Youth Are Misunderstood

"They've never been this quiet before", said a guidance counselor from one of the local schools in the county I work in.  "Really?  Wow!", I said, before trying to find a good reason why, but I already knew the answer, when I come into the classroom (or lunchroom) I DEMAND their undivided attention.
Somehow (GOD) I landed into the world of advising, more specifically advising in higher education and I love it!  I owe my love of education and progression to my parents.  My father ALWAYS preached education, he would say, "Cierra, education is all you need to worry about.  Don't worry about boys, they'll get you no where."  I had a pretty smart mouth so I would respond by saying, "But dad you were a boy once, so did you get mom to go no where with you?"  My mother didn't push education as hard or intense as my father did, but she did lay down the law, so if we didn't take our @$$ to school, then we couldn't live under her roof. Then there was my super smart sister who didn't realize that I was always competing with her, but by the time I hit middle school I gave up that dream, but she kept me motivated, especially when other family members were giving her praise for her great grades and I was sitting in the back looking like a chump (I love you Bran).  Then of course, there were so many other adults in my life pushing me towards education because they didn't have anyone to push them as hard, therefore I thank GOD for these people, who indirectly helped me get where I am today.
Back to these middle school students.
I was shocked to hear the school administration say that no one had been able to get the attention of these students like I had. That's scary right?  But what's even more scary is that a majority of the school administration that I saw were people of color, and so were a majority of the students!!!!!!!  I'm trying to wrap my brain around this thing folks!  It's baffling that people who are in a position of authority are unable to get thru to these students, what's even more baffling is that people of color who are in a position of power aren't getting thru to these students.  I know I titled this blog post "Youth Are Misunderstood", but now I'm thinking school administration just doesn't care or maybe they care, but the power of that pretty coin or lack thereof is overwhelming. Yikes!
I say that the youth are misunderstood, because somewhere along the way adults have allowed the following thinking to settle in their tiny brains:
"Kids don't want an overbearing figure to look up too, they want a friend." - Correction, like my momma would say, "I'm the parent and you're the child." or "I'm not your friend, I'm your mother." or "Oh you grown now? Well take your grown @$$ out of my house and get a grown job!" Sure, kids don't want to be told what to do, they think they're grown, but their kids, they think alot of things as they're growing up, but if you're the adult, it is your responsibility to teach them right from wrong.  Teach them some RESPECK!