We don't call them tweens for nothing. One minute they are reflecting on best qualities of those they know. The next they are proclaiming how their parents, their teachers, older siblings, are all out of touch. These are the Personality Kids.
To have a little sense of interpersonal relations is to have a certain conviction that others just don't get it. In truth, these kids are sorting their peers, family and community into niches to suit their current opinions of themselves. Even those too young to ponder the qualities of the opposite sex are not immune to discussing what "somebody" said about "somebody."
A big dose of patience is what parents can abide, knowing that having no learners' permit is a blessing. It's different for teachers who are paid to instruct and socialize the budding geniuses. In the realm of education, my personal belief is that we are wasting time and effort as long as school boards insist on replicating 20th Century modes. Modern teachers live with the notion that technology and diplomatic necessities have shrunk the globe. They may not be totally aware of the fact that what will instruct some young minds will roll right off others. That is to say, it is obligatory to teach as though each pupil has his/her own ability to learn. Only recently has much been studied about the brain and how it can only comprehend in accordance with its "wiring."
If a couple of words could be used for this group of people of school age, two might help to describe their stage: Enthusiasm and Vulnerability. Best to remember that it is not just a time for straight teeth and good manners. They came so moral that on some occasions, they seem downright stuffy. "Bad words" are a dividing point in social behavior. Just watch out! In a couple of years they will be testing their own high standards.
