MAKING SENSE OF MIDDLE SCHOOL--Mr. Nixon taught 7th and 8th graders for thirteen years in the Churchville-Chili School District, a suburb of Rochester, NY. During that time, he wrote and delivered twice-weekly messages to the school community aimed at helping students make sense of the middle school experience. Topics included dealing with change, being a good friend, handling conflict and building self worth. With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr. Nixon has stepped forward to bring helpful new counsel to our middle school students and to make available a large library of previous "Words of Wisdom."
Latest episodes
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2 min
Volleyball
My granddaughter is a middle schooler having just entered eighth-grade. She is very athletic and focused her talents on dance for many years, but last year she discovered volleybal…
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2 min
Foreign Language
I have had many students ask me the same question over the years: “Why do we have to take a foreign language?” Said a different way, they ask, “Why doesn’t everyone just learn Engl…
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2 min
Feed The Wolf
The inauguration of President Obama has been dominating news coverage and rightfully so. It represents an historic milestone for our country. I was watching coverage of the morning…
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2 min
Self Esteem
One of the most popular words in education and in psychology is self-esteem. Sometimes I hesitate to use it because it is used so often. But, the truth is that self esteem is the m…
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2 min
Spring Poems
The last week or two, with their heavy rains and warmer breezes have truly reminded us that winter is gone and spring is gaining on us every day. I thought it would be nice to see…
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I Am Woman
March is Women’s History Month in the United States. The celebration was begun with the National Women’s History Project in 1980. This year 14 outstanding American women are being…
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Caring
I remember when I was the age of my students, my father’s parents came to live with us for a period of time. I remember asking my grandfather how he was doing. He used to say to me…
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Fortunately Unfortunately
Many of us are afraid of change. We assume that even if things aren’t exactly perfect now, they can always get worse. Remy Charlip wrote a children’s book called, “Fortunately.” He…
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2 min
Hope Poem
For those of you feeling hopeless today, I’m going to read a short poem. I don’t know who wrote it, but I like the message.It was just a tiny speck of lightalmost swallowed by the…
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2 min
Value
As middle school students you are beginning the most important battle of your life, a battle that will literally last for the rest of your life. You should not expect to fight the…
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2 min
Taking Chances
From time to time I think about what we’re doing here at Churchville-Chili Junior High School, no not just seeing our buddies, but learning how to live. Pablo Picasso said it well,…
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Forgiveness (D&C)
I read a very interesting and moving article in Saturday’s Democrat and Chronicle. It was on the front page and told the story of a man and a woman, he 51, she 48, who had not had…
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2 min
The Whisper Test
I feel very fortunate to speak with you twice a week and to share some of the values that I consider to be important to living a happy life. Yesterday, I heard a story that moved m…
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Memorial Day Words
Yesterday was Memorial Day in the United States. It’s the day when we remember, honor and thank the service men and women who have given their lives to preserve our way of life. Li…
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1 min
Trying
The first quarter of the school year is history. No efforts of yours can change the results. If you did well, you can take a moment to reflect on a job well done. If you’re like so…
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2 min
Election Words
I want to take a couple of minutes this morning to talk about what I’ve learned by running for Monroe County Legislature these past 9 months. For those of you who don’t know, I ran…
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2 min
New Year 2006
Happy New Year and welcome back to Churchville-Chili Junior High School! The big question is how many times will you write the date as 2005 before you get used to it being a new ye…
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2 min
Black History Month
Today is the first day of February which means it’s the first day of Black History Month. It began in 1976 to commemorate the achievements of African-Americans down through history…
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Thanksgiving
Thursday is Thanksgiving, which I must say is one of my favorite holidays. There isn’t the pressure to buy the perfect present that there is for some other holidays. Really, all I…
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Veterans Day
Last Friday I talked about the historic scene that took place in Grant Park, Chicago the previous Tuesday night. If you had been alive, and in attendance at the Palace of Versaille…