Things my Students Teach me Part 1

Working with an extremely varied population of students every day and all around Los Angeles, I’m getting a much better sense of how pre-teens and teens communicate.  I used to think that rolling their eyes meant they didn’t care.  How wrong I was.  How very presumptuous of me.

Every rolling of the eyes, every change in their eyes, means something, and if you can pick up on the clues, then you can tap into a deep part of these kids, and it might just be the first time they’ve seen this deep part themselves.  Here is a short list of just some of the clues I’ve learned to distinguish:

1. Everything is important.   Shoelaces are important.

2. Always listen.  Never dismiss.

3. When you see the light go on above my head, grab the opportunity.  If you ignore it, It might take you weeks to get me that interested again.

4.  I smell fear.

5. If I’m still asking you questions, then, NO, I don’t understand.

6. I will continue to ask you questions until you say it in a way that I can understand.

7. Oh, please don’t try to be cool.

8. I can handle the truth and can tell when you’re lying.