Being a Middle School Teacher Actually Is the Best

When most people think about teaching middle school, the idea does not sound particularly appealing. To be completely truthful, the less than desirable parts that people imagine definitely exist.

The job is challenging. There are times when the pitying look people give you when you say that you teach middle school is completely warranted.

But, there are some people who absolutely love teaching middle school, and somehow, I've become one of them. Although I complain about it on certain days, there are some good reasons why teaching middle school really is the best.

1. You have the most exciting stories to tell after work.

Did anyone else have an 11-year-old girl assist them in trapping a yellow jacket in a trash can during the middle of 3rd period while the rest of the class panicked?

No?

I didn't think so.

2. You have an army of enthusiastic people who are ready and willing to volunteer for every task you need completed.

Will it get done well? Maybe, maybe not.

But if you ask for a volunteer, ever single child in the class will raise their hands before you've even explained what you need done.

Passing out handouts, erasing the board, picking up books, moving desks, sharpening pencils. Why is this exciting to them? I don't know, but I am not complaining.

3. The drawings

Maybe this is just 6th grade and not all of middle school, but I get lots of drawings from students. Of dinosaurs eating muffins, of characters from books, of my name, and occasionally of me. Obviously, every single masterpiece needs to be kept in a file folder because you can't just throw them away, right?

4. It's probably the closest to famous you will ever be.

You'll hear people yelling your name all the time. Random kids you don't even know will say hi to you and know your name. When you walk past a group of students lining up, you just smile and wave continuously.

Sometimes, when you're just trying to cross the school parking lot to go home like a normal person, a child will shout your name at the top of his lungs across the athletic field, and then, the entire cross country team will be aware of your presence. Which is only problematic if your two least favorite things are loud noises and having a lot of people looking at you.

5. Every once in a while, your students realize that your last name sounds the same as a death eater in Harry Potter.

I admit this is probably not something that happens to everyone, but I'll leave you to imagine the way a child reacts to my name when they reach the end of the 3rd book.

6. On a related note, you also get to see children reading Harry Potter for the first time.

Most children in middle school are just getting to the age where they are old enough to appreciate the entire series. (I know they could start younger, but the books get darker towards the end of the series.) So you hear them agonizing with each other over every single plot-twist and getting completely caught up in the story.

The best part is when they race into your classroom and go straight to the bookshelf.

Because. They. Need. The. Next. Book. Right. Then.

7. You get to talk about your favorite subjects with students all day long.

Assuming that you teach something you like. Which hopefully you do. Personally, I spend all day long teaching students about reading, writing, and grammar, and I spend about 87% of my time thinking about those things anyway.

8. Your co-workers are awesome.

This one is probably true for high school and elementary, too. At every school I've been at so far, I have been seriously in awe over how these people manage to be hard-working, patient, and dedicated while still being incredibly fun.

Also, some of them make really good food. I felt I needed to point that out because that's one of the criteria that you look for in a quality work environment.


Teaching middle school is not for everyone, and even for the people that it works for, there are moments when it seems like a misguided decision. In all honesty, there are days when I finish work, and I have no idea why it ever seemed like a good idea. But, there are also plenty of moments when middle school really is the best thing ever.

Day Trip to the Grammy Museum Mississippi

It turns out that Cleveland, MS and Los Angeles have at least one thing in common - a Grammy Museum. Given the musical roots of the Mississippi Delta, this fact is less surprising than it seems at first.

Over the past year, I've been trying to make a point to enjoy the places that are in Mississippi. I want to live here, but sometimes I worry that I'm missing out on the experiences I was able to have when I lived other places. This might be true. But, I think part of the problem is that I don't make a point of taking advantage of the opportunities here.

So, when I heard about the Grammy Museum that opened last year in Cleveland, MS, I decided that I needed to take my first visit to the Delta. And, of course, I convinced a friend to come along with me because friends make everything better.

It was a good decision.

