The stereotype would have one believe that middle school students are not keen on interacting with adults, and when forced to, they are few words. This is often reinforced by the afterschool drive-home “conversation” that starts with, “How was your day?” and concludes with, “Good.”
At The Beech Hill School, however, we try to help our students break from this expected behavior. Because of our size, our students are always engaging with adults throughout their day. Likewise, because our faculty do so many things, our students come to see them as multidimensional – human, even.
The students’ ability to interact with adults was on full display this past week, when BHS hosted over 30 local leaders to campus for a Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce event. I had asked that our students volunteer to welcome our guests and to offer a brief tour. I was overwhelmed to see that most of our students, representing all four grades, jumped at the opportunity. They made an incredible impression on our guests, and clearly defied any preconceived notion of apathetic, meme-spewing teens.
I was so proud of our students at BHS, and more importantly, I could see how proud the students were of both their community and themselves!