I remember middle school very well. I remember the awkward moments. I remember not knowing who I was or who my friends were. I remember it being, well, awkward. Yet in all my awkwardness, I never shared many of my feelings because I didn't know that there was any need to share them. And if I were to share them, I sure as hell wouldn't share them with a teacher, especially intimate or personal feelings. Prior to teaching, I thought everyone felt the same way as I did.
And then I met my students.
My school is run like a well-oiled machine; the students are very aware of the rules and, for the most part, respect them, and our test scores show it. In the hallway, students are not permitted to talk and they must walk in a straight line together to their destination. One day, two of my girls kept giggling and talking - mind you, these girls NEVER make a sound, so it threw me off a bit. Finally, after a third warning, I pulled one of the girls out of the line and made her stand next to me as we walked. The other girl raised her hand and said she needed to speak with me when we got to the cafeteria. I pulled her aside and the following occurred:
Me: "Scarlet (name has been changed), what's up?"
Scarlet: "Mr. Lowe, I really didn't mean to talk in the hall, but it is so cold in your classroom that it is making my nipples hard. The other kids are laughing at me because of it. What do I do?"
Immediately, my thought is - and this technique has been fully proven by millions upon millions of people - to say, "Well, just rub them and they'll soften up." However, I saw the pending lawsuits and loss of job and income from a mile away, so I refrained and came up with another idea.
Me: "Well, what if you just crossed your arms and leaned back a little bit to make it look like you just don't care? Kinda like this. You think that would work?"
Scarlet: "Yeah! Okay, Mr. Lowe, I'm gonna do that. Thanks for the help."
And, thus, my first cannonball into male teacher-female student relations.
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