Surviving Middle School: A Practical Guide For Parents
I started my career in the marketing/advertising world, following in my dad's footsteps. When I finished my bachelor’s degree all I wanted was a business suit and a feminine-looking brief case. I got both and then found a job in the computer industry, where I didn't need either. What I did need was a good sense of humor and willingness to work long hours. Luckily, I had both of those. After 10 years and much success, I realized that marketing computer hardware was not satisfying to me, and I found myself very tired. I decided I was too young to be so tired so I took a leave of absence and spent the summer as a counselor of high school students on an educational trip abroad. I worked seven days a week, 24 hours a day, for an entire summer but have never felt so energized.  When I returned home, I realized that I had to change my career and began looking for my life's work. After a long search, I found it in school counseling. I entered graduate school focused on becoming a high school counselor. I wanted to help young people find their paths in life as I had just done. My master's program emphasized learning about group dynamics and family systems. The program also required working in various school settings. I took an internship in a middle school only because I had to serve a certain number of hours in with different age groups. My true passion at that time was to continue my work at the local high school. Well, once I worked in a middle school, I never went back.   Middle-school students fascinated me as they are so young yet manage so much. It is an age where there are so many changes going on physically and emotionally that they often wear their feelings right on their sleeves. I learned so much from their honesty and childlike innocence while watching them work so hard to hide those qualities. People used to say to me, “You must be crazy to want to work in a middle school.  Kids are so awful during that age.” I actually felt the exact opposite. Middle school is a wonderful age of opportunity. It offered me an opportunity to help teach these kids survival skills that not only will help them get through middle school but also will take them out into the world. Middle school can be a crazy sort of place, but the kids are great and so are many dedicated staff members. While I was working, there were a number of occasions when I quietly would say to myself, “Wow, that one’s going to make it into my book some day.”   Well, that day has come.  Enjoy.