“Why can’t I own a pet panther?”

“How can you tell if someone is a zombie, and what are the symptoms?”

“Learn how to be Batman.”

Phrases such as these line the walls of a 7th-grade classroom in Grand Forks, North Dakota. In their advisory period this year they are spending time practicing research skills. Limitless possibilities. They can research whatever they want, and they ran with the idea. Needless to say, this provides me with great entertainment.

Middle schoolers are messed up. It’s that simple. A school filled with pubescent children fueled by emotions and hormones comes with its own set of challenges. And I love it.

Middle schools hold a whole new aura compared to other schools. You never know what will happen next, and every day you embark on a new adventure. Standing up at the front of the room between class periods, I never predict what I will encounter when the next group of kids walks in.

“I have a bag full of license plates.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

That is an actual conversation I had with a student who walked into my classroom.

Middle school serves as a time to be weird. To figure out who you want to be. Because of this, we focus on teaching kids not only their common core classes, but how to be good people.

I have witnessed a seventh-grade student steal from his teacher’s desk. I have experienced a twelve-year-old girl physically run from me because she did not want to do her homework. These behaviors carry on into adolescence and then adulthood. This is how we get our rebellious teenagers. This is how we get students mouthing off in high schools. Though it may seem dramatic, this is how we get criminals in society. These behaviors will even cause them to fall behind academically. Students who do not understand the importance of values taught in middle school lead to problematic teenagers in high schools.

Students spend seven hours a day in school. According to a survey conducted in 2014 called “America after 3PM,” 10 million students attend an after school program. These programs tend to be about three hours. Keeping this statistic in mind, a plethora of kids spend about 10 hours away from home per day. This means that majority of their time is dictated by school and their teachers. Their time in school shapes who they are almost more than their family and home life. If a student lives in a bad home that teaches him or her negative values, school will be the only place they learn positive values. Unfortunately, this is a reality for many students whose parents do not teach them empathy, respect, and other necessary values. If most of their time is spent at school, they should learn these character traits while there.

That is what we strive for. I love teaching middle schoolers because I get the opportunity every day to mold them into the people they are going to be. I get to tell them “your girlfriend of two weeks breaking up with you at lunch isn’t the worst thing to ever happen to you” and “I know you’re a fantastic writer.” They amaze me every day with their crudely blunt comments like “you look like Daphne today” or “I’m not going to answer you.”

At the end of the day, they ask me for group hugs, they ask engaging questions, and I know they are maturing into the adults that middle school shapes them to be. Middle school is a time full of emotions; through their many ups and downs we see students at their worst and their best. It’s a crazy time, and I love having the opportunity to guide kids through it.