We Don't Need No Education

I would never say that spending eight hours a day with hundreds of adolescents is the stuff dreams are made of. Just the snippets of conversation I'm privy to are enough to make me question my career choice. In the last week alone, I've heard the following gems:

"I set her weave on fire. I couldn't hit her 'cause she be pregnant."

"Speaking of tampons, my uncle's a prison guard..."

"Why does the hallway smell like ass?"

"She's only 11, but still, why's that bitch in my seat?"

"So then the one shrew gave the other one a nut punch."

Ah, yes, the halls of academia, the place where the brightest minds discuss the most enlightening topics. But yet...I'm not sure there's any other job I'd rather have. For one thing, I'm one of the lucky ones who often gets to be in on the jokes with the kids. For instance? Students sometimes leave notes and sketches and little gifts for me. The gestures are simple, silly, and utterly sincere.

Even when I'm part of the punchline, I get to join in the laughter. Two of my favorite students ever (because yes, we're human...of course we have favorites) have been begging to babysit my daughter. They've upped the ante, though, and now want me to buy a puppy so they can play with it when they babysit. And yes, yes they have sent me links to some desirable puppies (and a pot-bellied pig?...) for sale in the area.

Then there are the kids who know how to laugh with me even at their own expense. It might mean that they're adding to my extensive classroom meme/walls of sarcasm selection:

It might also mean that, even when they're so completely over whatever assignment I've given them, they're not afraid to do the work while letting me know they're utterly done. (The student who submitted the paper below? She hangs out in my classroom nearly every morning before school, and the day after she turned this in, she greeted me with, "So, my outline? Sorry about that shit." I kinda dig the honesty. 😂)

I've long held the belief that teaching isn't about the course content, but about developing real-life skills and building relationships. I encountered a (major, overwhelming, humbling) first yesterday. A current senior that I'd had as a sophomore and worked with in an extracurricular club since then came to me for advice about choosing her college. I gave her very honest input on my experiences, regrets and all, while talking her through her choices. We caught up yesterday, she let me know her choice (her dream school since forever--attagirl!!!), and before I walked away, she said, "Thank you so much. I love you." Rare, unexpected, and absolutely reciprocated. (Psst...I love you, too, kid!)

And then for the purists, the traditionalists who value school purely for the scholarly benefit, it turns out...I can even manage to reach out on that level. My 1st period Advanced Composition class begins at 7:30am. After the bell rang this morning, I was caught up in conversation with a coworker and walked into my classroom one minute late. At 7:31am on a Wednesday morning, in an elective class with more than a dozen teenagers, this was what awaited me:

Every single one of them at work before I'd offered so much as a "Good morning." And had I so chosen? I could've taken a nearly-identical photo at 8:20am when class officially ended. Once more, this is what I have to offer regarding "kids these days." Nope, they're not all diamonds. But (flaming weaves and nut-punching shrews notwithstanding), they're pretty great. Maybe they don't need "no education," but I do, and my kids are some of the greatest teachers.