Sixth grade is an odd time in life.

There have been several times throughout the day when I furrow my brow in utter confusement.

::What IS Odd Boy A doing skipping down the hallway?::

::Why is Odd Boy B banging his head against the wall and trying to kiss the hamster cage?::

::Does Enthusiastic Girl C know that she is flirting with Odd Boy D who still happens to be only interested in Manga?::

These are all examples of questions that cross my mind every day as I stand guard outside my classroom door during passing period.

Greg, a middle school character in Diary of a Wimpy Kid, put it best when he said:

"Let me just say for the record that I think Middle School is the dumbest idea ever invented.  You've got kids like me who haven't hit their growth spurt yet mixed in with these gorillas who need to shave twice a day."

So true.  I actually have several sixth grade students that literally look down on me- they can't help it!  I seriously wonder if they do shave and am actually shocked when I find out they have not been held back, but are actually just giant sixth graders. 

Oh my word. 

Thought.

Birthing those students must have been extremely painful...

Refocusing:

These giant students look especially comfortable in our playskool desks, knees up to their eyeballs, and appear even more ginormous when sat next to my sixth grade students barely pushing 4' 1/2 feet.

You've got the high voices, you've got the low voices.  You've got girls with bigger cup sizes than me, and girls that still look like 8 year old boys.  Some love the WonderPets, some love Grey's Anatomy.  I mean really!  Do you see the difficulty in trying to teach to this much variety!?  And that's not including the learning disabilities, the behavior problems, the language barriers, and the general lack of common sense.

I just started teaching my unit on mythology and I'm pretty sure I already scarred some children with my introduction tales of the gods and almost, unbeknowst to me, led a girl to Agnostiscism.

Let me be clear.  I am a Christian.  This girl thinking God is not real because of me would have been BAD.

Don't worry.  We fixed the problem.

I'm pretty sure....

NOTE TO SELF: check on Confused Girl A tomorow.