Is It Okay to Vent About Students?

I'm at a Starbucks when I hear teachers griping about their classes. They're talking about second graders and how they're not sitting still and how they still interrupt and how they're so hyper. All I can think about is how my son might feel if this were his teacher. 

I cringe. I want to tell them to stop talking that way. I walk out, plug in my headphones and come to a dark conclusion: 

These teachers are right. Kids are difficult. Kids are hyper. Kids are always moving. Sometimes they become challenging at the end of a school year. Every single thing they said about their students was accurate. 

So, why does the venting bother me so much?

It's about framing. It's about the way I choose to think about the students children in my class. I can assume that the talking or the interruptions or the late-Spring apathy is defiance and disrespect. I can expect perfection. I can get into a mindset that says, "I work so hard, they owe it to me to . . ." 

Or, I can see them as kids. I can treat the squirrelly moments as a chance to correct and teach. I can expect some level of immaturity, because, let's face it, they are immature by adult standards. They're not grown up. 

It's a simple reality. But the fact that they are kids is what makes students difficult. It's the same reason why being a dad can be hard. It's why teenagers can drive us nuts in a packed movie theater. And it's why every generation complains about "kids these days." Because kids these days are like last year's kids these days, because on any given day, they don't behave the way adults expect. 

However, if the issue is admitting my weakness as a teacher, then it will lead to humility. If the "venting" is an honest reflection of what's not working and what I want to do about it, then it becomes a chance to grow.