For anyone who is a big music fan, this museum is probably exactly what you want. If you're just a casual music fan, then the museum is still interesting.

One of the sometimes nice parts of being a teacher is that we're out during the summer when most other adults are working. In this case, that meant that we had the museum almost entirely to ourselves on a Monday afternoon. There were maybe 10 other people in the museum during the 3 hours we spent there.

In completely unexpected and surprising news, my favorite part was the Taylor Swift Experience.

Obviously.

Basically, T-Swift personally (or, you know, a recording of her, whatever) walked us through her life and her music career. We got to see costumes she wore in her music videos and on her most recent tour. I still cannot believe that I was only two feet (and a protective display case) away from hand-written "Teardrops on my Guitar" lyrics.

Not to mix pop culture references, but this is what dreams are made of.

I did not want to leave the exhibit room. Ever.

Unfortunately, the Taylor Swift Experience is only at the museum until August 13. 2017. But if you're slightly, or more than slightly, obsessed with Taylor Swift, then you should try to make it to Cleveland, MS as soon as possible.

Overall, I would recommend going to see the Grammy Museum especially if you live near it. Cleveland seems to have some interesting things going for it. Which I was unaware of until this trip.

The summer might be almost over, but I'm glad I had a chance to do some exploring in my state. It's something I'll definitely continue doing.

Recommended Reading: Summer

Reading books is kind of one of my favorite things. That doesn't surprise anyone who's spent more than about 5 minutes near me. I can use my job as an excuse for why I need to read a lot, but I would do it anyway even if I didn't teach. Sometimes though, I forget how much I enjoy reading. It's easy to get caught up in important things that take up my time - like work - and then fill all of my free time with media - like netflix and cat videos on youtube. In my defense, I do really want need a cat.

I've been making an effort to read more over the past two years because time spent reading makes me less distracted and less stressed.

As strange as it may sound, the thing that encourages me to just sit down and read is actually other people. Being able to talk about books with other people who are just as enthusiastic about them as I am can be as much fun as reading. I've spent hours in bookstores with friends and taken group trips to libraries. When I go to someone's house, I will be looking at their bookshelves. Not because I'm judging, but because I am looking to see what I might be able to borrow. I love it when friends bring me a book (or an impossibly large stack of books, no names) that they think I'd enjoy. Reading seems like a solitary past time, but, in my experience at least, it's a social activity.

I have more free time during the summer. Which means that I have time to catch up on books that I've been meaning to read and to work on a few book challenges. Even though I didn't read as much I as would have liked, I have read some good books over the past few months. If you're looking to do a little (or a lot) of reading over the summer, here are a few books are interesting/entertaining.

The Books

Entwined - Heather Dixon
Good fairy tale retellings are some of my favorite books. This one is based on the twelve dancing princesses. Each of the girls has a distinctive personality which is one of the best parts of the book. It's not a difficult read, and I completely got lost in the story.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon - Kelly Barnhill
If you keep up with children's lit, you might have already heard of this book because it won the 2017 Newberry Award. A witch rescues a baby girl left in the woods as a sacrifice, and she accidentally gives the girl magic. This book has witches, dragons, monsters, and magic. Basically all of the necessary points for a good story. The book is intended for middle grades, but even if you're not ages 8-12, you can still enjoy it.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? - Mindy Kaling
Celebrity memoirs can be annoying because the celebrity tries so hard to be relatable, and sometimes it just doesn't work. But, Mindy Kaling actually manages to get this right. While reading her book, I came to the conclusion that Mindy Kaling and I should probably be best friends. This book and her other book Why Not Me? make perfect, hilarious beach reads.

Paris, My Sweet - Amy Thomas
Another memoir. This book sends you back and forth between New York City and Paris, and it includes descriptions of sweets that will make you incredibly jealous. This book was right up my alley in every possible way. At one point, she mentioned Valrhona chocolate, and I could barely keep from pausing to take a look at trans-Atlantic plane tickets. Read this one if you're prepared to deal with some wanderlust.

