my kids

is it weird to refer to them like that?

i think i use the term more often than most.  even when i was in high school, i would talk to my parents about "the kids" (meaning my younger brothers).  now, i call my students my kids.

in the realm of unexpected benefits of teaching..

you learn to deal with kids.  i mean, junior high is notorious (so i hear) for trouble-makers.  if you think about it, they are at the peak of immaturity.  they are at the place in life where genuine childhood immaturity intersects (intersex, ha) with perverted teenage immaturity.  you can't get any more immature.

i'm convinced you have to identify with people in order to understand them, and you have to understand them to identify with them.  the same goes with kids.  if you can see where they are coming from, you can get along with them, and, if you can get along with them, you can teach them.  this ability is being developed in my approach as a teacher, and is going to come in handy if i ever have children...

speaking of benefits of teaching, when i give my future girlfriend my resume, you KNOW when she reads "junior high teacher" she going to SEE "good with kids".  win.  she'll probably also see "poorer than i'd prefer"...

back to my kids.

i have favorites.  i have this whole theory about how favorites exist by definition (because of human nature), even in parents/children relationships.  don't wince! it's okay.  it's possible to have favorites without loving one more than another, or giving special treatment.  and favorites can change.  incentive, anyone?

with no particular connection, here are a few student anecdotes:

one of my seventh-grade girls is an average student, mildly delinquent, and loves college football.  one day she asked me to come throw a football around with her and her friends after school.  i did.  weeks later, during the parent-teacher conference, her mom brought it up.  apparently, this girl's dad died a few years back, and i had made her day by playing catch.  this changed my entire approach to her.  a great example of how parent-teacher conferences can be helpful in ways that aren't even intended...  i've gone out to play catch at least once every week since then.

after my soccer team lost in the championship game last week, i was frustrated, but resigned.  after we slapped hands with the other team, i just wanted to wrap up and get out of there.  as we were walking back to the sideline, i turned to find one of my seventh-grade boys crying next to me.  almost instantaneously, i started to tear up.  i was really unprepared for that reaction, and it really hit home how important it was for me as a coach to react positively in the aftermath.  it was also embarrassing, because i had to go accept the 2nd-place trophy while trying not to cry.

what a disjointed post.