One thing I have noticed with teaching is that I tend to view my students as older than they really are. We forget that they are still kids. In my case, 12-14 year old kids as I teach Middle School. Each student has their own persona or "reputation", even if they don't know it. We have the quiet kids, the outgoing kids, the hyper kids, the artists, the writers, etc. And then we have the trouble makers. The students whose name on our roster makes us cringe. The students who keep us on edge all the time.
I have been very fortunate in my early years of teaching, to be able to reach these students. I hardly have behavior problems and I even hear these types of kids say, "I love this class". Sometimes I wonder how I am able to do this. I think partly it is because I teach in a computer lab, so they are always busy doing something. However, I also think I must have some intangible way about me that relates to these students.
One thing that discourages me is to see these students always getting in trouble. I try my best to talk to them about decision making and consequences, but I still see it happen quite often. I see them walking through the halls, acting tough. I see them after school hanging out on the corner with nothing to do. We see them as problem students, with a tough image.
However last week, something happened that really surprised me. I was leaving school, driving down the road. I see a group of these tough kids on the corner hanging out. I drive past and don't make eye contact as I think they won't want to tarnish their image acknowledging me. However, as I passed them, I glanced in my rear-view mirror and, much to my delight and surprise, I see them waving to me. It truly warmed my heart and served as a subtle reminder that, after all, they are just kids.
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