Lifestyle

<p>Everyone who has ever been in middle school can recall&mdash;or has effectively repressed&mdash;the fact that it is the worst time ever in which hormones are ablaze and math class suddenly gets complicated.</p><p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/karen.loewe/posts/10151312837249949">Karen Wunderlich Loewe, </a>a middle school teacher in Oklahoma, makes sure her students know that they are not the only ones struggling, and that puberty is a tough time for everyone.</p><p>In a post that has now gone viral on Facebook with over 402,000 shares, Mrs. Wunderlich Loewe explained &quot;The Baggage Activity,&quot; in which she asked kids to anonymously write down their struggles, and a classmate would read it before the class.</p><p>Her students and their families are struggling with issues as issues as heavy as suicide and as silly as a gerbil dying because it was fat, but everyone is struggling.</p><p>Wunderlich Loewe shared a photo of the physical representation of baggage, along with the emotional story of what happened in class.</p><div className="ad-splitter"></div><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe"><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/karen.loewe/posts/10151312837249949" data-width="552"><blockquote cite="https://graph.facebook.com/502559948/posts/10151312837249949/" class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore"><p>This starts my 22nd year of teaching middle school. Yesterday was quite possibly one of the most impactful days I have...</p>Posted by <a href="#" role="button">Karen Wunderlich Loewe</a> on <a href="https://graph.facebook.com/502559948/posts/10151312837249949/">Friday, August 23, 2019</a></blockquote></div></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div><blockquote> <p>This starts my 22nd year of teaching middle school. Yesterday was quite possibly one of the most impactful days I have ever had.</p> <p>I tried a new activity called &ldquo;The Baggage Activity&rdquo;. I asked the kids what it meant to have baggage and they mostly said it was hurtful stuff you carry around on your shoulders.</p> <p>I asked them to write down on a piece of paper what was bothering them, what was heavy on their heart, what was hurting them, etc. No names were to be on a paper. They wadded the paper up, and threw it across the room.</p> <p>They picked up a piece of paper and took turns reading out loud what their classmate wrote. After a student read a paper, I asked who wrote that, and if they cared to share.</p> <p>I&rsquo;m here to tell you, I have never been so moved to tears as what these kids opened up and about and shared with the class.</p> <p>Things like suicide, parents in prison, drugs in their family, being left by their parents, death, cancer, losing pets (one said their gerbil died cause it was fat, we giggled😁) and on and on.</p> </blockquote><div className="ad-splitter"></div><p>The students couldn&#39;t help but get emotional learning what their classmates are dealing with, and it was an exercise in empathy for everyone:</p><blockquote> <p>The kids who read the papers would cry because what they were reading was tough. The person who shared (if they chose to tell us it was them) would cry sometimes too. It was an emotionally draining day, but I firmly believe my kids will judge a little less, love a little more, and forgive a little faster.</p> <p>This bag hangs by my door to remind them that we all have baggage. We will leave it at the door. As they left I told them, they are not alone, they are loved, and we have each other&rsquo;s back.</p> <p>I am honored to be their teacher.</p> </blockquote><p>She is honored to be their teacher, and her students are lucky to have her.</p><p>Ms. Wunderlich Loewe&#39;s former students commented on the post to confirm that yes, she is indeed the best.</p><div className="ad-splitter"></div><figure class="image"><div class="image-container"><img alt="" height="748" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" src="https://3a60h1vxk0ezoe7oqzr8fl8l-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/IMG_3810.jpeg" srcset="https://3a60h1vxk0ezoe7oqzr8fl8l-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/IMG_3810.jpeg 1125w, https://3a60h1vxk0ezoe7oqzr8fl8l-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/IMG_3810-152x190.jpeg 152w, https://3a60h1vxk0ezoe7oqzr8fl8l-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/IMG_3810-768x957.jpeg 768w, https://3a60h1vxk0ezoe7oqzr8fl8l-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/IMG_3810-392x489.jpeg 392w, https://3a60h1vxk0ezoe7oqzr8fl8l-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/IMG_3810-568x708.jpeg 568w, https://3a60h1vxk0ezoe7oqzr8fl8l-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/IMG_3810-274x342.jpeg 274w, https://3a60h1vxk0ezoe7oqzr8fl8l-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/IMG_3810-119x148.jpeg 119w, https://3a60h1vxk0ezoe7oqzr8fl8l-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/IMG_3810-284x354.jpeg 284w, https://3a60h1vxk0ezoe7oqzr8fl8l-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/IMG_3810-137x171.jpeg 137w, https://3a60h1vxk0ezoe7oqzr8fl8l-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/IMG_3810-59x74.jpeg 59w, https://3a60h1vxk0ezoe7oqzr8fl8l-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/IMG_3810-320x399.jpeg 320w, https://3a60h1vxk0ezoe7oqzr8fl8l-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/IMG_3810-80x100.jpeg 80w" width="600" /></div></figure><div className="ad-splitter"></div><p>She was never my teacher but Mrs. Wunderlich Loewe is officially my favorite teacher now, too.</p><div className="ad-splitter"></div>

