Sage and camels...

I'm going to tell you about one of my students. For our purposes we'll call her Sage. Sage is a highly intelligent girl. She is sharp, witty, highly opinionated, at times brash, and one of my favorite students to teach. Some of her teachers don't appreciate her (which is totally fair, by the way) but I just love her desire to ask questions and challenge things she doesn't understand. Also she loves history, so that helps. I don't find her disrespectful in any way. She simply likes to question and challenge because she loves learning. Sage is not exactly...warm...though. She prides herself on not crying at things that make her classmates cry. She likes being perceived as strong, independent, and self-sufficient. I, however, see cracks in her armor. I see moments when she cares...moments when she lets her guard down even for a moment. Sage is complex. Students like her challenge me to be a better teacher each day. To be a teacher who lives up to their standards.

Now that you have some background on Sage, I'll tell you a funny story. One day I was introducing my students to the geography and climate of West Africa (please try to contain your excitement). We were discussing the plant and animal life in each climate area when I began to explain why camels are well suited for the desert and how they helped with trade. Suddenly, Sage burst out, "Wait...can camels run!?!" I explained that yes, camels can indeed run. "But I've never SEEN a camel run..." she said. Some kid across the room called out, "I have!! They show it in Tomb Raider!!!" I got the class back under control and continued with the lesson. Eventually I showed them a video about modern day salt mining and how little has changed over the centuries (again, please contain your excitement). The video shows camels running. As soon as that happened, Sage gasped loudly, grabbed her face, shouted "they DO run!!!!!" and started crying! This usually tough, no-nonsense, girl in tears because she saw a camel run. I, of course, proceeded to pull up videos of camels running in slow motion...baby camels running...you name it. I've never seen her so happy.

Middle school kids, like all of us, are complex. They try to show you one thing, but desperately want you to see something else entirely. They are strong, they are funny, and they are capable. At the moment, Sage wants to go into the medical field (though those desires can change rapidly). If she does, she will probably save thousands of lives. If she is in that field I hope she constantly questions and challenges to be sure she has the right answers. I hope she doesn't let anyone snuff that fire out.

I love my job :)

- KL