Today, I had 3 experiences that all culminated in the idea of character development in the lower and middle school. The first one happened with the Lower School Counselor Beth Barnard. With the class, we were asking questions regarding courage. One kid came up and was asked a question about self control. He answered with this: one time self control is hard and important is when someone is being bullying to you. Even though you might want to bully them back you have to control yourself and stay calm. This level of knowledge, coming from a person of such a young age impressed me, and I loved it! Later that day, I talked with SEL (Social and Emotional Learning) and Middle School teacher, Mr. Coleman. Mr. Coleman is the head of the Middle School at St. Timothy’s, and while we talked he mentioned that middle school is a time of transition. This is so true, and I saw it for myself later that afternoon. During a class with SEL teacher Mrs. Savage, I saw several kids at the back of the class playing with a Rubik’s cube. Me being a cuber and puzzle nerd myself, I quickly asked to have the cube and I quickly solved it (because I’m just that cool) (I know). After this, I told that that cubing was so cool. The kids froze, and then one of them said, no one has ever told us that we’re cool. This really struck me. In middle school, just like Mr. Coleman told me, we are learning about who we are and we also ask big questions like who am I and who do I want to be. The privelige of being a role model, both inside and outside the classroom, is an intangibly valuable experience.