Fifth grade is an age of vast differences in maturity levels. I see this every day in a variety of interesting ways, but none has struck me quite as profoundly as hearing the responses to a writing prompt the other day. I presented them with the following quote:
"It takes sunshine and rain to make a rainbow."
and asked them to fill 1/2 of a page with their thoughts, feelings, etc. The responses encompassed a Grand Canyon of interpretations, everything from (I am paraphrasing here)
"I don't know what it means." (meaning "I don't give a rat's behind what it means, I just want to get home to my video games")
to
"It means that to get a rainbow you have to have sunshine and rain drops." (this was the most common response)
to
"In your life you will have good days (the sunshine) and bad days (the rain) and they will blend together to the golden days of your retirement (the rainbow)." (I'm not exaggerating here - someone in my class actually wrote these words)
Some of these kids could take over the class if I were to fail to show up. And others have trouble keeping their own shoes tied. Fifth grade is a hard grade to teach, but from what I have seen this year, it's even harder to live.
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