I work with 7th graders. Yes. Not as rotten as 8th grade, but certainly more terrifying than 6th.

Seriously! I’m wracking my brain, trying to think of anyone I know who actually brightens at the thought of the dreaded “middle school” years. Kindergarten? Oh, such a fun age! 4th grade? What an exciting challenge! High school? You’re probably one of those “cool” adults that young people easily relate to.
Grades 7 and 8 seem to elicit an almost universal groan and an expressed wish to immediately canonize any teacher who ventures forth into the Dark Years.

It’s an understandable sentiment- 12-14 year old are going through some of the most traumatic (and dramatic) changes both physically and emotionally. EVERYTHING is turned upside-down: how you relate to your family, your friends and most importantly, to yourself. Some people are sprinting ahead towards full adolescence while others are clinging desperately to the security of childhood. And hormones.
Dear lord, the hormones.

Also, I’m in a Jamaican school, where respect for authority figures starts to dwindle around age 11. Even in my very small classroom (we have 13 students when everyone manages to make it to school), it can be tricky maintaining order without turning into an ogre. Some students stood out at potential “disruptive personalities” from Day 1.
One girl, especially so, and it’s been a rocky few months with her making faces, refusing to stay seated, provoking other students, and other classic attention-seeking behavior.

Frustrating and heartbreaking, but I’ve learned not to take bad attitudes and out-of-order conduct personally, because it is generally symptomatic of issues that have absolutely nothing to do with me, and they behave this way for pretty much everyone else. And, like I said, this one girl in particular.

One of the things that we (the teacher with whom I work with closely, it’s her 7th grade class and when I’m not leading a session or doing pull-outs I act as an assistant) had noticed was that while this student was bright, she had issues finishing her work because she spends so much time goofing off.
Yesterday after grading her science notebook, I told her exactly that.

Look, I said. You can do this, and you do it well when you settle down. Seriously. You’re a smart girl, so you need to act like it! If you started your work when you’re supposed to, you’d actually get it done, and I’d be able to give you higher marks. Think about it.
She responded with a “Yes Miss”, which is the standard reply to anything I say. I shrugged it off, feeling as though I’d tried, but maybe (probably) nothing would come of it and the cycle would start over again Friday (today).

And then….today during Social Studies, I caught her in the act. Miss W was writing out the assignment on the board. The girl had yet to get out her notebook- and I could see her catch herself. Out came the notebook! Out came the pencil! Down went the work onto the paper! Halfway through she caught my eye and smiled. Then she went right back to the assignment.

I left school exhausted as usual, but feeling as though maybe, maybe I’d started to reach her a little bit. These are crucial years, both developmentally and educationally, and it kills me to kids holding themselves back. I only had to speak to her once about staying in her seat, and she fully and enthusiastically participated in the inaugural Girls’ Club meeting at the end of the day.

Will there be many more difficult moments in the future with her? I don’t doubt it for a second, but today gave me a glimpse of hope that eventually, this rocky road will smooth out as much as it ever can with a 13 year old. Poor thing, though whether in reference to her or me is still up for debate.