High School Lessons (#1)

I've been back at school for a full month, and I've been meaning to post a new "lesson" for some time now. Unfortunately, inspiration (and a moment to myself and my thoughts) has been in short supply.

In thinking of something to get this particular type of post started again, one exchange between myself and an Earth Science student stuck out in my mind.

Lesson #1: The more things change, the more they stay the same

While helping students with group work one day, a student (out of the blue) looked at me and said: "You think we're crazy, don't you?"

Puzzled, I walked over to her. "Why would you say that?" I asked.

"You just have this look on your face sometimes," she replied with a shrug.

This got me to thinking. First of all, it's not a good thing that my face has already given my thoughts away, and second, I find my students and their odd behaviors to be amusing rather than crazy ... Most of the time, anyway.

I guess it's just that these kids (all too often) remind me of me and my high school experience. Even though it's just over ten years from the time that I was in their position, things are almost exactly the same as I remember them. While the high school isn't composed of all-girls (as I was used to), the similarities are staggering.

I see the same cliques ... The smart kids, the slackers, the sports stars, the drama geeks , the musicians, the popular crowd ... There are the same complaints about uniforms, the distance between classes and lockers, the food being served for lunch, the length of the school day, and the amount of homework that is being assigned. There are the same clubs and activities, and there is a buzz of excitement at the mention of school dances. I've even noticed that there are the same types of teachers ... The strict ones, the goofy ones, the understanding ones, the scary ones, and even the ones that don't seem to "get it."

Yes, many of the dynamics that I remember are alive and well, only I'm looking at them from the opposite direction. On one hand, I feel extremely tired and just plain old being around these teenagers. On the other, the end of the day causes my own high school memories to come flooding back ...

And, if I turned out to be a well-adjusted, productive adult, there is hope for each one of my students!