Conversations with Ten Year Olds - A Review

I hate to generalize, but for the most part 5th graders always say they want to be treated like they're an adult.

While this is mostly true, I've recently learned to tailor my approach based on which kid I'm talking with. To just put it plainly, some of them want to be babied.

It's a little frustrating, as you might imagine. One kid wants you to be real, but the kid next to them wants you to talk to them like it's their first day of school.

All the tone switching can get exhausting throughout the day, and it kind of makes me feel... Fake? I don't know. I know I've had to act differently around different people my entire life, but at the very least I was still my "authentic self." Now? Now I'm 49 different people to 55 different kids. An overstatement? Yeah, probably. But it’s the closest approximation I’ve got.

The main issue with living like this is that the children crave consistency just as much as they crave specific treatment. So, I end up in a situation where I’m unable to satisfy both interests and then I get frustrated.

I can't stay mad at myself for working this way. It's in service to get the best results for the kids, and while I do it I can slowly utilize this inconsistent personality less and less until they are all normed on the expectations of a teacher. But then again. They're just fifth graders.

And then again, I’m just one person.

With all that negativity said, I have had some pretty fantastic conversations with these kids. You know, the kinds people tweet about.

I have one kid who frequently puts his head face down on the desk. Generally it’s a coin toss if he’s doing it because he’s mad or because he’s crashing after the caffeine and sugar from the grande frappuccino his mother bought him on the way to school. So, yesterday, while taking a test, he put his head face down on the desk.

I walked up to him, put on an authoratative whisper and said, “are you tired?”

He shook his head no.

“Are you mad?”

He shook his head no.

I then looked around the classroom. He had been marked for getting a “correction,” basically told he did something wrong. That usually is what pushes him to being mad. His eyes were closed and he was breathing pretty heavy. “Are you…. Both mad and tired?” I asked.

He shook his head yes.

I’ve had weirder experiences. One kid, who is frequently talked about among my co-teachers, consistently breaks us all down. Whenever there’s a lull in class, he is bound to start doing something just… weird.

My friend’s favorite story is him using up a box of tissues and then placing the box on his hand and refusing to take it off because it’s “his friend.” Just recently, while checking in on him during lunch I found him absolutely covered in ketchup. From forehead to chin and on both hands.

It’s an experience.

With a few day left before the break , it’s not an easy time here at work. So, I should probably go help out instead of writing this.

Anyway. I appreciate you and hope you have a great rest of your week.