Farts Don't Just Happen

Nearly two months into my new job as “Student Manager” I can honestly say I actually said, “Farts don’t just happen” when I meant to say “Fights don’t just happen.”

Somehow that quote just captures the past two months in a nutshell. Farts do actually just happen and so do fights in middle school. One between girls and one boys, though two of the fighters were related. That was not a happy dad who had to come twice to school to take his children home. I did mention they were the same day, didn’t I?

I have also learned, much to my surprise, that kids lie. With a straight face no less. This is new to me because I have never been a good liar and find it unethical actually. Of course I can tell a decent white lie, “Yes, that meeting was very informative,” but could I ever lie about something I did to an authority figure, no way.

However, kids will say others did this or that to them, that they bullied someone because they were bullied first, or they didn’t have time to do their work. Sometimes it is actually true, but more often than not these are half-truths. Usually, they did something to the other person, they initiated bullying, and they didn’t have time because they wasted all their class work time and were busy playing soccer or video games at home.

Amazingly, I am enjoying what I am doing. I like it because every day is different. I appreciate the fact that I am learning and hopefully my brain is growing. The myelin in my brain is being stretched and is expanding. My hope is someday I will be a good administrator, but for now I feel like a rookie, eager with illusions constantly being shown for what they are, yet remaining optimistic and hopeful for the chance to actually make a difference. We all know farts do just happen and it’s a normal part of life, not unlike middle school fights.