Kindness

Jr. High can be so awkward, and moody, and can smell so bad a skunk would run away pinching its nose. Personally, I despised Jr. High when I was there and frequently wondered why anyone on earth would want to teach that age group. For many it can be the worst part of the whole educational experience. Plus, kids can be down right mean. (From a teacher's perspective, it's really not that terrible; it's actually quite comical, excepts for the smells..).

However, the more I infiltrate the system, the more kindness I see. Real kindness, from genuine people just trying to survive Jr. Highdom, and possibly make it better for others around them. 

A few examples that made me want to be better by witnessing them: 

The first one actually involved me. I was having a crummy, saliva-ee, coughed on, frustrating, cry-in-the-corner kind of day that may have been showing on my face. As I was with a student at lunch, the sweet lunch lady secretly handed me an egg roll (the kind I've been coveting but never got around to buying since I started working there) and told me 'merry Christmas' and walked away. I don't think she knows how that simple act of kindness completely turned my whole day around. 

Second, the girl I help at lunch sits on a table that tends to attract kids with nowhere else to sit, or who don't have friends to sit with. There is one sweet girl that sits there alone, but close to us. She always says hi and smiles. The student body were raising money for families in need. This girl, who isn't nearly as well off as some of the other kids there, pulled out a sandwich bag full of coins and with a humble and excited smile told me, "it's $13.50, all I had in my piggy bank, for them." I wanted to cry and hug her and her widow's mite bag of coins. It was probably the sweetest, most selfless thing I'd seen all year. 

Then today: there is a boy at the school who just started there a few weeks ago. In fact, he was adopted from Taiwan, is brand new to the country, and speaks very little English. He was sitting alone at the same lunch table (I see a lot at lunchtime) when a group of about six boys came over and, using a google translater app, tried to communicate with him. They took time to find his language and typed questions to help them get to know this boy. They asked him about his homework and if he wanted help. Then they all left together to get his homework and help him. Boys, Jr. High boys! I wanted to hug all of those boys until their eyes popped out! But I didn't, I just sat and watched in grateful awe. 

Every day people stand in the cold to hold doors for a girl in a wheelchair, or help her in class with work and activities. Many kids hold doors for teachers without thinking twice. As terrible as Jr. High can be, there is so much good potential and it gives me hope for this next generation and for the future. 

Their examples of kindness are definitely ones I can (and should!) learn from.