Cattiness

Home

Chat

Blogs

Collection

Directory

Home : 2001 : August : 25

Cattiness
By Mary in MA

I know exactly what you mean. Although I truly love the way that 6th graders' minds work, girls at this age can be so much more of a challenge than boys to teach. Their bodies and hormones are going through SOOOOOO much
turmoil that often they feel that picking on others is the ONLY way to regain some control over their lives. I have found the cattiness to be so horrendous that I make it a point to emphasize at every opportunity that this behavior will not be tolerated in my class and, in order to nip it in the bud, I often devise writing lessons that involve thinking about what it feels like to be on

the receiving end of such downright meanness. I engage the class in discussions of point of view and how putting others down to make yourself appear "cool" is most definitely NOT cool.

Several years ago, I had a little girl in my homeroom who was going through a terrible time. Her body was changing rapidly, she was having a lot of difficulty with schoolwork, life at home was in chaos; in short, this was a child in desperate need of a friend and, as luck would have it, she was being singled out by the "in" crowd to be picked on in subtle but real ways. I made it my business to be there for her with consistency and caring. I let her know that I believed in her and that she could talk to me when she needed to. She didn't always hear what she wanted to hear but she did hear what she NEEDED to hear. We strategized ways for her to help herself with her problems so that she could feel more in control instead of playing a "victim". I had also brought the guidance counselor in on the situation very early in the year so the child felt a sense of security that there were people looking out for her.

Whenever I am asked why I would possibly want to work with this age group given the nonsense that goes on with cliques, I usually reply that I hope that, in addition to the curriculum standards being met in my lessons, I can bring some measure of what it means to be respectful and accepting of individual differences to my students. If I can help them be better human beings, I believe that is the greatest success of my teaching.