Teacher encourages empathy with 'baggage' exercise where students put problems in plastic bag.

Everyone who has ever been in middle school can recall&mdash;or has effectively repressed&mdash;the fact that it is the worst time ever in which hormones are ablaze and math class suddenly gets complicated.Karen Wunderlich Loewe, a middle school teacher in Oklahoma, makes sure her students know that they are not the only ones struggling, and that puberty is a tough time for everyone.In a post that has now gone viral on Facebook with over 402,000 shares, Mrs. Wunderlich Loewe explained &quot;The Baggage Activity,&quot; in which she asked kids to anonymously write down their struggles, and a classmate would read it before the class.Her students and their families are struggling with issues as issues as heavy as suicide and as silly as a gerbil dying because it was fat, but everyone is struggling.Wunderlich Loewe shared a photo of the physical representation of baggage, along with the emotional story of what happened in class.This starts my 22nd year of teaching middle school. Yesterday was quite possibly one of the most impactful days I have...Posted by Karen Wunderlich Loewe on Friday, August 23, 2019 This starts my 22nd year of teaching middle school. Yesterday was quite possibly one of the most impactful days I have ever had. I tried a new activity called &ldquo;The Baggage Activity&rdquo;. I asked the kids what it meant to have baggage and they mostly said it was hurtful stuff you carry around on your shoulders. I asked them to write down on a piece of paper what was bothering them, what was heavy on their heart, what was hurting them, etc. No names were to be on a paper. They wadded the paper up, and threw it across the room. They picked up a piece of paper and took turns reading out loud what their classmate wrote. After a student read a paper, I asked who wrote that, and if they cared to share. I&rsquo;m here to tell you, I have never been so moved to tears as what these kids opened up and about and shared with the class. Things like suicide, parents in prison, drugs in their family, being left by their parents, death, cancer, losing pets (one said their gerbil died cause it was fat, we giggled😁) and on and on. The students couldn&#39;t help but get emotional learning what their classmates are dealing with, and it was an exercise in empathy for everyone: The kids who read the papers would cry because what they were reading was tough. The person who shared (if they chose to tell us it was them) would cry sometimes too. It was an emotionally draining day, but I firmly believe my kids will judge a little less, love a little more, and forgive a little faster. This bag hangs by my door to remind them that we all have baggage. We will leave it at the door. As they left I told them, they are not alone, they are loved, and we have each other&rsquo;s back. I am honored to be their teacher. She is honored to be their teacher, and her students are lucky to have her.Ms. Wunderlich Loewe&#39;s former students commented on the post to confirm that yes, she is indeed the best.She was never my teacher but Mrs. Wunderlich Loewe is officially my favorite teacher now, too.

Everyone who has ever been in middle school can recall&mdash;or has effectively repressed&mdash;the fact that it is the worst time ever in which hormones are ablaze and math class suddenly gets complicated.  Karen Wunderlich Loewe, a...