Getting Inside the Mind of a Pre-Teen

At the beginning of August, I along with the other post-placement counselors at Prep for Prep were given a mission – to meet as many of our assigned students as possible before the start of the school year. My immediate thought upon hearing of this news was, “How on earth am I going to get these middle schoolers to meet with me during their precious summer vacation?” However, so far, most of my students have been generally interested in meeting with me. (Perhaps it helps that I am giving them the opportunity to reconnect with their Prep friends over a free movie and a lunch).

Every time, I meet with a group of students, I usually run through the usual questions. What schools are you guys enrolled in? Do you guys like them? What subjects do you guys enjoy the most? How long are your commutes to your schools? What books have you guys been reading for the summer? I often ask these questions to avoid the awkward silence that sometimes emerges when multiple strangers meet for the first time. Yet, as the outing continues, I find that the conversations I have with these students are far from dull. In fact, these students are able to talk about anything ranging from Beiber fever and how it is affecting their peers to the intricate details of George Orwell’s Animal Farm.

Most of these conversations take place over lunch and once our meal is over, I walk my students to the nearest subway station so that they can make their way home. During every outing, there is a student or two who often stays behind because their parents have made arrangements to pick them up at Prep’s 71st St. Office. It is often during these waiting periods that I truly get to find out what is going on in the minds of these pre-teens. As we sit and look out the window for the sight of a moving car, the students often tell me about the social cliques they confront from time to time in their new school or the financial constraints they may be facing at home. The students are also willing to share their triumphs, which often come after being elected to student government or winning a national science competition. It is in these moments that I see how committed these young students are to learning despite the adversity they may face on a day-to-day basis. What impresses me the most is that they are slowly letting me into their personal lives and for this I am truly grateful.