacher. I don't mean "babysitter" in pejorative way; I simply mean that a good portion of my day involves nagging students to be quiet, do their homework, and focus on the assignments.

But despite their short attention spans, I saw some pretty mature behavior this week.

First, while I was writing at the board, a student passed some gas. I saw an embarrassed young man grin and say, "Excuse me." Now at this point, I was laughing; not ruckus belly-shaking, but my shoulders were certainly moving. I mean, farting is funny, or at least my brother and peers all find it humorous. There's something about the rich sound mixed with the personal vulnerability. I laughed out of reaction without considering hurt feelings.

I quickly stopped when I heard another student say to the wind breaker, "Hey, man. It's cool. Everyone farts." There wasn't a hint of sarcasm or mocking in his statement; he genuinely wanted to reassure and support his classmate. And how true a statement! I fart all the time. How could this 8th grader be more mature than me?

Second, one of the students has a fairly obvious physical deformity. To be perfectly honest, the abnormality did make a bit uncomfortable as I have never seen such a characteristic in real life. It wasn't disgust...more like disproportionate interest.

But again, another student surprised me when I overheard him at lunch: "His thing is cool. Check it out," he called to a group of friends. Again, the youthful exuberance was pure—there wasn't a hint of malice. The student with the deformity looked pleased to show his attribute as if it was a medal of honor. How could these 6th graders be more accepting than me?

I'm not sure if these students are incredibly mature, or of they simply have not had their open-mindedness spoiled by the xenophobia of adulthood. Either way, these students showed me something about acceptance and diversity; I might be the English Instructor, but we are all teachers.