You're older than you think...

It's my second week in "summer school." I'm beginning to understand what this program is exactly. In order to not be sent to a lame "regular" school, NYC junior high school kids take a test to get into a "specialized" high school. Meaning a school which is "better" than say... MY high school. So my job is to prep them somewhat for this test.

Normally I don't dig a class like this... I'm all about opening minds, expanding horizons... challenging people's beliefs. NOT THIS SUMMER PAL! This summer I am TOTALLY ok with checking my brain at the door and just following the workbook. No grading, no reading papers, I get out at noon. Done August 4. It's a sweet gig.

One thing I did notice, the staff of the "regular" summer school at the place I work is downright rude to the kids. While that may be OK for the flunkie kids who are there because they screwed around in the school year, I will NOT tolerate them talking to MY cherubs like they're juvenile delinquents. These are SMART kids who WANT to be here. Well, of course they don't WANT to, who wants to be in school in the summer, but they know it may help them to be here.

And its amazing how young these kids are. It's an eye opener to this cynical, high school English teacher. I have two classes, one group of 6th graders, another is 7th graders. My what a difference a year makes. The 6th graders are SWEETHEARTS - every one of them. They are bright-eyed, excited, anxious, ready, curious... The seventh graders? It's like the hormones have been injected into them and their energy has all gone sour.

The other day, I asked one of my sixth grader girls if she did anything fun the night before.

"Yeah... we went to Toys R Us last night and I got a Barbie."

WHOA.

Then the 7th graders I have mope in... what a bunch of miserable bastards! And it stays this way until 11th grade when as I say, they "become human." Grades 7, 8, 9 and part of 10 (they're just getting out of it) are just hellish. In the 11th grade, they start becoming the adults they are going to be, and you can talk to them, joke around with them... and the hostility is at a minimum.

I still wonder at how young they are. Ages 11... 12... 13... Ugh... I feel so old.