December 13 – Sabio (Wisdom)

What lesson or piece of wisdom did you learn from a child this year? Did it surprise you?o

Special thanks to Dawn Curtis for providing today’s question!

I am lucky to love my career. As a teacher, I have the opportunity to witness the wisdom* of children every day of the school year. I currently teach teenagers; I began 2011 teaching ninth grade and now I teach eighth grade. Here are some hilarious pieces of advice from one of my freshman poets:

Don’t take things for granted
Don’t try to be ambidextrous if you are not
You can’t do everything, you know
Don’t do things that give you a bad feeling
Say what you need to say
Eat as much chocolate as you want
Never buy drugs, because you could be supporting Al Qaeda
Don’t stay places where you get bad vibes
Do what you want
Don’t let others change the way you think
Eat delicious food
Make a scene if you feel like it
Don’t pretend or fake ANYTHING
Exercise
Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery
If you really want it, you can achieve it.
Be fair
Never trust anyone too much
Don’t tell other people’s secrets to anyone
Live in the now
Who cares about rumors?
Never lie to your best friend
Ignore people that annoy you
Try to do your homework the day it is given
Never eat skittles on a road trip
Don’t try to make people like you, if they don’t they won’t
Try your best all the time
Be clean
Don’t waste too much time on Facebook
Always have a plan
Everything ends.

– Maria, Grade 9

*See also: the wonderful social justice campaign video my students produced last spring to raise awareness about critical issues in Guatemala.

Reverb is a month-long endeavor in reflecting on the past year and envisioning the year to come. Find out more about Reverb11. Check out the daily prompts and feel free to write publicly on this blog or privately in your diary, as much or as little as you want, as often or seldom as you are compelled to.

The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives. ~Albert Einstein