Advot in Action

By: Annie Kee, Managing Director

November 2025

If you’ve been reading for a while, you know that I’ve historically had an aversion to middle schoolers. They are loud, restless, rowdy, and—let’s be honest—cannot be quiet for more than four seconds. Yet we’ve been working at a middle school community site for several years, and this session, I truly feel like we’ve cracked the code.

Instead of trying to force a square peg into a round hole—lecturing or leading “standard” classes—we decided to gamify the learning. I put games exploring each communication stream on index cards, and students pick a card to set the game for that day. Each class begins with a silly, active warm-up, includes a thoughtful check-in, and ends with movement, snacks, and shouting our affirmations at the top of our lungs.

Kaci, my co-facilitator, and I practice radical acceptance. To the student who shows up with a fox tail and an emotional support animal. To the one who can’t keep his hands off his friends. To the student flirting with her first crush in the corner. To the student wearing all black, with a beautiful giant afro, who loves rock and roll. They are all welcome. They are seen. They are heard.

The difference has been palpable. Our partner reported that students attending our class talk—unprompted—about increased confidence, improved self-advocacy, strengthened communication skills, and a broader sense of themselves. They line up outside, calling to us, eager to join. They see us as mentors, they begin to see things from new perspectives, they are inclusive and generous to one another, and most importantly, they feel safe being themselves. They have fun. And yes—they are learning.

Next week, we’ll celebrate them: games, sharing, laughter, and cupcakes.

They absolutely deserve it.

Maybe my long-standing stance against middle schoolers is softening. Stranger things have happened.