Teaching Teenagers: Greatest Job Ever

I have the greatest job ever.  I get to go to work each day and interact with teenagers.

Some people think I should get my head checked.  Oh, they don't come right out and say it, but I hear the message between the lines.  They say things like, "I wouldn't do your job for anything.  It must be so difficult dealing with all the disrespect, the rudeness, the entitlement, etc. etc.  Don't you find it's much worse today than it was when we were kids?"

No. I don't.

I find that the teens I teach today are much like the teens I taught 27 years ago when I first started this job.  They're trying to figure out what they want to be, and who they want to be. They are often stuck in this in-between universe of no longer being children, but not quite being adults.  They want to be treated like they have value.  They want to know you care, way before they care what you know.

Sometimes my job is unenviable: I have to teach them mathematics, which they sometimes struggle with, which they often do not see a purpose for, and which does not necessarily sit high on their somewhat hormone-driven priority list.  And sometimes there is a history there, which means my first job is to convince them that, this time, if they will trust me and do as I suggest, it can be different from their previous experiences. That's the challenge for me, and I am reasonably successful.

The kids I teach ARE different in some ways.  I think it is WAY harder for them to be teenagers today than it was when I was a teen, and I thought it was tough THEN!  Far more families are broken today than 30 years ago.  There are far more distractions today than there were 30 years ago, cell phones being only one of them (and believe me, their PARENTS are often just as addicted, considering the number of times it's a parent that is texting with my student while they're in class!)  And it is far more complicated navigating the whole "dating, sex and gender" thing today than it was 30 years ago. Teens need our help and support, not our judgement!  And judging by the teens I teach, a great deal of you in the parent role are doing a great job, even if it feels like you don't have a clue what you're doing!

Case in point:  last couple of days have been emotionally difficult, for no real reason.  The sorrow and the tears have been simmering just below the surface, and yesterday was exceptionally challenging.  In my first period class, I got choked up pretty bad.  I decided to just be honest with the kids.  "I'm having a pretty rough day.  I don't want it to be awkward for you.  I just want you to know that I'm trying to push through but it's hard."  They all knew the events of this past January.  I ended up having to let each of my three classes know this, because I was just holding it together.  They were great.  There were some in each class who offered a kind word, a wish for a better afternoon, or a better evening. They demonstrated compassion.

If that doesn't sound like the stereotype you associate with teens, then maybe your stereotype needs an adjustment.  The teens I know are awesome.