Maus I and Maus II - Art Spiegelman
Change of pace from the rest of the books on this list. This book is not a light, fun read. It's a graphic novel based on the experiences of the author's father during the Holocaust. The book isn't easy to describe because it doesn't fall into the format that I typically read and I don't have any references within my reading to compare it with. The main characters are difficult and real. Sometimes, the story feels overwhelming. I had to take breaks. I wouldn't have picked this one up on my own, but it's worth reading.

Hope that you've got some good books lined up for your summer reading. Also, I'll always happily take book suggestions (and offers of armfuls of books to borrow).

To the Girls Who Want Adventure in the Great Wide Somewhere

It's probably no surprise that I loved the Disney live-action version of Beauty and the Beast. These days things related to France tend to send me day-dreaming. It seems likes it has been much longer than two years since I left, and I miss it.

And, then, in addition to my feelings for France, the movie's main character is one of my favorites. A girl in love with books growing up in a small town, but dreaming of something more.  

That does sound familiar.

Maybe it's just that I make friends with a certain type of people, but many of the women and girls that I know identify well with that character too. I see her in my friends, in the people that I work with, and in the students that I teach.

Right now, it is hard to remember the time when I felt like my life would never change. It seems like a long time ago that I was the girl who kept wanting more from life than the options that I saw the people around me having. I know that I am lucky because my family didn't think that what I wanted was unusual, but there are girls out there who haven't had the same encouragement that I've received from my family, my friends, and my teachers.

To all the girls dreaming of adventure in the great wide somewhere,

 

You will go one day.

It will happen.

Although it may seem impossible to you today while you feel stuck in your tiny little corner of the world where everything continues the same day after day, you will find a way to have your adventures one day. They may not happen quite the way that you expect, and let's be honest, in life nothing ever happens quite the way that you expect. But, if you keep your eyes open and you keep working towards it, you will find a plane, a train, a job, or an excuse that will get you there.

Don't get discouraged.

While you're waiting, don't be waiting. Don't spend your life on hold waiting for your adventures to begin before you start living. Your life is happening around you now.

Let your dreams be as wild as your imagination can run. But, enjoy where you currently are. Your starting point might not be exciting every moment but don't miss what's in front of you while you are dreaming of more. Even the smallest of places has something unique about it. If nothing else, you can wake up for the sunrises and stay up late to see the stars. That's something worth doing anywhere.

Still, don't feel bad for wanting to leave. Even if a place is good for others that doesn't mean that it has to be right for you. Maybe you'll come back in the future. Maybe not.

The fact that you don't want to stay in one place forever doesn't mean that you don't love the people or the place. If you're fortunate, the people around you will understand that your need to wander is part of the way that you are. That no matter where you started out, you would have had to go see what else is out there.

Some people are just made to live that way.

But for the moment, until you leave, enjoy where you are. Despite what you think now, you will miss that little place when you are gone.

Please know in advance that while adventures are magical and wonderful, life gets difficult and complicated and messy, and life doesn't care that you are in the middle of living your dreams. Go anyway. Because life will get difficult and complicated and messy even if you don't go.

I see you there with pictures on your walls of far-away places that you want to go and notebooks full travel lists that never stop growing. Keep dreaming and keep planning.

I know that sometimes you are afraid that you will always be dreaming and never doing, but your whole life will change one day in ways that you cannot even imagine. One day you might find yourself looking out from the top of the Eiffel Tower with a friend you've know since kindergarten, amazed that the two of you have somehow gone from afternoons on the playground to strolls through Paris. There will be days in the future when you will not be entirely sure that you are even awake because your new normal is worlds away from the life that you had for so long.

Those days will come, eventually.

Right now, it is ok that your head is in the clouds and your nose is always in a book.

You'll get your adventure in the great wide somewhere,

And that will only be the beginning.