The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Life!

August 29, 2008

‘Middlers’ need examples of stability

Inside Out column

By Bev Davis

Before I became a journalist, I was a school teacher. I’ve taught adults and middle school and high school students, and believe it or not, I prefer the “middlers.”

Oh, to be sure, they’re loud, mouthy, rude, unpredictable — and extremely vulnerable.

Middlers are testing the waters on everything — challenging authority, vying for independence, pushing the limits as far as they can — and waiting for at least one of their teachers to have a nervous breakdown.

It’s not easy to be a middler these days. A lot of those noisy behaviors result from living in a whirlwind of emotions, hormonal changes, unstable home environments and a world of adults who often contradict themselves.

Middlers get “busted” for lying, but hear adults stretching the truth well beyond its limits much of the time.

Middlers get in trouble for mouthing off, but have grown up hearing profanity and vulgarity, much of which is spoken by TV and movie personalities who get paid huge sums of money to talk that way.

At career days, middlers listen to journalists, teachers, business people and health care professionals talk about their jobs. Society tells kids money, prestige and position are valued more than helping others and finding personal and professional fulfillment.

Middlers are the transitional kids. They’re at an age where they have to decide between the realities they experience and the ideals they are being taught. They have to choose which role models to follow — Britney Spears or their minister, the Olsen twins or their scout leader, their peers or their parents.

Middlers challenge us to be real. They want to know adults who love and respect them. They want to know church people who are genuine, business leaders who are honest and neighbors who are trustworthy.

Middlers live in a world of uncertainty. Theirs is an age of chaos and curiosity. Middlers need guideposts to follows — adults who have left behind a clear set of moral, ethical and spiritual tracks.

I’ll bet there’s at least one middler in your home, neighborhood or church who’s watching your life. They need the example of adults who don’t ride the middle of the road when it comes to love, faith, values and all the other things in life that matter most.

— E-mail: bdavis@register-herald.com

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