1. First and foremost - clothes! Gotta be fashionable without being too preppy or too goth. A lot of acceptance in middle school rides on clothes.
2. Hairstyle - straight, curly, gel, ponytail, clips... Second only to clothes.
3. Shoes - related to clothes and hair. Gotta have the perfect shoes.
4. Lunch - The most important part of the day! Where will I sit? Will my friends have the same lunch? Will I have enough time to eat?
5. Bullies - In the back of their mind is the worry about bullies and getting picked on.
6. Lockers - Remembering the combination is a high priority. What will I do if I forget it?
7. Schedule and Books - When can I pick up my schedule (and textbooks) so I can see what period I have each class?
8. Classes - They worry about being able to find their classes and get to each class on time. They worry that their friends won't be in their classes.
9. Teachers - Who are they, what do we know about them, and will they be mean or nice?
10. Gym Clothes - Oh! Those are awful!
11. Supplies - What do I really need to bring on the first day? What else will be on the supply lists for the remainder of the year?
12. Homework - They worry about having too much, particularly on the first day of school.
13. Tardies and Detention - What happens if I'm tardy? What is detention like, and how can I avoid it?
I remember worrying about all this and more! My top 13 concerns from the perspective of a teacher would look quite different!
Join us at Thursday Thirteen here!
I still have nightmares about some of those things! Like trying to open my locker and I can't remember the combination! Or I can't remember which locker it is! Or it's time for the final and I haven't been going to class all year and I'm going to fail!
ReplyDeleteUm, yeah, I graduated from high school 21 years ago. I think I have issues.
Where do you teach?
Great list. I'll pass this along to my sister who has two middle schoolers this year.
ReplyDeleteI can rememebr worrying about such stuff and I graduated in '76.
I still have the "forgot the combination" and "missed the final" nightmares. Maybe becsue I'm still in (grad) school. I must have issues too. :-)
I hope you share your other list (teacher's perspective sometime.)
Well, even though I'm a guy I can still relate. Guys worry pretty much about the same things girls do, but neither realizes this until years later of course. LOL!
ReplyDeleteThat teachers list would make a great TT - and I hope one of those worries is not getting smacked by a student. I have heard a lot of this going on in High Schools these days. Hope it is more tame in middle school.
Great TT! I enjoyed the read for sure.
You can visit my TT here.
Looks like some things never change, eh? Gosh, how much time I spent in front of my mirror every morning ...
ReplyDeleteHappy TT and greets
Julia
It was all so different for me, a boy in 1960s England. Catapult, pea-shooter, spud-gun - what more did we need? :-)
ReplyDeleteMy son started with the clothes last year, and thank goodness my middle daughter is still happy with whatever I find on sale. I dread the day I need to shop at the mall instead of wal-mart! lol!
ReplyDeleteThis taken me back 12 years to high school (graduated in 97)
ReplyDeleteIm glad us Aussie have keys for our lockers as I have the worst memory. lol
Lol with those thoughts Im glad my kids are done school.
ReplyDeleteHappy TT!
What a great reminder of the stress kids face going back to school!
ReplyDeleteWell done!
Hugs Giggles
What a great list! So very true. And how funny that not one of the worries is actually about course work or grades.
ReplyDeleteI'm getting close to 40 and I still dream about forgetting my locker combo and what classes I have when. LOL
ReplyDeleteThe first day sure is scary. I hope they and you have agreat school year.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you - and your kids. Mine start school on Monday, too - both in college. At least they don't have to worry about all that stuff any more, but the "where are my classes" is worse on a spread out college campus.
ReplyDeleteHappy TT!
Yikes... this makes me SO happy I never have to go back to school (although now I've been out longer than I was in!!) Great list!
ReplyDeleteOr you could homeschool and enjoy the blessings that your kids are year 'round and not have to worry about what their peers think and getting all this different stuff.
ReplyDeleteJust sayin'
Happy T13!
You are really in-tune to the kids today!
ReplyDeletegreat List Diane! So how did your first day go?
And let me ask you regarding #11..WHat should they bring the first day? I always say ONLY bring a notebook to take notes and see what each teacher requires, but my kid always likes to overpack that big backpack with every school supply we've bought!
I remember all those worries well. Now I have them for my own children.
ReplyDeleteI thought about you today at the pep rally. We should have exchanged schools so that we could say HI to each other. It's the 1st time since I've worked there that all of us were together at the same time. You could certainly tell which schools were the elementary ones. And, yes, I'm elementary. ;)
Oh yes I remember the stress of clothing for the first day of school. Had to look just right.
ReplyDeleteGreat list - seems like just yesterday we were there! I was so thankful for ours that there was a uniform at the Christian school - saved us money and them stress!
ReplyDeleteGym clothes aren't nearly as bad as they used to be. We had to wear horrid blue one-piece bloomers. And be sure to buy them a couple sizes too large so they'll still fit for 9th grade. I was lucky - mine had legs that were more 'little boy' than bloomer. Slightly less obnoxious looking.
ReplyDelete