Teaching middle school can be like being in the National Enquirer

Middle school, in and of itself, is filled with rumors, gossip, gross over estimates and hyperbole beyond belief. The middle school rumor mill does not discount, overlook or deny anyone. We're all subject to ridicule, especially teachers. I am setting this up to make it sound so much worse than it was... but kids love to spread rumors- some of my students like to spread them about me.

Here are a few of the rumors my students have spread over the past few years about yours truly:

1. I live in the ghetto.

Working in a rural/rural suburban district, my students have a view unlike others on life in the small city they live near. Occasionally I could tell when they watched the morning news or listened to the radio on the way into school. They would ask me about a street in the city and my apartment's proximity to the location. Even though I assured them I lived on the east side of the city in a "nice" section, they did not believe me. It was more intriguing for them to think of me as dodging drive-bys as I checked my mail in the afternoon.

2. My boyfriend has dreadlocks.

Only a few select students have actually met my boyfriend or seen what he looks like. I do not display pictures of anything except my extremely overweight cat. I don't share a lot of information with them regarding my personal life as it does not make them better English Language Arts learners. But, of course- he has come up. My students thought if I dated anyone it should be a former contestant on American Idol who happened to have dreadlocks. They said we would look "cute together." One rumor turned into another and I artfully- or so I thought at the moment- dodged boyfriend/relationship questions, which allowed their imaginations run wild. Hence the rumor, my boyfriend is a singing hippie with dreadlocks.

3. I am Buddhist.

I admire the religion and what it represents about people and how it communicates meaning and the idea of spiritualism, however I am not Buddhist. Throughout my years teaching, I have displayed several little Buddha figures. The kids ask about them and I tell them I collect them. It's true. I keep them as little reminders of what it is I admire about the religion and how I can best handle situations. I seem to catch them out of the corner or my eye when I'm about to say or do something when I might want to pause before following through.

Listed above are the three main big rumors. I am sure there are others I haven't heard about... I guess it could be worse!