Keepin' It Simple

The main reason I love being a middle school teacher is the students.  They are great.  Yes, some days they can get under my skin and agitate me (which is probably on me and not on them).  But, most days they are a blast!  They keep it simple. They tell it like it is. They keep it fun.  They keep me young. And they keep me laughing!  Here's two examples:

Today, I took our Language Arts class outside to observe nature around them as they brainstormed what they wanted to write in their Haiku poems.  I introduced them to "sour grass".   I'm not sure if that's even the correct name for it.  My teacher friend calls it that- so I stole it.  So, I explain to them how they can identify it by the yellow tiny flowers and the heart shape of the small green petals (all of which I learned from that same teacher friend).  Each student got the chance to eat a piece of the sour grass greenery. They all agreed that it tasted like it sounds- like a sour apple. After we finished that up, they spread out around the area and sat and observed nature and their surroundings. Most students were closing their eyes, listening intently, and brainstorming on their papers.  However, when I looked to my left I saw one of my precious students eating handfuls of the grass (and the yellow flowers).  Slowly, the entire class noticed and we all just chuckled. There's just not many words to say when you see that and sometimes you just don't want to know.  It just makes you laugh!

Two weeks ago we were reviewing figurative language for the CRCT  reading test.  We were covering things like onomatopoeia, oxymoron, idiom, hyperbole, simile, metaphor, etc. The typical terms you can expect to see on the test. I explained to students that writers use figurative language to make their writing and language more interesting.  We spent about a week covering this material in detail.  About a week after this, one of my students walked into our 7th period class and was a good 10 minutes late.  I asked him where he had been and if he had a note excusing himself for being late.  He said he thought our whole class was in the library because he walked by it and saw everyone in our 7th period in there looking for books to read.  As he said this to me, he (and I) looked around and saw about 3/4 of our 7th period class was sitting in their desks in my classroom staring at him.  I couldn't help but respond somewhat sarcastically.  I said, "Really? You saw everyone in our 7th period class in the library? How is that possible if more than 3/4 of the class has been in here with me since 7th period started?"  He didn't even skip a beat.  He just looked at me and smiled and replied,  "Mrs. Rohan, I was practicing using hyperbole in my speech to make my everyday language more interesting."  What can you say to that?  The class and I just laughed and enjoyed the moment.

These kids really are a joy!  I'm so thankful for them.