Ooh, Ooh, Love Hurts...

Ah, the Dating Game -- especially when you're in the 5th or 6th grade.

I hear it all. I almost have to laugh at the end of the day when I compile all of these stories together in my head and think back on them.

Anyway, I guess I'm the guy to go to when the 5th or 6th graders are having relationship issues. I'm always willing to listen (you know -- since I'm such a "caring" guy), but afterwards I'm thinking to myself, these kids aren't even OLD enough to worry about "going out" with one another!

Here are some examples of what I have to listen to:

• 5th Grade -- One Boy, One Girl. Two hearts. All of a sudden, the boy dumps the girl because she is too old for him. Yes, that's right. They are in the same grade, but she is older than him by just a few months. Woofta. Currently, she is still waiting for him to "come around".
• 6th Grade -- Now this is one big soap opera. First off, these kids are really good, but why put themselves in ridiculous situations as these? Boy1 and Girl1 are "going out" for about 6 months. Girl1 likes Boy1 so much (although she is forbidden to date until she's 16) that she sneaks out of the house (saying that she is staying over at a friend's house) to go to the middle school dance. They dance, hold hands, whatever. A few weeks afterwards, word gets back to Girl1 from Boy2 that Boy1 was kissing some girl from South Dakota. Girl1 breaks up with Boy1. It's like an A-Bomb was dropped. Boy2 is going out with Girl2. Girl2 likes Boy1, but so far, nothing has come of it. Boy1 hears that Boy2 told Girl1 about the kissing episode, but Boy1 forgives Boy2. Boy2 tells me that he's scared that Girl2 is going to dump him because he thinks that Girl2 likes Boy1. Nothing yet. During this whole mix-up, Boy3, who used to "go out" with Girl2, writes Girl1 a "love letter." Boy3 tells Girl1 he "loves her." Girl1 says "thanks, but no thanks."
• 6th Grade -- Boy and Girl are "going out." Boy does not dance with Girl at the dance (as mentioned before) -- Girl promptly dumps Boy. This specific situation happened to two other "couples."

I'm sure at the 5th and 6th grade levels, these are very dramatic events. But I find it hilarious -- thinking back to my own days in elementary school when girls first took notice of the boys and the dramatics of what could possibly happen.

Ah, the life of a teacher. I cannot wait until I hear what goes down today...