Stay in school!

The teacher I aspire to be. Ms Tina Fey circa Mean Girls.



Don't consider this a return to form. Just a quick wave hello.

My new school doesn't suck! Teaching 9th grade is waaaaaay more enjoyable that 7th grade. I suspect the main reason for that is colleague related. Where I am, 7th grade is in "middle school", comprising 5th-8th grades. "High school" is 9th-12th grades. The middle school teacher population resembles more what you'd expect from primary/elementary school teachers. Not very well educated. Not especially deep thinkers. Not an expert in a content area. Nearly 100% women. Of course, I have mostly in the past worked in female-dominated areas (anything non-profit, anything social-welfare oriented usually is. Government's 50/50 depending on your department. Law outside of the big corporates increasingly is.); I clearly don't care about that. It was just that the work is characterized (ghettoized) as "care work"; something maternal involving little kids. Oh, eff that forever.

Anyway. I'm teaching totally out of my content area in 9th grade; ancient history to be specific. I am furiously catching up on a lot of stuff I've never studied, not even in high school.

The environment, class work, and colleagues have improved greatly. Teenagers (get ready, revelation coming) continue to be intractable, irrational and sometimes SUCH A GIANT PAIN. And, alternatively, intelligent, curious, thoughtful, proud of their work, and eager to impress.

I read a great post today from Fugitivus about underage girls who come to her place of work, a court, seeking judicial approval for an abortion. Her observations about teenagers were so totally on-point I must share. But do read the whole piece.

"Because the thing I forgot is, yeah, these girls need help, and yeah, these girls are caught in a nasty political intersection of harassment, laws, exploitation, lack of resources, sexism, racism, ageism, classism – but they’re also teenagers. And teenagers are fucking obnoxious. Teenagers show up late. Teenagers get lost. Teenagers wander off when you’re talking to them because they want to get some candy. Teenagers drag their feet and call you a loser when you tell them you’re an hour late because of them and could you just hurry. Teenagers won’t hang up their phone when you’re trying to get them to sign a Very! Important! document. Teenagers interrupt the judge and roll their eyes. Teenagers make out noisily with their boyfriend IN COURT. Teenagers sing repetitive annoying songs to amuse themselves. Teenagers knock over tables and then laugh and say the table was gay. Teenagers remain blissfully unaware and apathetic of the fact that they are a stand-in for your political beliefs and most deeply held passions, and then they make fart noises with their hands. Teenagers sneer and loiter and laugh irritatingly and mess up the office and knock things over until you want to grab their scrawny little necks and… and… and… find a way to get them access to the medical care and autonomy they need. By the end of the day, I was feeling just like that: “Oh, you little fucker, if you don’t shut the fuck up RIGHT FUCKING NOW, I am just going to do everything I can to help you, I swear to god.” "

Kisses!