Local Midd students hit campus Vermont kids participate in Midd Kid for a Day Program

Author: Zach Howe

My first thought was, "Wow, these kids are tiny." As 50 fifth, sixth, seventh and eigth graders rolled into the Pearsons lounge on Jan. 19 for the "Midd Kid for a Day" event, I was instantly transported back to all the uncertainty of middle school. I hoped that as a dozen other students and I hung out with them for the day, we could start to dispel a few of the myths surrounding college and their future.

"Have you ever hooked up with a girl?" was the first question, asked with trepidation and concern. So those were their most pressing questions about college? So much for my idealistic vision of a day discussing my Winter Term class and the commons system. Next came "Have you ever been drunk?" I answered "No" to these and more questions (much to their visible relief) - a definitive, dismissive "No, that's not important. Let's talk about your major."

But upon finding an empty box of Keystone Light in a recycling bin in the Pearsons lounge, the kids threw me a distrusting, disillusioned look that mirrored their attack: "I thought you said you didn't drink!" And though my reminder that some students were 21 placated them, it did little to distract me from my guilt in lying to them. They were not here to learn how they were supposed to behave in college, or to decide between Middlebury and Williams. They were here to decide between a college degree and a high school diploma. They were here to find someone they could trust.

From then on I understood Midd Kid for a Day as a program of inspiration. I was exposing them to something new, giving them a taste of what could be theirs. These kids were not so tiny; they were enthusiastic about the future, intrigued by college.

The high-energy scavenger hunt gave them a chance to understand what it's like to live on a campus. The a cappella performance piqued their interest in the arts. And the hockey game showed them that enthusiasm and camaraderie do not disappear after neighborhood kickball.

Despite their initial questions, they really were interested in my classes. One even asked me if he could major in cryptozoology (apparently the study of mythical monsters). Another asked me if Middlebury would prepare him for a graduate engineering program. Yet another had a friendly competition with me about his computer-building abilities. Several asked if they could continue their instrument and sports at college.

So as we chanted the Middlebury fight song during our resounding victory over Colby, I knew we were not teaching them school spirit but self-confidence. And as the kids walked away, still straining their necks to glimpse the top of Mead Chapel, I knew that we had taught them about something greater than themselves, of an ambition they could actually realize.