At a recent middle school event, some of the newly tall eighth-graders looked down at their parents. Many had caught up with the girls who once towered above them. I saw facial hair and giant sneakers.   I glanced over at the incoming fifth-graders attending the event and wondered what these tiny, tiny children were doing in the same building.

By the end of middle school, these children may become unrecognizable in ways large and small. They might begin to tune out the voices of their parents and teachers. They’ll rely heavily on electronic communication -- Facebook, text messaging, instant messaging -- and, probably, on forms of e-connecting we don't yet imagine.

I shared an observation about the unpredictable ways of eighth-graders to a teacher that faces three full classes of at least 32 thirteen and fourteen-year-olds every day. "Wait, who am I talking to?’’ I said with a shudder. <!--more-->

It’s time to pay tribute to middle school teachers, the everyday heroes in our preteens' lives.  In a city where teacher attrition is a constant concern, it's no surprise that researchers have found middle school teachers have particularly high rates of turnover.  It's a tough job. 

Middle school teachers, guidance counselors, principals and coaches take a lot of abuse. They must learn to be good listeners and highly adaptable to help shape the children that arrive into young adults. They are on a mission to keep kids focused and interested in academics in a country that faces a dropout crisis: only a little more than half of our students graduate from high school on time.

There are clearly some teachers who shouldn’t be teaching middle school, and yet still are. I don’t blame middle school staffers for dark moments of despair and hand-wringing, although I hope they don’t take their frustration out on the kids.

And there truly are heroes, like Matthew Brown, the nearly blind special-ed teacher at PS 36 in East New York, featured in the Daily Newsafter his student won an essay contest by writing about his real-life hero.

In my three years to date as a middle school parent, I’ve been fortunate to meet teachers who have been able to celebrate accomplishments and express stern disappointment, who have cheered essays and performances and listened to tales of friendship turned sour. I’ve watched middle school staffers stay in school till after 9 at night after twelve-hour days to welcome an entering class of fifth-graders (still children!) and begin the cycle all over again.

The year's almost over. Let’s hear some more stories about middle school teachers and the kind of difference they can make for this sometimes-enchanting, often-volatile age group.