The Middle Road

Middle school is an interesting concept. Back in my day it was referred to as 'junior high,' and I'm fairly certain it was the beginning of the end of youthful innocence. The older a student becomes, the less he or she relies on the word of others and personal opinions are formed based on experience and not inference. I like middle school because the kids seemingly live in a state of brutal honesty and they will tell you what they think without blushing. It's unnervingly refreshing.

Recently, I was talking with a group of 7th graders about homelessness and I was curious about what their perceptions would be. While their parents might sugar-coat answers based on politics or societal pressure, I knew these kids would let me know what they thought with little to no filter. And even thought I wasn't worried about swaying their opinions, I decided not to tell them that I work with the homeless.

The main topic we broached was the causes of homelessness and the majority of the students thought that people were homeless because life had dealt them a bad hand. Unemployment and medical bills were mentioned most often, while substance abuse and crime were not brought up at all. I found this interesting because I am so used to having discussions about homelessness where the beginning point centers on those latter issues rather than the former ones.

These kids believed that, of course, a person could make poor decisions that might lead to homelessness, but the overwhelming essence of the conversation kept moving from results of homelessness to what can be done to prevent it. It occurred to me that this current generation has something that has eluded their predecessors: problem-solving skills that have been grafted into their very fabric of being. They don't approach situations or problems from a perspective that things are too difficult to solve. It makes sense to them that homelessness does not have to be a permanent human condition. It might be a rough road to hew, but it can be done.

Instead of the pessimism and cynicism of older generations, I picked up on a refreshing sense of practicality. They weren't buying into partisan lines that focused on politicized solutions; they were more concerned if a single mom could afford groceries than they were if she voted a certain way. I was humbled and encouraged by the conversation.

Now, if I could only burn my middle school photos.