What Students Say

My students live in a unique world. I believe I was in 6th grade when my family got its first computer. I remember playing games on the computer, visiting chat rooms, and of course getting on ICQ with friends. Watching the world of technology and communication evolve right before my eyes makes me laugh sometimes....oh how things have changed.

Today during the last period of school we had our students clean out their lockers. Just about every single student had a cell phone in their locker. Kids walk out of school and immediately get out their phones and iPods. One student got an iPad for Christmas. Oh please...I got my first cell phone when I was a junior in high school...and all it did was make phone calls!

This week I was made aware of exactly how unique my students' thoughts are. (I guess they are unique to me, but this is just normal for them. They don't know any different.)

We were filling out a questionnaire and the last question was "favorite activity." The first student response I saw was "texting." Really?

This week my classes worked on creating their own Native American-inspired textile designs. We were collecting money for a Native American school in Montana, so I thought I could tie the schoolwide project to geometry through textile design. The students actually enjoyed the project and some of their designs are very good! But I asked each class if they had ever heard the word textile. A few hands shot up. "Do any of you know what the word textile means?" I just had to chuckle out loud when I heard the response, "I don't know, but it must have something to do with a cell phone."

Due to snow days my students had to take their final exams after Christmas break. I knew all the video games, tv-watching, sleeping, and TEXTING throughout break would turn their minds into Jell-O, so I spent the first day in January reviewing for the final. One student struggled to come up with an answer to a question and said with a frustrated tone, "If I had my brain from two weeks ago I would know the answer!"

I guess the most redeeming quality about middle school students is that no matter how immature, overly dramatic, or childish they are, (or how tired, frustrated, upset, hopeless I am) they can always say something that will make me laugh.