The difference between big kids and little kids

So this is the third week of school, and as I reflect on all of the changes in my life both personally and professionally since my transition from classroom (high school) teacher to teacher mentor in an elementary school, what looms largest in my mind is this--high schoolers and elementary school kids--big difference!  Okay, so it probably seems that this notion would be pretty obvious to anyone reading, but what I didn't realize then was that I would see some of the kinds of differences I seen in elementary-aged students.

Now, while most of us can clearly see the physical differences, there are, believe it or not, some similarities.  For example all kids need hugs.  I found this out when I started teaching high school nine years ago.  For years I had been afraid of moving from my middle school security blanket, even though I had threatened on several occasions to take a job at Kroger or Walmart rather than to go back into a seventh grade classroom.  When I finally did move into a ninth grade teaching position I found not only that it fit me better, but that those kids were just big ol' babies.  Not in the sense that they cried all the time or needed constant attention, but that even though many of them were taller than me, they still need guidance and they most definitely need hugs. Imagine that.

While high school-aged children definitely need hugs, they are quite tempermental.  If their car breaks down, girlfriend or boyfriend breaks up with them, or if they get yelled at for being late to class, ALL adults become the enemy.  Teens don't want to talk to us nor hear anything we have to say.  Adults always think they know everything anyway!  High schoolers will probably, however, talk to adults and even initate hugs the next day.  They may even share what was wrong, or they may simply say that they "was trippin'" (translation--having a bad day, dealing with some complicated issues, etc.).

Elementary kids just behave differently.  While teens cry for specific reasons such as:  I worked thirty hours this week and it's just Wednesday plus I still have to watch my baby sister and do all my chores; I'm failing all my classes, it's March and I'm supposed to graduate in May;  I hit a deer this morning on the way to school and my dad's making me pay for the damages because insurance won't cover anymore of my auto accidents.  Elementary aged children cry for different reasons--she's looking at me; she won't play with me; a boy poked me at lunch and he didn't even get in trouble; and my personal favorite--I peed in my pants!  Yep, different.

Some of the biggest issues I found in high school involved--and depending on the school this could vary-- love life drama and trauma, peer pressure, drugs, gangs, parent troubles, car troubles, grade issues, what-to-do with the rest of my life (or at least until I turn twenty) issues.  In elementary school I find the issues quite different--are my shoes tied?  do I remember how to tie my shoes?  Will I get caught if I run down the hall? Now don't get me wrong.  Last week a boy stole a bag of chips from the cafeteria and it was pretty serious!

Overall, I am recognizing that the pace of life is slower.  I haven't really decided whether this is because my role in education has changed or because the ages of the children that I serve have changed.  I suppose time and more observation may answer that one.