Teachers, Students Walk in One Another's Shoes

"Today's American youth are the most stupid, impolite, self-centered people on the planet…" So began a recent letter to advice columnist Ann Landers. That letter, and Landers' reply, got a team of middle school teachers thinking about the bad rap their students get from people who tend to stereotype all youth. The teachers came up with a project that engaged students in setting the record straight! Included: Directions for carrying out this project with your students and for creating an eye-catching display for Parents Night!

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"Today's American youth are the most stupid, impolite, self-centered people on the planet . . . Half of them are unable to name their own state capital. They drive like lunatics and eat like pigs. Their music is imbecilic and deafening."

When the teachers on the seventh-grade team at Windsor (Colorado) Middle School read those comments in a letter to advice columnist Ann Landers, they saw a lesson for the taking!

Teachers Amy Heinsma and Stephanie Simmons challenged students to defend themselves by creating their own lists of "Ten Things That Adults Should Know About Young Adolescents."

A TEACHABLE MOMENT

"I thought the lesson was a wonderful way to get to know students," teacher Amy Heinsma told Education World. Before the students were given the assignment, however, Heinsma and her colleagues led students in a discussion about the letter writer's perceptions of today's youth. Students talked about misconceptions of them that others have -- and about misconceptions they have of others.

To further explore the concept of stereotypes, the teachers created and shared their own list of "Ten Things Students Should Know About Teachers." That list included:

It's OK to talk to us when you see us in public. We like that.
We have to remember 103 names -- you should remember our names.
We were once teenagers too.
We love what we do.

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"I think the students were surprised by some of the things on our list," Heinsma told Education World. "We provided the list because we thought it would help kids feel more comfortable about sharing if the adults went first."

Then it was the students' turn. Each student traced the outline of his or her foot and wrote "Ten Things That Adults Should Know About Young Adolescents" on the foot. The colorful display of cut-out feet, under a banner announcing "Take a Walk in My Shoes," was a big hit at Parents Night.

This was a great project because "it allowed kids to communicate to parents what they thought of themselves," teacher Stephanie Simmons told Education World.

STUDENTS ADDRESS MISCONCEPTIONS

The "Take a Walk in My Shoes" activity was an opportunity for students to think critically about how others perceive them and about the qualities they have that they believe are unknown or under-appreciated.

Nick W's list included

Don't embarrass me.
Try to be cool with my friends.
Don't pressure me.
Have fun with me.
Don't bug me too much.

Katie W., another of Heinsma's students, wanted others to know:

I don't want to grow up too fast.
I worry about you as much as you worry about me!
I don't need your advice all the time.
TV is not my life.
My friends do like you, so don't ask.

Among Jennifer D's "Ten Things Adults Should Know" were:

We listen to your advice about drinking, drugs … and we think about your advice before we do something stupid.
We do have other interests besides boys and make-up.
Don't say anything to us at school that you wouldn't want your mom to say to you at school.
Sometimes we just need our privacy.
We are real people too!

YOU MIGHT BE WONDERING

You might wonder how Ann Landers responded to the letter about today's "stupid, impolite, self-centered" youth. In her response, Landers defended today's teens. "I have been writing this column for 45 years, and the complaints about teenagers have always been the same -- they are impolite, self-centered and ignorant, their music is nothing but noise, and their art is garbage," wrote Landers. "Yet somehow, they manage to grow up to become responsible, caring, decent adults." The students at Windsor Middle School are well on their way to becoming the kind of adults Landers envisions!