tales from the 7th grade

I love my 7th graders, this is the perfect spot for me. I tried high school, and I liked that too, but I love these 7th graders. I teach at a small school so there are lots of ways I am involved with them besides English class.
Last night I chaperoned the dance. We have some strict rules about dancing and spend most of the night walking around the dance floor telling kids to back away from each other. The slow dances make me laugh. They are so awkward, don't know how to do it, where to put their hands. It is really cute. One boy has a big crush on a girl and we teachers know about because one of us intercepted a note in class. He did it, he asked her to dance! Another boy has liked a girl since 2nd grade, both in the same circle of friends, but she does not share his feelings AT ALL! I looked up and they were dancing. He was so happy, and after ran up to me, "did you see me, did you see me"!
My fave of the night however was a very selfless act from one of our 7th grade girls. We have a boy with a disability and he is always kinda awkward. He danced around the floor by him self most of the night. A few of cheerleaders tried to get him to slow dance, but you could tell they were not doing it to be nice, he could too! A cute popular girl said no to dance with a guy she likes and asked him to dance for real. It was really sweet. It's not everyday you see kids this age put someone else before themselves.
I had a sleepover party after the dance for my cheerleaders, I was dreading it to be honest, but they were awesome, so respectful.
I am hoping by the time Josie is in 7th grade I will have this age down! HAHA RIGHT!