If people don’t understand why you love and are committed to middle schoolers and WyldLife, they for sure will not understand why you would want to spend 2 hours of your Friday afternoon or evening at a middle school dance.

At best, they’ll think you’re weird. At worse, they’ll think you’re crazy.

So what? Who cares what they think? We know better. We know that there is nothing quite as outofthisworld overthetop WOW as a middle school dance, because at middle school dances you get to meet these guys:

These guys have great things to teach you.

And you might meet this guy:

He wears awesome Star Wars t-shirts.

And you can meet these people:

One of them jams Eric Clapton tunes in the hallway while the others manage his growing fan base.

And you can meet this guy:

He has a broken arm. And Slim Jims. Only 17 of them. Because he already ate 3. Oh, and he’s holding some for his friend.

Only middle school dances are this awesome.

Here are Five Tips for Chaperoning a Middle School Dance with Style and Grace:

1. Meet the principal, guidance counselor, and other administrators at your local middle school. Explain who you are and what you do. Ask if there are any ways you can volunteer or help out at the middle school with the understanding that you will always abide by and respect whatever boundaries or expectations they have for you.
2. When the administration asks or invites you to chaperone a school dance, say yes. (See item #1 above). Show up early. Offer to help. Stay late. Offer to clean. Abide by whatever boundaries or expectations they have for you. (See item #1 again.)
3. Introduce yourself to kids and initiate conversations by asking inviting and open-ended questions like:
   Tell me about your awesome Star Wars t-shirt.
   Ooooh – how’d you learn to play those Clapton tunes?
   What can you tell me about xxxx Middle School?
   How’d you break your arm? Tell me about that Slim Jim collection you got there.
   What’s the best lunch they serve here? What’s the worse one?
   Tell me about the football (basketball, volleyball, whatever) team.
   Tell me about the teachers here at xxxx Middle School.
   Tell me about your favorite (movie/band/video game/etc.).
   What song are you waiting for the dj to play?
4. As you leave, thank the staff for inviting and allowing you to be part of the dance and let them know you’re looking forward to serving them again.

[NOTE: It is always important that you know your school’s policies on photos, tagging, posting, etc. We suggest taking pics, adding names, and saving the photos for your own use to help remember names.]