ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, November 17, 1996 TAG: 9611180014
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-21 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
What's the best thing about middle school?
* Being an eighth-grader, because "it's cool" and you're not a lowly sixth-grader anymore, said eighth-grader Lindsay Reynolds, who attends Christiansburg Middle
* Changing classes, because "it's fun and you get to spend time in the halls talking to people and you get to move around and stretch and stuff," said Matt Cox, a seventh-grader at Dublin Middle
What's the worst thing?
* Studying more and seeing your friends less, said Ashley Hartless, a sixth-grader at Christiansburg
* Homework and tests, said many
What would you change about middle school?
* More easy-going teachers, like the ones "that if you forget to do your homework, they let you do it the next day," said seventh-grader Peter Sustafson, Christiansburg Middle
* Fewer teachers who use overhead projectors and lecture all the time and read their notes aloud in front of the class, said Ashlyn Akers, an eighth-grader at Christiansburg
What's the lingo nowadays?
* "Phat," "hype" or "da bom:" translated means cool, hip, in-style
* "That's my bust" or "my bad:" my fault, I goofed
* "24-7:" 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; "My friend and I talk on the phone 24-7."
* "Reeks:" bad, boring or dumb; "This homework assignment reeks."
* "Whatever:" a way to dismiss someone or something, said with a bored, sarcastic tone
* "Talk to the hand:" see "Whatever," increase the attitude and include a raised hand
What to wear?
Many middle schoolers still keep to the T-shirt, jeans, and unkempt hair look. Some are starting to become fashion-conscious, though, and a few items are essential:
* Long hair, parted in the middle. For girls, often held back with Bobbie-pins; for boys, often hanging down straight and usually in their eyes.
* Big shoes. Either platform heels or basketball shoes that look like cement blocks on the ends of skinny, awkward middle school legs.
* Sags, otherwise known as jeans several sizes too big. For boys, they hang precariously on the edges of their hip bone, with multicolored boxer shorts peeking out the top. For girls, the jeans still hang low; a bare belly button occasionally makes an appearance.
Other options:
* Anything from the disco era: bell bottoms, daisies, peace signs, big collars, platform shoes;
* Dog tag necklaces, which the author can't even begin to explain;
* Dyed hair, sometimes by dipping strands into hot Kool-aid.
What to do?
* Talk, via notes or whispers in class, screams in the hallway, and long, long conversations on the telephone
* Go "steady," which means talking on the phone, holding hands, kissing, and generally being seen
* Go to a movie, Fun Challenge, roller skating, shoot hoops, play soccer or football, cheerlead, have sleep-overs
* Talk
LENGTH: Medium: 68 linesby CNB