Validity of the 9th Grade Experience

Yesterday I had a wonderful phone conversation with an old friend. I say an old friend because Riley and I met when we were fourteen (9th graders). In fact I am still very close with many of my friends from 9th grade, despite the fact that we scattered around the country for college—and around the world post college. Here are most of them at my wedding. Unfortunately, pictures from high school itself predate my ownership of digital camera.

We talked about the fact that I will be teaching 9th graders next year. Our conversation centered around the validity of the choices and experiences we have as young adults. The thoughts, feelings, and decisions of a fourteen-year-old matter, not only in the present, but on the scale of a lifetime.

An important consequence of this is that my interactions with scholars will be adult interactions. Many 9th graders may still look like kids (I know I did), but they are actively forming their adult selves. No one else can do that for them. Growing up I encountered mostly nice, polite, hard-working adults. I assumed that at some point the jerks I knew in high school would eventually transform into kind, patient, adults. In my own experience, however, this has been the exception not the rule. There are adults who continue to be jerks, adults who lack self discipline and patience, and adults with destructive habits.

I had the great fortune to make good friends when I was fourteen—friends who wanted the best for me, friends who loosened me up, friends who pushed me. My decisions as a 9th grader live on, both in my friends, and the person they helped me become. Thank you!