I Blame The Under-Developed Frontal Lobe

The past two nights I have been at our Junior High helping with the Choir Concerts.  My part in this event is essentially a "bouncer"...or "policing the hallway".  There were up to six different groups that performed (the beginning and advanced choirs sang Wednesday night, the 4 advanced only on Thursday).  This is not a job for the faint of heart.

It is also a job that firmly establishes why so many parents want nothing to do in terms of volunteering at the Junior High.

The first night the Beginning Girls and the Beginning Boy choruses are full of mostly 7th graders.  This is generally the first experience these kids have with performing arts.  And certainly the semester's performances are the first many of these kids have had to present themselves in front of an audience--and, consequently, the waiting to go on backstage.  This was my mission, and I chose to accept.  What was I thinking?!

Seventh graders in early May are sweaty, hot, hormone-driven lunatics.  Actually, all Junior high students fit that description--regardless of their grade.  But these Sevies were really on edge Wednesday night.  There was flirting and teasing abounding.  It was also nauseating.

But one flirty situation parlayed itself into trouble the following night.  One of the 8th grade girls, who was singing with the Advanced Women's Chorus--let's call her Lexi, since that is her name--was backstage with the beginning boys 7th grade group, flirting like there was no tomorrow.  Her flirting was not just distracting to the three or so boys hovering around Lexi, but was starkly against the rules that had been set by their teacher: only the group waiting to go on will be in the hallway and will be silent.

Fail.

When I asked her to go away and leave the boys in peace so they can be ready to sing, she got increasing belligerent.  She didn't mask the idea that she was upset with me enforcing the "law of the hallway".

When the beginning groups were done, and the short intermission was over, she was still giving me crusty looks as the advanced choirs took the stage in turn.  I've had worse.  It wasn't that big of a deal to report her after the show to the director.

Last night, however, was a different story.

I had been at the choir room doorway, waiting to hear the last minute directions the teacher gave the advanced groups (as the beginning kids were off the hook last night) so I knew what to enforce.  I wasn't there even 10 minutes when Lexi saw me and immediately crusted her look again, and mouthed to me "You're a  B_#*%!"  I smiled, nodded my head and mouthed back to her, "Yes, I am and I will be watching you all night!"

In a few minutes the principal showed up to check on things, and I  while we waited for the teacher to finish warming up the groups, I shared with him Lexi's line-crossing behavior.  He was livid.  This girl was not a first time visitor with the good principal, and he called her out of the group as soon as the warm up was finished for a little talking to.

A few minutes later, he called me to fill in the details of the night before, which I did.  Then he turned to Lexi and asked her why she had just lied to him about what happened.  Her story changed pretty fast...and comically, if you ask me.  He sent her back to the choir room to wait for him.

He consulted with me about whether to keep her from singing tonight, hurting her parents--should have happened to attend, or wait until Friday morning and let her have it during school.  I told him I didn't have an opinion on this, but was just sorry he had to deal with it at all.  In the end he opted for the Friday morning principal's office visit with her to set a punishment.

Before the night was over, she had missed her cue to get onstage and sing.  She blamed the principal for making her late to the stage...funny, since his conversation with her was over before the show began.  But, since she missed her cue, she will now have to deal with the choir teacher's consequence as well as the principal's this morning.

Junior high kids--teenagers in general--certainly can be idiots.  But it helps when you have a crazy home life on top of bad behavior at school, and poor academic achievements.  Heaven help the junior high faculty and staff.  And PTSA volunteers.