Middle school is such an interesting time, even though the reputation it holds is not the most positive. Often I am met with stares of fear and pity when I mention I work in a middle school, followed by comments such as, “God bless you” and “Whew! I could never do that”, and “Ugh, that must be the worst.” And I get it. I am not naive to the fact that early adolescence is one the most confusing, annoying, and trying times in someone’s life. But now, having been in this work for 10 years, I can sit back and smile at the (literal and figurative) funkiness of it all.
Take a step back and just think about all the messiness that goes into being an adult. The emotions that you are supposed to have figured out, the relationships that you still struggle to build and maintain, all on top of trying to keep a job and pay bills. It’s hard! And yet, believe it or not, our adolescents are dealing with some of the same stressors each day. They wake up one morning to find out the friend they have had since kindergarten no longer wants to talk to them, they show up to school sad about it, but too embarrassed to share what’s going on with anyone, and then they are expected to perform well on assignments and tests. But since they don’t have the experience, the feelings just bubble up, ultimately exploding at inopportune times.
When you see it written on paper, it’s hard not to recognize that we as adults go through similar patterns. The only difference between us is our experience and our history. At first, it may seem easy to laugh off a 12-year-old lamenting about a failed relationship, but then you realize, to that 12-year-old, that relationship is their whole world. Just like relationships were for you at 22, 27, 32, and so on. We have to develop empathy for them, so they can feel supported and not ashamed. It’s the only way we will keep them connected to us.
What I can’t help but think about now is what it’s like to be an adolescent during THIS time.
This is not to say crazy things did not happen in the world when I was a pre-teen. President Clinton was the first president I vividly remember and his subsequent scandal was something I would hear rumors about and occasionally see spotlighted during my brief glimpses of Entertainment Tonight (it was always going on right when we sat for dinner). But I was privileged enough to grow up in a safe bubble, not really knowing the ugliness that existed in the world.
The biggest event that I remember happened in my childhood was 9/11. It’s so weird to think that none of my students were alive back then because so much of the world they know today was created in its aftermath. I was in 7th grade, in my Algebra class, and our TV was on (to this day I can’t remember why it was on). When the towers fell I remember us almost laughing like it was a video game. We had no idea what had just happened or why. Still, at that moment, the adults around us were able to shield us from the truth.
They simply turned the TV off.
Now, unfortunately, we don’t have that luxury. The truth about the hate and fear that exists within our world is able to burst through any censor that may try to keep it hidden. And it’s getting harder and harder to keep our children safe within any bubble. Instead of asking why it seems like all our rules are unfair or why their parents are so annoying, my students are asking me, “Why do white people hate us so much?”
The day after Trump was elected president, my students who come from immigrant families sat in the gym and sobbed. One student went to my principal and asked, “What happened? Why did you guys let us down?” When I was their age, I had to discover my identity and learn to love myself when confronted with implicit negative messaging about the beauty and worth of Black people. Our young people have to do this now with explicit messages of hate, abuse, and neglect.
Now, more than ever, we have to show our young adults more compassion and grace.
But this task of raising youth to have hope during such a crazy time is not easy, and one can often feel at a loss for the next step. For better or worse, though, we have been here before, and I have chosen to take lessons from great Black scholars of the past to guide me in how to move forward.
As mentioned in previous letters, I did a lot of reading this summer to help myself process everything that has been happening. In one of my books I came across this quote by James Baldwin:
"Let's begin by saying that we are living through a very dangerous time. Everyone in this room is in one way or another aware of that. We are in a revolutionary situation, no matter how unpopular that word has become in this country...To any citizens of this country who figures himself as responsible-and particularly those of you who deal with the minds and hearts of young people - must be prepared to "go for broke." Or to put it another way, you must understand that in the attempt to correct so many generations of bad faith and cruelty, when it is operating not only in the classroom but in society, you will meet the most fantastic, the most brutal, and the most determined resistance. There is no point in pretending that this won't happen" - James Baldwin (as cited in Love, 2019)
Baldwin gave this speech, entitled “A Talk to Teachers”, back in October of 1963, one month after the 16th Street Church Bombing in Birmingham, Alabama. It’s chilling to think that almost 60 years have passed and this quote still applies to our present day. 60 years later and we are still “living through a dangerous time,” a “revolutionary situation.”
Baldwin said that teachers would need to “go for broke” in times like these. When I think about what going for broke means for me and my work, I think about how I work to ensure my students leave with a stronger sense of self and value education as a means to opportunity, not just something they “have” to do. Going for broke means teaching them their FULL history, teaching them about great Black scholars, inventors, change-makers, and making sure they see themselves in our world, that they know they come from a people with agency, power, and influence.
Going for broke means I may not be able to work a typical 8 hour day because I need to text my students and ensure they have made it home, they have started their homework, and see if they need any extra support.
And that’s ok.
Baldwin says, when our Black and Brown young people go out into the world they “will meet the most fantastic, the most brutal, and the most determined resistance.” If you are working in education today, especially the education of Black and Brown youth, you have to realize that the society in which they are being raised, the society in which WE were raised, was not built with the success and achievement of BIPOC’s in mind. It was actually built on the success of our oppression. What we are experiencing now is “the result of a criminal conspiracy to destroy [us]” (Baldwin). This is a truth we can no longer hide from. In my work, going for broke means that my students are equally aware of this truth and, instead of seeing it as a reason to despair, they see it as a reason to show up, show out, and fight for what is truly theirs.
In the closing of his speech, Balwin names how he would influence a student if he were a teacher during these “dangerous times”:
“I would teach him that if he intends to get to be a man, he must at once decide that he is stronger than this conspiracy and that he must never make his peace with it. And that one of his weapons for refusing to make his peace with it and for destroying it depends on what he decides he is worth. I would teach him that there are currently very few standards in this country which are worth a man’s respect. That it is up to him to change these standards for the sake of the life and the health of the country.”
Teaching middle school is messy work, and most days I go home tired. But deep down I know that my fatigue is not just from dealing with adolescent attitudes and their 500 daily emotions. The work I am doing is 100% about my students, but, as Baldwin said, the work is also 100% about the healing of this country and our world. I firmly believe and understand that I cannot step foot into a classroom of BIPOC youth and be unaware of the charge I have taken.
This work is ain’t for the faint of heart.
Works Cited
Baldwin. "A Talk to Teachers", 1963, 2017, richgibson.com/talktoteachers.htm.
Love, Bettina L. We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom. , 2019.
One of the highest callings outside of ministry is a Teacher, demanding and in most cases you don’t see the fruits of your labor till years later but you know in your heart that you’ve given your all and are faithful that you’ve made a difference, without you, this world would be in much worst shape, your sacrifice is much appreciated as with your blog👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾😁