Ms. G: 7th Grade Relationship Guru?

One thing they don't tell you about teaching is that emotionally charged, hormonal lives of preteens can and will set the tone for your day. When things are good, they are very, very good, and when they're bad? Eh, it's middle school.

I knew something was wrong when T. moped into the classroom this morning and refused to speak to me. I'll tolerate a lot of behaviors, but failing to greet me with a "Good morning Ms. G" is not one of them.  (When it's 8 am and I've already been up for three hours, I'm really just not in the mood for rude.)

I let him know that I would be ready to speak to him once he'd had a minute to gather his thoughts. He sat down, and I piddled around the classroom and pretended he wasn't there. I straightened papers. I sent emails. And the entire time I secretly wondered: What if he just never speaks again? 


Who was I kidding? His Marcel Marceau impression barely lasted before I heard:

"Ms. G, did you know Tiara broke up with me?"

Hmmm....let's see. I spent most of yesterday trying to teach you how to add negative numbers, identify vowel blends, stop using double negatives, and improve your character in general. Then I went home, ate a disgusting microwaved dinner, wrote lessons plans, and fell into bed around midnight.

Amazingly enough during that time? I hadn't heard that Tiara broke up with you!

I told him I was sorry, that he could write about it in his journal if he needed, but I still expected him to get to work. (He spent the rest of the day with a tissue pressed against his face saying "My eyes hurt, my eyes hurt".)

So while adulthood has some drawbacks, it has its benefits as well. Because while the dating world may be tough, at least I'm not dating in middle school.