I think the Middle School Valentine's Dance that I attended on Friday should have been named the "Middle School Nighttime Recess with disco ball and snacks." I chose to monitor the food and drink tables because that gave me something to do as opposed to just standing in the gym area watching the kids. I was able to help pour drinks, keep the table areas clean, and keep the drinks well stocked for the kiddos. At certain points, I did wander into the "dance" area because the music was pretty loud and other teachers just wanted some reprieve from that. When I did go into the gym, I didn't really see much dancing going on. It was the typical scene of boys on one side and girls on the other, but even the same gender groups were not doing all that much dancing. They enjoyed the Macarena and there was definitely some very comical impersonations of Michael Jackson during Billy Jean, but on the whole, the overall impression I got was just chaos. There was a lot of running around, cartwheels, drama, and trips to the snack/beverage tables, and I was surprised to not see any boy/girl pairs dancing together.
The kids were in charge of bringing some drinks and snacks so we had one table with bottles of different sodas, juices, and water and another table with bags of chips, popcorn, and gummy bears. We never had snacks at our dances growing up, so the entire time I was waiting for someone to throw up. The same kids returned over and over, ingesting cup after cup of soda and handful after handful of snacks in between running around the gym and to and fro between the gym and bathroom areas. I was also surprised that middle schoolers were not above lots of spillage when attempting to pour soda from a liter sized bottle into a cup.
All the kids seemed to have a great time and that is the point, so I guess the idea of a "dance" is just go give them a place to gather and have fun outside of school. The girls wore makeup and dressed up and the boys styled their hair. It was cute. They definitely acted a lot different than they do in the classroom which reminded me of why I used to steer clear of middle schoolers. When it comes to their social issues and interactions with members of the opposite sex, I am just at a loss. I felt like I was watching reality tv and I could have grabbed one of those bowls of popcorn and just pulled up a chair and been entertained for that entire 3 hours!
3 comments:
I just wanted to answer the question you asked on my blog, about protein powders. I'm just not that into them. Chances are you are getting plenty of protein without the powder. All you need is .8 gram/kg body weight, which isn't a lot (maybe 50-70 grams, if that!). If you get 3 servings of dairy, and 4-5 ounces of meat/poultry or fish, that's plenty. You also get protein in other foods (nuts seeds, beans, etc.). It probably won't hurt you to take protein powder, but I just always say the food is the best source!
Ah, the middle school years. Around here we had "mixers." One school hosted every other week, and the other schools went to that school. It was a big deal, of course. But I agree, not too much dancing occurred. It was more like stand there with your girl friends and whisper about the boys standing on the other side of the gym.
It sounds like a lot of fun! I remember middle school dances from, well, middle school, but I'd love to see them from an adult's perspective. You make the kids sound so sweet and silly and cute!
Post a Comment