Elementary Insight from a 12th Grader.

Everyday I come to school and learn something. Last year I learned math formulas that might as well been Egyptian hieroglyphics and chemistry problems that made my head want to self-combust. So far his year I have learned that I really don’t have a personal philosophy, but I am getting genuinely close to finding one. I have learned that I really do rock at using Google translator in Spanish and that sooner or later my entire Adult Living class is going to get “the talk” but with much much more detail. I have also learned that people can call me conceited or fake or an airhead or annoying or boring, but what really matters are the words I choose to describe myself. Four weeks into my senior year, and I have already learned so so much. But some of the most important lessons I have learned haven’t come from my teachers, they came from my fifth graders.

As a senior cadet for Mrs. Merical’s 5th grade classroom, I spend at least 45 minutes with some of the coolest 5th graders I have ever met each and everyday. I walk through the classroom door and the class immediately stops paying attention to the science lesson in front of them just so that they can give me smiles and “hello!”s. I’m sure you can imagine how special that makes me feel. But it only makes sense for me to feel that way because each and every one of them is special too. One boy draws awesome dragons. Another loves sour candy. One girl does some of the best scrapbooking I have ever seen! While her friend loves telling me stories about her baby niece. As for the class as a whole, they all LOVE fungus. I squirm and say “ew ew ew” in my mind while helping them write down their data about their individual fungus biospheres residing happily in empty jumbo size peanut butter jars under Mrs. Merical and Mrs. Sieler’s desk, but not the fifth graders. They are full of “Cool”s and “Wow”s and “That’s gross… but Awesome!”s. Lucky for me, the fifth graders are the ones learning about fungus. I am learning a different lesson all of my own.

Lesson number one: Patience. I am learning a lot of that. Mrs. Merical and Mrs. Sieler have more patience then the Titanic had people. When one student refuses to do their assignment and has a million and one excuses as to why they can’t, my patience starts to wear off. But I have learned that it’s important not to let it do so. As soon as you get flustered, the student gets flustered. Or like a bear, they sense your “fear” and become even more disagreeable. You just have to stay calm and sensible and not loose your sense of humor about it.

Lesson number 2: Fart jokes are funny. If you ever spend any amount of time in a room full of fifth graders you will soon learn that they laugh about everything. Sometimes it’s a funny video clip that Mrs. Merical is showing to the class but most of the time they are giggling about something completely random. And… I love it! Between 5th and 12th grade I have kind of forgotten how to laugh about nothing. Between people being mean and teachers calling for my focus and attention all the time, I finally gave in and just stopped laughing as much or as often. According to the fifth graders, that’s not cool. And science agrees. According to studies, laughter reduces the level of stress hormones, and increases the good hormones like endorphins (natural painkillers) and neurotransmitters. So next time your walking past Mrs. Merical’s room and hear them laughing, its safe to say that a good fart joke has been told and that I am laughing right along with them.

Lesson number 3: 5th graders are people too. Baby talk is okay when a child is still in the “gogo gaga” stage, but to talk down to a 5th grader (or a 1st grader for that matter) is not right or recommended. Why? Because they are brilliant! It’s my biggest pet peeve to be spoken to like I am an idiot and it surely annoys them too. Instead of talking down to them since they are younger than me, I choose to talk to them like they are my age. Because even in 5th grade, they know what drama is and what working hard entails. No one should ever make them feel as if they don’t. One of them might be the next President of the United States one day!

Lesson number 4: Do things with Gusto! They plant flowers like it’s up to them to save the environment. They decorate the lunchroom with posters and streamers and banners and even blue Christmas lights just to get everybody excited for Homecoming week. They make colorful signs promoting healthy habits that are to be up through out the elementary. These three things have one very important thing in common: Gusto. Mrs. Merical’s fifth graders don’t approach things with a frown and whine “Do we haveeee to?”. Instead they go all out. All the time. With EVERYTHING they do. And I think, “Why don’t I do that?!” Why don’t I sit down in front of my lap top and think “I’m going to make this the better paper on poetry EVER READ!” Because I should! The bigger I dream, the more I will achieve. I can’t possibly make my dreams come true without a lot of that 5th grade gusto! So thank you, my gusto-loving fifth grade friends, for teaching me how it’s done.

You don’t have to be in a classroom to learn and you don’t always gain knowledge from a book. Sometimes you find yourself learning in the most unexpected places and from the most unexpected people. Thank you boys and girls for teaching me how to be patient, how to laugh about nothing, how to treat others as my equals and how to live my life with gusto. I never thought I would learn so much in a classroom where my legs can’t even fit under the desks and from kid’s who don’t think that fungus is gross.

XOXO,
Katie :)