Middle School Lessons (#2)

Lesson #2: Eighth graders are perceptive

Today, I had the pleasure of viewing the second half of "The Miracle of Life" with my eighth graders. They were such good sports, putting up with the cheesy music and fuzzy photography all the way through ... and not laughing at the many images of sperm swimming in misdirected circles. They are a rare group (the highlight of my day) for which I am eternally thankful.

With about two minutes of video to go, the camera focuses in on a mother giving birth and eventually pans down to show a big, hairy head crowning in all its glory. Mere seconds later the baby's head is fully out, the blood and liquids are flowing, and the doctors are declaring: "It's a boy!"

To this, my eighth graders had many responses ... Shrieks, gasps, wide eyes and lots of "Ewwww's." But my favorite was from one of the four boys in the class.

"No. Just no," he sighed sadly, putting his head down on his desk.

I smiled to myself, shaking my head. It had only been about two minutes of footage. These kids probably see more blood and gore on a movie screen every other weekend.

As I went to the VCR to rewind the tape, one of the girls looked to me and said: "I didn't realize we were watching a video that promoted abstinence."

Ha! Neither did I!