Most teachers think I’m nuts. (Okay, a lot of non-teachers think that too.) In the secondary building, we all need to have a supervision period. For many teachers, that means hosting a study hall. However, I put my name in, year after year, to supervise middle school lunch.
I love to people watch in various locations. And there’s not much more interesting a place than watching the shifting social circles in the middle school cafeteria.
There are responsibilities that go along with this. We try to contain the chaos to some degree, and I’m always joined by at least two other teachers. Our principal will join us when he’s not on fire-fighting duty elsewhere in the building.
For middle school, we rotate which grade goes first to get food. Those kids get right in line. After that, we dismiss table by table to keep things orderly and to avoid the pushing and shoving that inevitably happens when 12-14 year olds are trying to wait patiently.
When the weather is nice, I take kids outside for recess; everyone can join in once they’re done eating. When it’s rainy or cold, I will take the grade that ate first to the gym; the others remain behind in the cafeteria. We used to let everyone come to the gym, but the fact that almost daily someone ended up in the nurse’s office because there were 100 kids running around the gym changed that. (Covid actually started the change when we had to limit and space and all that fun stuff.)
Supervising lunch can be a trying time. Kids will be kids and act foolish at times. I have to confine people to the cafeteria or make them last in the lunch line for periods of time to drive home the motto we have in there: DBD. Don’t be dumb. Most kids learn upon having to stay inside for a day from breaking the rules we have for safety. Not all, but most.
I love being able to interact with them on a different level than just in the classroom. You really see kids at their core and discover some cool things about them. It’s a great place just to have casual conversations as I roam between the tables. Sometimes I’ll get called over to talk about sports or they want to show me some TikTok video or they’ll ask about an assignment for class.
And sometimes I get called over to settle a dispute. That’s right, middle school drama. It happens every year.
Kids settle into routines pretty quickly at the start of the school year. It doesn’t take long for me to know where most of the kids choose to sit each day. You can see the friend groups and social circles in which they’re comfortable. It’s always tough when there’s a new kid partway through the year since they have to find a spot in which there’s a welcoming group. And we know that doesn’t always happen easily at this age.
If another staff member comes looking for a particular student, I can usually point them in the right direction. Until I can’t. It’s inevitable that one or more kids will choose (or be told) to sit elsewhere at some point. This happens for two reasons.
One is love. Wait, I mean “love.” When suddenly there’s a boy sitting with a group of girls, it’s pretty easy to figure out that Cupid is flying around nearby. By the way, it’s NEVER a girl sitting with a group of boys to be near her boyfriend. Weird, right? But eventually, things go back to the way they were, either because of a devastating breakup or the guy’s buddies are giving him grief about not hanging out with them (which can also lead to a breakup).
The other reason is the aforementioned drama. This usually involves some of the girls who are upset over something someone said or posted or the fact they like the same boy or they just start growing apart over activities, especially when one might decide to participate in something the others aren’t. Except for the social media posting bit, most of this hasn’t changed from when I was in school. Some of you are nodding along, remembering some of this from your teenage years.
I know there’s drama when that seating changes. Suddenly, a group of 3-4 kids is at a different table. Uh oh, better keep an eye on that. It’s good to check in and make sure kids are okay. Sometimes they’re not. It can be devastating to be 13 and be told someone doesn’t like you, especially if you just attended their last birthday party.
There are times where the kids make up and get along again. The seating changes back to the way it was. There are times where the kids make up and get along again but the new seating arrangement stays in place. It’s like a breakup where you can still be civilized around the other person.
I really enjoy this half hour of people watching every day. It’s not all fun and games, but it’s a great opportunity to get to know our students better. It’s also a reminder of why it’s such a tough age, one nearly all of us would never willingly go back to!
Word of the Week: This week’s word is tzimmes, which means fuss or confusion, as in, “When the lunchroom supervisor spied some tzimmes, he went to make sure no tomfoolery was happening.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!