bad attitude

Seventh graders are crazy. There is no question about that. They don't know if they are coming or going. They don't know if they're happy or sad, mad or content, bored or entertained. Their hormones are going crazy as their bodies are changing the most in the shortest amount of time since they were born. They haven't matured yet, but think they have. These hormones and emotions and the general craziness of 100 students going through puberty at the same time provide for some interesting days in a middle school classroom. Although my days this week have been interesting, they have not been so fun. Some of my students this week got confused and thought that they were grown and could to speak to me however they wanted.

Some quotes from this week:
"I only did that because she did it first so why don't you just shut up!"

"I'll stop talking when you say please to me."

"I'll start being good when you stop calling my parents."

"I'm going to sit here today."

"I'm going to get some water."

As frustrating and sometimes infuriating these comments can be, (I mean, honestly, who do these kids think they are??) I have learned that I don't have to argue with them. I don't have to justify my actions to them. I don't have to prove myself to them. Although these statements seem obvious, in the moment when my pride is wanting to defend itself in front of everyone else and not be shown up by a little 7th grader, they are easy to forget and I just want to put these students in their place and argue with them. You can not reason with a 7th grader. Their world is all about them and they can not see the bigger picture.  I want them so badly to just think logically about their actions, but in these instances, they don't want to think logically. And me arguing with them, trying to get them to think logically does not work. Thankfully, I do have some who have gotten over this hurdle/mountain of puberty and are able to see the bigger picture and understand they are in 7th grade and I am their teacher and some of their peers' actions are ridiculous. When they speak up and tell another student that they are being rude or ridiculous or out of control, it speaks much louder than it does coming from me.

I thought at this point in the year, I would see great strides towards maturity developing in my students. In some of my students I am seeing this; however, in others, I am seeing a regression with lots of bad attitude to go along with it.

I love my seventh graders, I really do. They're kind of like the weather in Boone, if you don't like it, wait around for five minutes and it will change. So, maybe next week they will come in and be the most pleasant group of students ever! At least that's what I'm hoping for.

Overall this week flew by and wasn't that bad. Most of these comments happened in one out of my four classes, which is just a fraction of my day. But, I have to be careful to not let their bad attitude lead me to having a bad attitude.

We're told that the Lord is slow to anger (Numbers 14:18) and abounding in love. Weeks like this make me think about just how slow He is to anger and how loving He is. I spend just 180 days with this group of 92 students and it drives me NUTS when they can't figure out how to do what I ask or when they think they can disrespect me or talk to me like I'm their peer. It makes me think how frustrated and angry the Lord should get with me when I do the same thing over and over and over again no matter how many times He teaches me His way is always best. It makes me wonder how many times a day He thinks, "Who do you think you are?" about my actions or words. I'm reminded daily as a teacher of these students just how sinful I am and how much I'm in need of a Savior to forgive my sins. I've never understood why the Lord loves unconditionally; I know I am so undeserving. Teaching has taught me so much about His love and grace and forgiveness. It has taught me a little more about how to love others and has shown me how far I have to go in learning how to love like He loves.