The many observations of a high school teacher...

I find teaching to be enjoyable. I am not yet to that dreaded "first year slump" and I happen to love my school, students, team, subject, *insert other things pertaining to school here*. I have experienced the feeling of not wanting to go to school because I am just so damn tired, or having those kids you just want to punch in the face, but all-in-all, it's going swimmingly. One of the best things about working at a high school, especially the ones that only hold 9th and 10th graders, is the interactions amongst the students themselves.
For those of us who experienced high school not too long ago, or those who can still remember high school, nothing has changed. I don't think we saw it when we were that age, because the world revolved around us and our small-minded bubble. It wasn't out fault. It's the age, world we live in, etc. Being on the opposite side of things looking in, a whole NEW view of teenagers as emerged. Ninth and tenth graders are...interesting. Ninth graders are still in that junior high awkward funk, and tenth graders think they know it all because they've been in high school an entire year. (Wow, a whole year. They must be at the top of the social food chain.) At a school that only holds ninth and tenth graders, I feel these students are missing out at the high school experience. Dreading the seniors as a freshmen is a right of passage! Going to the big game on Friday night is a big deal. It's all a part of it. But what these students miss out on they make up for in everything else they do. The tenth graders are technically considered the "big man on campus." They are more confident in themselves, try to pretend they know who there are, and even try to argue with you as if THEY are the experts. Cute isn't it? The best part of working at a high school isn't even the sophmores, juniors, or seniors. It's the freshmen.
Freshmen are still in that "I can still be a dork and get away with it yet I am trying to find myself and make my way in this big place full of scary upper classmen" phase. They don't even know that how they act around each other is one of the best experiences you can have in people watching.
Let me break it down for you. I am one of the youngest teachers on my campus, therefore I get away with a tad more with the students than other teachers do. I am a big dork, and I make stupid jokes, but I am slightly on the cooler side. Oh, and not to mention I am short. So, when I walk down the halls, I can pass by barely noticed. If it wasn't for the little authority a plastic card holds that I wear around my neck, I would just get scoffed at.
When I walk down the halls, it honestly feels I am watching a movie. There are the group of boys, obviously popular and on the cuter side of the students, standing in a circle, or leaning against the lockers as "the ladies" walk by. They glance their way, even sneaking an eye at certain body parts, thinking no one else sees, and the girls know EXACTLY what they are doing. They chat about the game, or what class they hate, or that new girl who is a "hottie." Yes, they use the word hottie. One or two of them are the "charmers" of the group. You know the "charmers?" The ones that smile and joke with the teacher, making the teacher forget what they were scolding them for in the first place. They have that sense of humor that anyone would laugh at and make it hard to be taken seriously because you can't even punish them because what they said or did was just THAT awesome? You look further down the hall, and there are the girls who pretend that they don't care what people think of them, yet you turn your head for a second and as you glance back you see them check themselves in the mirror. The ones who try and make a statement always get me. Just because your hair is pink, doesn't mean the world is going to automatically put itself back together again. Those tend to be some of the coolest kids too. Then there are the kids who walk into your class and you automatically make a pre-judgement without giving them a chance. The beauty is when they prove you wrong, SO wrong, that they become your favorites, which you aren't suppose to have. Of course there are the standard groups and cliques that are spread throughout the halls and cafeteria, but not to the "movie" extreme that we think of.
If you really want to see true interaction, the cafeteria is the best place to do it. The cheerleaders don't necessarily sit together, or with the football team. The band kids do tend to sit together, only because (and this is from personal experience and knowledge) they have a lot in common. They are on the nerdier/dorkier side with the occasional cool kid that proves everyone wrong, but not in a bad way. They are nerds and dorks in the Lord of the Rings and Star Wars kind of way. There are the theater kids, athletes, smart kids, nerdy kids, the athletes who think they are God's gift to planet earth, the quiet kids who sit alone, and those kids you want to punch in the face because they find every way possible to push your buttons and test you. The best people watching is observing guys and girls with each other, especially those in a relationship or on their way into one.
Every day I have lunch duty at the same time, standing in the same place. Every day, there is the same guy and same girl who stand at the end of the same table talking to their friends. They are freshmen. I can tell because they both looked like they just came out of the womb. They stand so close, that their elbows are millimeters away from one another and their hands sit on the table in such a way that it is as if their pinkies are STRAINING to touch one other. They posture and body language doesn't scream we're friends, but "I LIKE YOU!" or they are together and not willing to act on it. I swear every day I watch them and I am just cheering them on in my head, thinking, "Just make a move!!!" Seriously! It's too cute. I can't stand it.
Then, if I turn my head to the left, there is a couple, also freshmen, who CAN'T KEEP THEIR HANDS OFF ONE ANOTHER! Like we are talking suckfest! It's a little much. They are all over each other as if they are unable to live if they aren't touching.
Then there are those who you can tell are in a brand new relationship because they hold hands awkwardly and look around as they walk to see if anyone is looking. They have this look on their face as if they are thinking, "We are together... People are looking at us.... Oh, God, this is awkward." It's so funny, because we have ALL been there.
High school is an experience in itself. It's a way of life. Teaching there is pretty awesome. Being on this side of things makes me remember, and think about when I was growing up. Heck, I'm STILL growing up. They have so much ahead of them, yet their entire world is now. It's all about the next big thing, and who's cute, popular, who dresses the best. They don't get it now, but they will. In the mean time, watching them figure it out is fabulous!