“No, the Pilgrims didn’t get their cows by catching and taming them,” I said calmly. I had lost the internal debate with myself and had decided to answer their question.
“Well, how else would they get chickens and cows?” Jesse shook his head.
“They brought them on the Mayflower.”
“Are you sure? I don’t think that’s true. Didn’t wild cows and stuff like that roam wild and free? How would you get a cow onto a boat?”
“Pushed it on over a plank?” I made my mistake when I held my hands apart in front of me and gestured like I was pushing a cow across a plank.
“Like pirates? Ha ha ha…sure Mr. C.” The room dissolved into laughter.
The best way I know to have a large group of people challenge you on everything you know is to teach junior highers. Nothing starts your morning off right like “If I lived in the Middle Ages and I was a girl and if my dad was a king and told me to marry someone I didn’t know, I would just tell him no,” and that came from a boy. They are not being spiteful, they just can not help themselves.
“Is that why the Romans invented pizza?” An open question policy during my classes means anyone can ask a question at any time. This might be the problem.
“What? No, the Romans didn’t eat pizza. So Augustus imposed what was called the Pax Romana.” Believing it is better to bull past some questions, I kept the lecture going. “Roman armies were always on the march…”
“Which is why they invented pizza!”
“No. The Romans didn’t eat pizza.”
“Why not? Everyone likes pizza and you can eat it while marching.”
“Is this going to be on the test? Did they eat pizza or not?”
Despite all this, teaching junior highers has its benefits. They are not jaded with the educational system yet. Playing the grade game is not the focus of their studies and some enjoy learning. Eager and energetic, most days start with a bang and do not end with a whimper. Watching them jump between playing sharks and minnows with the elementary-aged kids and hanging with the high schoolers who are pretending to be angst-filled is amusing.
Of course, there are issues you need to deal with. Long thin rolled-up tubes of paper often taped together making a longer tube two to three feet long, had been appearing on the floor of my classroom. I threw them away without having any idea what these things were or who was making them. A few days later I learned all.
“Mr. C, tell Adrian if he pokes me one more time I’m going to punch him.” This was Jeanie, spunky and not willing to take anything from anyone.
“She stole my…paper tube!” Adrian objected.
“Mine too!” echoed Steven.
“Well, they keep poking us! Right Lilly?” Jeanie turned and addressed Lilly.
“Yep.” Lilly raised her hand and showed me three long thin paper tubes she had smashed into a ball.
“See! They stole them!” Steven was on his feet pointing at the ball.
“Why…What…Wait! No, that can’t be the bell! Ugh. Come back tomorrow. Don’t forget your homework.”
Adrian watched as Jeanie gleefully smashed his, for lack of a better work, poker into the garbage can. Then the whole group set off down the hallway chattering and bumping into each other.
The next day we had the discussion. Not that one you are thinking of, a different one.
“You do know why the boys keep poking you right?”
“Because they are annoying?”
“No, because they like you.”
Steven shot his hand up. “No we don’t!”
“Yes you do,” I replied. “Not like boyfriend and girlfriend. More like just friend.”
“That’s just weird,” Jeanie said.
“Ever notice how the boys are always hitting each other?” I asked the class. Everyone nodded their heads. The boys looked at each other and laughed. “That is how junior high boys show affection. They hit each other.”
The girls all giggled.
“And,” I continued, “They don’t want to hit you, so this is the next best thing. It could be worse, they could ask you out on dates.”
“Eww. That’s gross.” Lilly rolled her eyes.
“No! No! No! I’m not dating them,” Joey was waving his arms frantically.
But when Adrian jumps to his feet in the middle of a test and shouts “I know this one!” it is all worth it. Giving himself a high five, he sat back down and wrote a perfect paragraph on the geography of ancient Egypt, explaining why the lower Nile is actually higher in elevation than the upper Nile.
Everyone loves junior high.
— — — — —
I teach at a small school overseas. My average class size is eight, so your mileage may vary.
Originally posted at: https://medium.com/muddyum/teaching-junior-highers-love-um-or-stop-poking-people-48a0d11b84e5
Thank you to Muddyum for the publication! Lots of talented writers there. Check it out.
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