It has now been two months since I took the position of Garden Educator for Urban Sprouts. I can’t even explain how fortunate I feel to be giving back to an organization that helped shaped my views on community building through Urban Gardening. I enjoy being able to go back to Ida B. Wells and peeling back all the layers and looking through the multiple fronts that high school students put on.
People may think that high school students are hard to work with because they won’t really show you how much everything you do means to them. I may be crazy but I look forward to the “it was aite” comments and the “I guess it was cool” when they explain their time in the garden. I really enjoy when I see a student who seems apathetic in class but yet that same apathetic student is the first one to show their other teachers what they did in the garden. I would say my most favorite part is when the student that was giving you the hardest time in the classroom is the one with the most questions and gets all excited when they see you walking in the hallway.
The following are my translations from High School students.
“This is lame”
The truth is there are going to be some things students might not like to do but it doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t try it. What I hear instead is, “why is it important for me to do this?”
“It is what it is”
When a student gives you this comment about what they are doing, the reality is they actually might not be interested at all. Yet, they are still there doing the work. Students have a choice; they can simply just not do it. What I hear is, “I would rather be doing something else that I’m comfortable with but I’m down for this new experience.
“It was aite?” “I guess it was Cool.”
Students are too cool to tell you that something was amazing. When you hear this it really means, “It was so much fun, lets do more things like this.”
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Middle School students are on a whole different level. Put kids that just started puberty, confused about what is going on in their body, chemically unstable, and highly emotional in the same building and you get middle school. I bet that for most of you middle school was one of the meanest events in your life. Some people feel that middle school students have less of a heart but in reality their hearts tripled. Middle school is definitely the times when boundaries get pushed, experimentation begins, and the skills to form relationships get created. Going to Aptos I was ready for that. I was ready for the students to push my boundaries ask tons of inappropriate questions, and to push them to do things that will help benefit them. I enjoy the challenge and am ready to continue to push them and help guide them through one of their most challenging periods.
Working with middle school students may sound tough, especially with the picture I just painted, but the reality is that all of these students do have big hearts. It’s always important to remember that you can’t take things personally. A student may yell and be the most defiant but that same student will be the first to help you out and ask how was your day as soon as that bell rings.
Helpful hints with middle schoolers:
Listen:
Some feel like no one is listening to them and they become really emotional. If you’re busy let them know that you want to listen and give them an option when they can speak with you so you can give them all the attention they deserve.
Be available:
Middle schoolers are the floppers of our species. Make yourself look like you’re super busy and just wait. Soon a student will just appear and start asking you questions. I remember that the best times I connected with my students where with these “uncoordinated” office hours.
Be One Hundred:
Always be real and upfront students will really appreciate it. Students don’t like to be treated like kids, they want to be adults so it is always important to let them know that you have adult expectations for them and believe they can accomplish them.
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